By Fr. Michael Miller

On the first evening of atwo-day getaway with somefriends, I opted to stay at thecabin alone while the otherswent out. As the car droveaway I thought to myself,“Silence at last. I need sometime to be quiet.” At that, Iturned around and saw aplacard on the wall thatread: “Make time for the

quiet moments as God whispers and the worldis loud.” Before modern means of communi-cation such as the telephone, radio, television,and the Internet were widely available andused, silence was an inevitable part of life. Totalk to someone you had to go physically tothat person, or write a letter, which had to bephysically carried to him or her. In the mean-time there was silence. Now the entire world,so to speak, can be viewed from the palm ofyour hand, and we can be available everyminute of the day. The predictions of sciencefiction, where we will have a communicationdevice physically implanted in our head, doesnot seem far away—and it will probably beavailable in a family plan.

Why does this matter? Because, as theabove saying points out so well, “God whis-pers and the world is loud.” As Elijah waitedfor the Lord to pass by, he did not find Him inthe earthquake, or the fire, or the storm, but

rather in the “tiny whispering sound.” (I Kings19:12) In his address to young people andseminarians on April 19, 2008, Pope BenedictXVI challenged the most technologically con-nected generation in the history of the worldwith the following words, “Have we perhapslost something of the art of listening? Do youleave space to hear God’s whisper, calling youforth into goodness? Friends, do not be afraidof silence or stillness, listen to God, adoreHim in the Eucharist. Let His word shape yourjourney as an unfolding of holiness.” Whenwe are constantly barraged by noise and thevoices of others we cannot hear the whisper-ing voice of God. “Silence alone can givethem an inner sanctuary into which they mayretire for repose; as hidden gardens whereinlike man before the Fall they walk with God inthe cool of the evening.” (Fulton Sheen, Wayto Inner Peace, p. 149)

Given the importance of silence, we cansee why we must “make time for the quiet mo-ments.” It is all right to shut off our cellphones once in a while, or not even to haveone. It is good to turn off the many devicesthat keep us connected to the world and ev-eryone in it and spend some time in the silencethat will connect us to the One Who made theworld. It is then that we will find that there ismuch to be heard in silence. We will hear thevoice of God whispering to us the most im-portant things we will ever hear: our purposeand how to fulfill it. In the same address our

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Geir Hasnes comments onCatholic novelist, Sigrid Undset

The Catholic Servant Fund-Raising Goal for 2010: $50,000 Please help support “The Catholic Servant” through gifts and fundraisers

The Catholic Servant Fund-Raising Goal for 2010: $50,000 Please help support “The Catholic Servant” through gifts and fundraisers

Silence continued page 8

By Melissa Hackenmueller

“Sigrid Undset is the mostfamous Catholic novelist ever… in Norway we read her sim-ply because she’s so good,” de-clared Geir Hasnes. Hasnes isan engineer, bibliographer ofG.K. Chesterton, and expert inSigrid Undset’s works. He livesin Norway and visited Minneso-ta to attend a G.K. ChestertonConference held at the Universi-ty of St. Thomas.

But who is Sigrid Undset?What is it that makes her one ofthe literary greats, both in theCatholic and non-Catholicworlds? Undset was born inKalundborg, Denmark, in 1882to Ingvald and Charlotte Und-set. During her lifetime she pub-lished over 40 novels, short sto-ries, essays, and a play. On AllSaints’ Day in 1924 Sigrid Und-

By John Sondag

[Editor’s note: The Most ReverendRobert W. Finn, Bishop of the KansasCity ~ St. Joseph Diocese in Missouri,will be the guest speaker at the 25th“Evening Affirming Human Life andthe Family” Dinner at the Church ofSt. Helena in Minneapolis on Tues-day, March 16. “The Catholic Ser-vant” was able to interview him abouta variety of topics concerning theCatholic Faith and the Church.]

“The Catholic Servant”: YourExcellency, you have been an out-spoken defender of human life, par-ticularly pre-born babies. How canthe Catholic Church have a positiveinfluence to establish a culture oflife in the United States?

Bishop Finn: We, as bishops, clergy, religious, and laypeople,have to keep working to establish a better unanimity concerning thepriority of the right to life as the necessary foundation of all other im-portant human life issues. There is just one integral Gospel message

Sigrid Undset Bishop Finn continued page 10

Bishop Robert Finn’s viewson critical issues of the day

There is much to be heard in silence—what is God whispering to you?

Vol. XVI, No. III, March 2010 A Tool for Evangelization, Catechesis and ApologeticsI did not come to be served, but to serve. Matthew 20:28

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The whole of humanity, the Church and the world,the past, the present and the future all come to-gether in the deepest silence, full of adoration, be-fore the fact that “Christus factus est pro nobisoboediens usque ad mortem” (Christ became obe-dient for us even unto death). Pope John Paul II

Bishop Robert Finn

Fr. Miller

By Mary E. Gaida

The News-week article“History inthe Remak-ing” (March1, 2010) re-veals the dis-covery of anarchaeologi-cal site in theFertile Cres-

cent in Turkey that predates theGreat Pyramid by 7,000 years.“The ruins are so early thatthey predate villages, pottery,domesticated animals, andeven agriculture.” Archaeolo-gist Klaus Schmidt, who dis-covered this ceremonial sitewith huge pillars and terrazzoflooring, believes that “it wasthe urge to worship thatbrought mankind together inthe very first urban conglomer-ations.” He speculates that thebuilding and maintenance ofthe temple created the need forthe city that later developed toprovide for it.

Evidently standard beliefsare that cities came first withkings, writing, and art, and thatthen man developed his greattemples and “high” religions.Schmidt, a Catholic, believesthat his discovery supports hisbelief that imbued in man’svery nature is the primary de-

sire to praise God with his fel-lowman—an archaeologicalsupport for natural law.

Trappist monk ThomasMerton maintains in Seven Sto-ry Mountain: “we are born withthe thirst to know and to seeHim, and therefore it cannot beotherwise.” (p. 174) He alsosays that he believes that al-most everyone goes through a“religious phase” sometime inhis life. He sees this as “sub-stantially a deep and powerfuland lasting moral impetus, su-pernatural in its origin and itsdirection.” (p. 65) God drawsHis beloved creatures to Him-self.

Like many other Catholics,I am reminded of a religiousphase in Catholic grade schoolthat helped me to know andlove God. When, as children,in an innocent and honest questfor truth, we touch the essenceof God and an impression ismade on our souls, how neces-sary it is that our parents makesure that this small spark offaith is nourished and encour-aged to grow. Thomas Mertonspeaks of the “weight of re-sponsibility” that Catholic par-ents bear to see that their chil-dren get a good education intheir Catholic Faith. How vitalit is that they are brought to thesacraments and receive thegrace to know, love, and serve

Him.Another may have a deep

experience of God or a reli-gious phase at another time inhis life. But we will have thesereligious phases because weare continually being drawn toour Creator, drawn to praiseHim. We can’t help it. It is partof our human nature. God can’thelp but want us near Him be-cause He is Perfect Love.

If we treat these religiousexperiences as only short-livedand governed by our emotions,instead of true desires inspiredby God that are rooted in ourvery nature, we may set themaside and disregard their im-portance to us. We then waste alot of energy and time in look-ing for long-lasting fulfillment,peace, or joy in the pursuit ofthe enticements of our disor-dered culture— music, films,books, food, and drink—thatbring us to levels of sensuous-ness loud enough to close ourears and hearts and minds totrue union with God.

Lent is a time to look in-ward. We may recall one ormore religious phases in ourlives. It is time to reflect onhow we responded to God’scall to us. Did we choose tostay on this path of seekingGod, or did we hide the experi-ence away and misjudge its im-portance? If we have ignored

His call, it is a time to recog-nize His voice and turn to Him.The Sacrament of Penanceawaits us. We can come to Himas remorseful children and un-burden ourselves, and be re-stored to grace and a place ofharmony with God.

At the beginning of Lent,we are provided with a com-munal experience where weare drawn together to examineour weakness and vulnerability(Ash Wednesday), to recognizeChrist’s love for us in His suf-fering and death. We ponderHis Great Sacrifice duringHoly Week, and we experienceour Resurrection with Him onEaster Sunday.

Maybe it is this desire for a

communal experience of prais-ing God that draws so many toEaster Sunday worship to sing,“Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God ofHosts.” He calls to each of us,wants a relationship with eachof us. Maybe our Easter experi-ence will be the “religiousphase” that we choose to con-tinue for all of our lives.

Mary E. Gaida is a free-lance writer from St. Paul,Minn.

This article was funded by theSt. Joseph the Worker Chair ofWriting sponsored by an anony-mous patron.

P a g e 2 T h e C a t h o l i c S e r v a n t M a r c h , 2 0 1 0

The C a t h o l i c

“The Catholic Servant” is atool for evangelization, cat-

echesis and apologetics.Published monthly, it is dis-

tributed free throughparishes and through

paid subscriptions ($15 per year).

Board of Directors:Don FierFr. Joseph JohnsonDaniel J. KellyPatrick ShannonJohn Sondag

Publisher/Editor:John Sondag

Editorial Readers:Patrick ShannonGreg SmisekDon Fier

Bookkeeper:Timothy Fritz

Circulation:Thea Melillo

AdvertisingMelissa LenzmeierPhone: 612-916-5258

mlknight@stthomas.eduGraphic Design

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Our mailing address is:The Catholic ServantP.O. Box 24142Minneapolis, MN 55424

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Bringing the Faith into the home Man's primary desire is to praise God within a community of persons

St. Faustina Chair of Printing and production

“The Catholic Servant” has initiated a monthly Chair ofPrinting and Production in which donors can fund themonthly cost of printing of the publication and itspreparation for distribution with a gift of $2,000 per is-sue. Thomas and Barbara McLeod are the donors forMarch, 2010, and have chosen to name this chair forthis particular month the “St. Faustina Chair of Print-ing and Production.” With a gift of $2,000, you, too,can name a Chair for one of the months in 2010. CallJohn Sondag (612-275-0431) for details or send acheck to: John Sondag, Publisher; “The Catholic Ser-vant”; 3204 East 43rd St.; Minneapolis, MN 55406.

By Dale Ahlquist

Not longago I gave atalk at aC a t h o l i cChurch outeast. Myhosts wereunderstand-ably troubledby the factthat their

diocese is in such bad shape.Churches are being closed, notso much because the numbersof Catholics are declining, butbecause so many have simplystopped going to Mass. Butthere is another reason church-es are closing: the number ofpriests has been steadily de-clining. There has not been anew vocation in five years. Thelocal Catholic college had re-cently lost its official status—itwas no longer allowed to callitself Catholic. The religiousorders have dwindled.

There are similar stories allacross the United States: a de-crease in vocations, a loss oftrue Catholic identity in the ed-ucational institutions that aresupposed to be Catholic, a de-cline in attendance at Mass. Ithas been going on for a genera-tion. It is a genuine crisis forthe Catholic Church in Ameri-ca. There are some who feel the

only solution to this crisis is tomake compromises and drasticchanges, to make the Churchmore appealing by relaxingstandards, by ordaining mar-ried men, or ordaining women,by changing Church moralteaching regarding contracep-tion, abortion, and homosexualbehavior.

The main problem with thissolution is that it is not a solu-tion. It is actually the cause ofthe problem. It has been pre-cisely the relaxing of the appli-cation of Catholic standardsthat has led to the crisis. It hasbeen the very ones pushing forthe changes who have beendriving people away. Trying tomake the Catholic faith “easi-er” has only made it less rele-vant. Trying to make it morerelevant has only made it moreconfusing. G.K. Chestertonsays, “We don’t need a Churchthat moves with the world; weneed a Church that moves theworld.” Unfortunately, therehave been too many Churchleaders who have fallen intothe temptation to go along withthe fads and fashions of theworld and its fleeting philoso-phies, rather than to take astand against these trends anddefend the traditions that theChurch has provided for theprotection and promulgation ofthe Faith.

However, there have beenleaders who have been shiningexamples of how to do thingsright. I want to tell you aboutone of them. In his diocesethere has never been a voca-tions crisis. In fact, not onlydoes his diocese have the high-est priest-to-Catholic ratio ofany diocese in America, it alsohas the highest ratio of semi-narians-to-Catholics. Thechurches are full and more arebeing built. The parish schoolsare full, too. Who is he? BishopFabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln,Nebraska.

Described as “authoritari-an” and the “law-and-order”bishop by the secular mediaand by his opponents, what isnever reported (or admitted)are the spectacular results hehas accomplished in Lincoln. Ithas proved to be “controver-sial” to defend Church teach-ing. He drew national attentiona few years ago by announcingthe excommunication of anyCatholics in his diocese whowere members of Call to Ac-tion, Catholics for a FreeChoice, Planned Parenthood,the Hemlock Society, theFreemasons, and the Society ofSt. Pius X, a list that coversboth ends of the spectrum.Members of some of thesegroups appealed to Rome, butthe Vatican upheld the excom-

munications. The dissenterscontinued to make a great dealof noise, calling the Bishop allsorts of names, and gettingplenty of attention in the press.Meanwhile the letters and callsto Bishop Bruskewitz ran in thehundreds of thousands in sup-port of his decision. Only a fewletters of protest trickled in. Itturns out that Catholics wereoverwhelmingly encouragedand excited by a Bishop takinga stand against dissent andagainst those who defy Churchteaching.

When asked about the dutyof bishops to maintain unity inthe Church, Bishop Bruskewitzresponded that he certainlyagrees that the bishops havethat duty, but that unity ismaintained “by full and obedi-ent communion with the headof the college of bishops, theSuccessor of St. Peter, theVicar of Christ on earth, theHoly Father.”

When asked about what hehas done to get so many voca-tions in his diocese, he humblybrushed off taking any creditfor it. He attributed it to “firstand foremost the atmosphere ofprayer for vocations and the in-tercession of the Blessed VirginMary, the patroness of the dio-cese.” But there is no questionthat his adherence to orthodoxChurch teaching, enforcing

reverential and uniform liturgy,and confronting the dissentershas provided clarity and inspi-ration among Catholics in Lin-coln and beyond. It has certain-ly encouraged young men toenthusiastically pursue theircalling to the priesthood.

Bishop Bruskewitz oncesaid, “Let it be our prayer thatGod will give us here and now,the ability to dare to be differ-ent, and to stand for Christwhatever the cost.” He haslived up to this exhortationwith the example of his ownlife and witness.

Contrary to how he mightbe portrayed by his opponents,Bishop Bruskewitz is a joyfuland jocular man of God. It wasno surprise to me when Ilearned that he really likes toread G.K. Chesterton, anotherjubilant and fearless defenderof the Faith.

If you would like an oppor-tunity to meet this dynamic andcourageous bishop of theCatholic Church in person andhear him give a great talk, Iwant to invite you to attend theBenefit for Chesterton Acade-my on April 23, 2010, at theUniversity Club, DowntownSt. Paul. (Call 952-378-1779for more information or visitwww.chestertonacademy.org.)

Dale Ahlquist is Presidentof the American Chesterton So-ciety and host of the EWTN se-ries “G.K. Chesterton: TheApostle of Common Sense.”

This article was funded by theSt. Benedicta of the Cross (EdithStein) Chair of Writing sponsoredby Dr. and Mrs. Raymond andMary Bonnabeau.

Ahlquist

A faithful bishop who leads by example and has produced amazing resultsM a r c h , 2 0 1 0 T h e C a t h o l i c S e r v a n t P a g e 3

Saturday, March 20, 2010Fr. Randal Kasel

“St. Joseph: A Special Advocate for Men”

SATURDAY BREAKFAST FOR MENMen are invited to the 8:00 A.M. parish Mass in the Church of St. Helena. A full, heartybreakfast will be served at 8:30 A.M. in Rowan Hall. A talk will begin promptly at 8:45 A.M.and end promptly at 9:30 A.M. Participants are free to leave at 9:30 A.M., but may remainfor questions until 10:00 A.M.

Cost: $5 for breakfast (complimentary breakfasts are available for those who have difficulty paying)Reservations must be made by 12:00 noon the day before the presentation.

A free will offering will also be taken to cover expenses, such as administrative costs, publicity, etc.

The Church of St. Helena, 3204 East 43rd St., Minneapolis, MN 55406

By David Deavel

Question: Iknow someone whois not a Catholic,but he’s very chari-table and kind. He’smore Catholic thansome Catholics, buthe doesn’t go to anychurch at all. So,why should I en-courage him to be-

come a Catholic? He’ll probably getto Heaven because he’s such a goodperson.

Answer: First, let me commendyou for your generosity in assessingyour neighbor. Sometimes Catholicscan, out of misguided zeal for God’shonor, try to deny real virtues that non-Catholics possess. Since all virtues andgoodness come from God, denyingthem does not honor Him. Instead, weshould thank God for that goodness.

But, you ask, why evangelize him ifhe’ll “probably get to Heaven becausehe’s such a good person?” Let’s look atthat assertion about your neighbor’s fi-nal destination. It is true that theChurch taught very clearly at the Sec-ond Vatican Council that people “who,[RTF bookmark start:searchlink11]through no fault of theirown[RTF bookmark end: search-link11], do not know the Gospel ofChrist or His Church, but who never-theless seek God with a sincere heart,and, moved by grace, try in their ac-tions to do His will as they know itthrough the dictates of their conscience… may achieve eternal salvation.” (Lu-

men gentium, n. 16) This was no newteaching, either. Pope Pius IX had saidthe same thing one hundred years earli-er in his 1863 encyclical Quanto Confi-ciamur Moerore: “We and you know,that those who lie under invincible ig-norance as regards our most Holy Reli-gion, and who, diligently observing thenatural law and its precepts, which areengraven by God on the hearts of all,and prepared to obey God, lead a goodand upright life, are able, by the opera-tion of the power of divine light andgrace, to obtain eternal life.” (n. 7)

Both Pius IX and the Second Vati-can Council Fathers agree that we arenot to usurp God’s place of final judg-ment on any individual, whether insideor outside the Church. As the VenerableJohn Henry Cardinal Newman wrote toa friend anxious about a dead non-Catholic relative, knowledge of anyperson’s final destination is “a pointquite beyond us…. One alone knowsthe soul, He Who made it and willjudge. We, on the contrary, only makeourselves ridiculous when we attemptit.”

If attempting to judge the deadmakes us ridiculous, judging the livingmakes us more ridiculous—and temptsus to think that we do not need to evan-gelize our neighbors. That a given per-son may get to Heaven eventuallydoesn’t mean that we are excused fromevangelizing him now. The Vatican IIdecree on the Church’s missionary ac-tivity, Ad gentes, explicitly rejects suchan interpretation: “[A]lthough in waysknown to Himself God can lead thosewho, through no fault of their own, areignorant of the Gospel to that faith

without which it is impossible to pleaseHim (Heb. 11:6), the Church, neverthe-less, still has the obligation and the sa-cred right to evangelize [all men].” (n.7) The fact that God can save peopleeven in the absence of our evangeliza-tion doesn’t change the fact that Godgave us both the duty and right to evan-gelize the whole world—very goodneighbors included.

But God doesn’t give us orders fornothing. The reason we are to evange-lize everyone is that, even if it is possi-ble to be saved outside the Church, it isnot easy. Immediately after the affirma-tion in Lumen gentium that those igno-rant of the Gospel may achieve salva-tion, the Council Fathers warned aboutthe pitfalls that arise outside of God’sChurch: “But very often, deceived bythe Evil One, [those who live in theworld] have become vain in their rea-sonings, have exchanged the truth ofGod for a lie and served the worldrather than the Creator (cf. Rom. 1:21,25). [Others] living and dying in thisworld without God … are exposed toultimate despair.” (n. 16)

The great thing about the Church,G.K. Chesterton wrote, is that it savesus from the degrading slavery of beingchildren of our age. And no matter hownaturally virtuous and good we are, wecan become slaves either of proud idol-atry or despair very easily without themany gifts which God has given us. Al-though God can use almost anything asan instrument of salvation, He has giv-en the fullness of the means of salva-tion to His Church: “correct and com-plete confession of faith, full sacramen-tal life, and ordained ministry in apos-

tolic succession.” (Catechism of theCatholic Church, n. 830) Wouldn’t wewant our neighbor to have all themeans of salvation at his disposal in aworld filled with spiritual danger?

But the fullness of the means of sal-vation is not given simply to avoidHell. It is given to us so that we canhave the great privilege of knowingChrist Jesus and becoming conformedto His image—to share in the DivineLife. Speaking of those who are outsidethe Church, Lumen gentium says:“Whatever good or truth is foundamongst them is considered by theChurch to be a preparation for theGospel and given by Him Who enlight-ens all men that they may at lengthhave life.” (n. 16) The good you see inyour neighbor is not a reason not toevangelize him, but a piece of evidencethat God has been preparing him to re-ceive Christ’s abundant life. Given thatgrace builds on nature, you might justhave the opportunity to be the one toevangelize a truly great saint.

David Paul Deavel is associate ed-itor of Logos: A Journal of CatholicThought and Culture and contributingeditor to Gilbert Magazine. He is fin-ishing a doctoral dissertation on theVenerable Newman for Fordham Uni-versity.

This article was funded by the St. Teresaof Avila Chair of Writing sponspored by ananonymous patron.

P a g e 4 T h e C a t h o l i c S e r v a n t M a r c h , 2 0 1 0

Quest ion and Answer

Have questions aboutyour vocation?Call Fr. Peter Williams,Vocations DirectorArchdiocese of St. Paul andMinneapolis651-962-6892stpaulpriest@10000vocations.org

Advertisement sponsored by the Serra Club of Midway St. Paul

Why should I try to evangelize non-religious good people?

Deavel

By Mary Ann Kuharski

I’ve al-ways main-tained thatwhen you be-come a parentyou reallydon’t need topray for hu-m i l i t y — i tcomes auto-matically with

kids!Through the years, my kids

have done their share of “keep-ing me humble.” Whether it’sreceiving the dreaded call froma teacher at school, or—worseyet—the principal, or learningthat your child did somethingthat you had just bragged tofriends, “Well, mine has never

done that!”Even now that my young

are grown and on their own,and I’m enjoying my new roleas Grandma and pro-life gad-fly, there are occasions whenI’m reminded anew of some ofthe pet peeves that drove mykids nuts.

For instance, at a recenttwentieth anniversary celebra-tion recognizing PROLIFEAcross AMERICA, three of mydaughters volunteered to help“Roast the Director”—me.

Mary Elizabeth (number 8)introduced her two sisters, An-gela (number 9) and Kari(number 10) and told thegroup, “We worried that someof you here may think ourMom is perfect and might beafraid to ‘roast’ her, so we

came up with some things youmight want to know, such aswhat it was like to be a Kuhars-ki.”

And with that they tookturns reciting to the group, thefollowing Kuharski Litany of“You know you’re a Kuharskikid if …”

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you foundout late in life that dishwashersare not just pieces of furni-ture—they actually work.

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you’ve evereaten a holiday meal while sit-ting next to a random strangerthat Mom invited, like the ladyfrom OfficeMax.

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you’ve everarrived at work or school and

had someone point out the bigred lipstick mark on yourcheek.

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you werenever allowed to wear a bikini,ripped jeans, or call boys.

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you knowhow to “offer it up” (doingwithout or offering little sacri-fices)—for just about every-thing.

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … your Luther-an, Episcopalian, and every-thing-in-between friends knowhow to recite the Rosary be-cause they’ve said it at yourhouse more than once.

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you’ve everwatched a TV show and beenasked by Mom “if Fr. Kittockwould approve of it.”

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you can an-swer the question, “What’syour number one goal in life?”(“To get to Heaven.”)

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you had toattend 8:00 A.M. daily Massduring your spring break (be-cause it fell during HolyWeek)!

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you’ve everhad a random stranger tell youfacts about your life that theyread in one of Mom’s booksand articles—most of whichyou probably never read your-self (because you lived it!).

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you’ve everheard the phrase “The first oneup is the one best fed!” whenyou groggily wake up in themorning, make it to the kitchentable, and realize all the “good”cereal is gone.

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you feelguilty watching TV during

Lent.• You know you’re a

Kuharski kid if … your momcan’t remember your middlename.

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you respondto “maryangiekaritimchrissy… whatever your name is.”

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you findyourself saying “Hubba hub-ba…”

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you knowthat a rotten potato in yourChristmas stocking wasn’t justa threat.

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … you knowthe meaning of “share” and“humble” better than anyoneyou know.

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if … yourfriend’s parents said during ar-guments, “do you think theKuharski kids would get awaywith that?” and you sheepishlythought, “we don’t get awaywith anything!”

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if ... you weretold who to vote for (and as yougrew older and developed yourown opinions, then you were“strongly encouraged”).

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if ... you catchyourself talking with yourhands (even on the phone).(Mary Ann is Italian.)

• You know you’re aKuharski kid if ... you neverknew why some kids got a“time out,” but you got ground-ed or a bar of soap in yourmouth!

Hmmmmmmmmm. As I al-ways say, a little humility nev-er hurt anyone!

Mary Ann Kuharski, is ahomemaker and mother of 13(ages 20-40), six of whom cameby adoption and are of mixedraces, some with special needs.She is author of RaisingCatholic Children and Parent-ing With Prayer (OSV Press),and Building a Legacy of Love(Faith Publishing).

M a r c h , 2 0 1 0 T h e C a t h o l i c S e r v a n t P a g e 5

Kuharski

Family LifeKuharski daughters tell it like it is: "You know you're a Kuharski if . ."

Wills and Living TrustsIf I asked most people for $10,000 from their expendable income togive to "The Catholic Servant," they would wonder if I were serious.They just don't have that kind of money. But, if I asked most peopleto leave $10,000 (or more) to "The Catholic Servant" in their will orliving trust, they'd say "that's possible," because $10,000 can be asmall portion of many people's estate. So, I’m asking you to remem-ber "The Catholic Servant" when you are making out your will or liv-ing trust. Spreading, explaining, and defending the Catholic Faithtakes more than good will—it takes money to pay for printing, writ-ing, postage, graphics, circulation efforts, and so forth. We rely ongifts to help us do our work, So please remember "The Catholic Ser-vant." Of course, more importantly, it takes God's grace, so even ifyou can't remember our paper in your will, we would appreciate yourprayers.

Our legal title is "The Catholic Servant."Our address is 3204 East 43rd St.,

Minneapolis, MN 55406

Call 612-275-0431 for further information.

The Church of St. Helena will present a talk on

"Pope Benedict XVI:The Pontificate of Joy and Hope" by

Douglas Bushman, S.T.L.

Friday, April 16, 2010, from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.

$5 per person

Rowan Hall3204 East 43rd St.

Minneapolis, MN 55406

Professor Bushman will reflect on the basic themes of Pope Benedict's teaching onrelativism as the chief threat to faith and humanity and how "truth in charity" is theChurch's fundamental mission and source of joy and hope. Professor Bushman isthe Director of Ave Maria University's Institute for Pastoral Theology and an Asso-ciate Professor in that program.

For those who have difficulty in paying, complimentary tickets are available by calling 612-729-7321.

Parents, godparents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends, parishioners, teachers, coaches, neighbors, Knights of Columbus and Serrans...

It takes courage to follow Jesus.Do you know a young man who’s got what it takes?

Please invite him and his friends to accompany you.

TEAM VIANNEY EVENTS April 8th, May 6th

Catholic high school to college-age men ( 9th grade and up)meet for pizza, hear a short, dy-namic talk on our Catholic faith, attend Benediction and participate in an energetic Mass withcollege seminarians and university students

DEDICATION. LEADERSHIP. VOCATION.

Where: St. John Vianney Seminary, University of St. Thomas (St. Paul campus)

For more information, contact SJV at 651-962-6825 or sjv@stthomas.edu

Help him join the Team. Christ’s Team.

ATTN:

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Rowan HallThe Church of St. Helena,

3204 East 43rd St.,Minneapolis, MN 55406

6:00 P.M. - Social7:00 P.M. - Catered Dinner8:00 P.M. - Entertainment and

talk by Bishop Finn

“AN EVENING AFFIRMING “AN EVENING AFFIRMING HUMAN LIFE AND HUMAN LIFE AND THE FTHE FAMILAMILY”Y”

with

Most Rev. Robert Finn, D.D.,Bishop of Kansas City - St. Joseph Diocese

Bishop Robert Finn

Tickets are $25.00 per person and must be purchased by12:00 Noon by Friday, March 12th.

Complimentary tickets are available for those who have difficultypaying by calling 612-729-7321.

M a r c h , 2 0 1 0 T h e C a t h o l i c S e r v a n t P a g e 7

Our doctors are:• Dr. Paul Spencer, D.O., Family Practice/OB• Dr. Mary Paquette, M.D., Family Practice/OB• Dr. Matthew Paquette, M.D., Internist• Cheryl McKee, P.A.-C, Physicians Assistant• Dr. Kathleen Kobbermann, M.D., Family Practice/OB

As a physician, I enjoy taking care of families and providing a wide range of care at everystage of life. I have special interests in preventive care for women and children, obstetrics,infertility and abnormal cycle management.

Dr. Kobbermann joined AALFA Family Clinic in December of 2008

The hospitals we are affiliated with are: • St. John's Hospital • St. Joseph's Hospital• United Hospital • Children's Hospital, St. Paul

Clinic Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through FridayUrgent Care: We offer same day appointments during clinic hours.

After Hours: Our doctors are on-call through our answering service.

AALFA Family Clinic4465 White Bear ParkwayWhite Bear Lake, MN 55110phone: 651-653-0062fax: 651-653-0288www.aalfafamily.com

By Kristen Lang

“ A n u n -ciar el nom-bre de Jesu-cristo Sal-vador; pred-icando lav e rd a d e r adoctrina, enlos pobladosgrandes yp e q u e ñ o s ,

con la palabra y el ejemplo!”(“Announcing the name of Je-sus Christ Savior; preachingthe true doctrine, in the greatand small populations, withword and example!”) Thisquote of St. Francisco Coll yGuitart perfectly exemplifiesthe life which St. Franciscolived.

The lives of many greatsaints are marked by the wayof suffering. St. Francisco Colly Guitart is no exception. Fran-cisco was born in Gombren,Spain, on May 18, 1812, to Pe-ter Coll and Magdalena Gui-tart. He was privileged to re-ceive the sacrament of Confir-mation when he was only sixyears old. Sadly, by the timeFrancisco entered the seminaryat the age of ten, he had al-ready seen his father die andwas witnessing his homelandof Spain struggling in themidst of a civil war (1820-1823). Nevertheless, Franciscopursued his studies with vigor.

Francisco’s love of studywas well suited to him andwould aid him in discerninghis vocation. Francisco studied

Philosophy and Latin until1830 at the seminary in Vich,Spain. He then felt God callinghim to enter the Dominicanseminary in Girona. The Do-minicans’ apostolate ofpreaching and teaching pos-sessed a legacy of learnedpreachers who loved Christand His teachings. Doubtless,this legacy left by St. Dominic,St. Albert the Great, and St.Thomas Aquinas was an inspi-ration to Francisco as a semi-narian. It was a year later, in1831, despite a distinctly anti-religious atmosphere in Spain,that Francisco made hissolemn profession. Mean-while, as a result of the Span-ish Civil War, the CatholicChurch was continuously un-der attack. In fact, in 1835 thegovernment of Spain issued adecree whereby all religiouswere banned from their prop-erty and expected to live secu-lar lives. This decree made itillegal for all religious ordersto be legally established in anygiven region of Spain and, as aresult, all religious were forcedto function in an unofficial ca-pacity from 1835 until 1872.Undeterred, Francisco was or-dained, first to the diaconateand then, in 1836, to the priest-hood.

After Francisco was or-dained a priest, he was as-signed to the city of Moia innortheast Spain. Many of thepeople who were living inMoia were refugees from thecivil war. Consequently, Fr.Francisco served the poor by

establishing charitable organi-zations to aid in sheltering thehomeless and feeding the hun-gry. In 1845, Fr. Francisco wasgiven permission to become amissionary preacher to north-east Spain. Pope Pius IX be-stowed a great honor upon Fr.Francisco by giving him the ti-tle “Apostolic Missionary” in1848. Fr. Francisco preachedthe Gospel with great zeal, andlived out his life in greatpoverty. As stated in the Vati-can biography, “Like theFounder of his Order, he re-ceived no stipend nor would heaccept donations.”

In 1850, Fr. Francisco’s su-periors appointed him to be-come the Director of the Secu-lar Order of Dominican Ter-tiaries. This enabled him to re-open a suppressed Dominicanmonastery and, eventually, ledto him founding the Congrega-tion of the Dominican Sistersof the Anunciata in 1856. TheDominican Sisters wereformed as a teaching order, es-pecially aiding young girls.While Fr. Francisco was deliv-ering a sermon in 1869, he wasstruck blind. His health beganto fail, but that still did not stophim from continuing to servethe poor and preach. In 1872,the ban of religious institutionswas lifted and the Dominicanswere able to officially return toMoia to reestablish their order.

By the time of Fr. Francis-co’s death in 1875, the Congre-gation of the Dominican Sis-ters of the Anunciata which hehad established had over 300

sisters and 50 active communi-ties. Today there are over1,000 members in 140 com-munities who are serving onfour continents. At Francisco’sbeatification, Pope John PaulII exclaimed that Franciscowas “a transmitter of faith, asower of hope, and a preacherof love.” On October 11, 2009,Pope Benedict XVI declaredFrancisco Coll y Guitart a saintfor the Church. We pray that,

in this Year for Priests, Godwould send us more holy pas-tors like St. Francisco. St.Francisco Coll y Guitart, prayfor us!

Kristen Lang is a freelancewriter from Elk River, Minn.

This article was funded by theSt. Bernadette of Soubirous Chairof Writing sponsored by Thomasand Barbara Janas.

St. Francisco Coll y Guitart: “transmitter of faith,... and preacher of love.”

Lang

P a g e 8 T h e C a t h o l i c S e r v a n t M a r c h , 2 0 1 0

The Cathol ic

Subscribe to

Holy Father said it best:“Friends, again I ask you, whatabout today? What are youseeking? What is God whisper-ing to you? The hope whichnever disappoints is JesusChrist. The saints show us theselfless love of His way. Asdisciples of Christ, their ex-traordinary journeys unfoldedwithin the community of hope,which is the Church. It is fromwithin the Church that you toowill find the courage and sup-port to walk the way of theLord. Nourished by personalprayer, prompted in silence,shaped by the Church’s liturgy

you will discover the particularvocation God has for you. Em-brace it with joy. You areChrist’s disciples today. ShineHis light upon the great cityand beyond. Show the worldthe reason for the hope that res-onates within you. Tell othersabout the truth that sets youfree.”

Fr. Michael Miller is pastorof St. Michael's Church and St.Mary's Church in Stillwater,Minnesota.

This article was funded by theSt. Thomas Aquinas Chair of Writ-ing sponspored by an anonymouspatron.

Silencecontinued from page 1

TRIDENTINE MASS SCHEDULE FOR SOUTH ST. PAUL

Holy Trinity Church:749 Sixth Ave South, South St. Paul. PH: 651-455-1302

Monday & Wednesday, 5:15 pm;Friday, (except First Fridays)12:00 noon

St. Augustine Church:408 Third Street North, South St. Paul. PH: 651-451-1212

Tuesday & Thursday, 8:00 am; Sunday, 11:30 amFirst Friday & Holy Days, 7:30 pm

set was received into theChurch as a Catholic. Fouryears later in 1928 she receivedthe Nobel Prize for literature.Although Undset was one ofthe most famous women inNorway at this point, all thischanged dramatically withHitler’s invasion of Norway in1940. Undset was forced to es-cape to America, where shetook up the pen against Hitleras her way of defending herhomeland. In 1945 Sigridmoved back to Norway but be-gan to have health troubles. Asa result, her writing declined.Undset was awarded the GrandCross of the Order of SaintOlav by King Haakon VII ofNorway for the service she haddone for her country, and shedied in 1949, a national hero.

The greatness of Sigrid

Undset’s work lies in the depthand truth shown in her novels.She shows a great understand-ing of human nature and origi-nal sin, and her underlyingthemes are profoundlyCatholic. One of her mostprominent themes is that self-ish, uncontrolled passionsbring unhappiness and must beatoned for. This is often shownthrough the marital unfaithful-ness of her characters. Sin isdealt with as such, and conse-quences follow from wrong ac-tions taken. Sigrid Undset’smost famous novel, KristinLavransdatter, is set in 14th-century Norway and tells thestory of a young woman whofalls in love with a knightnamed Erlend and marries himagainst her father’s will. Thereis much suffering in the mar-riage caused by sin, and Kristinstruggles to find happiness. Inthe end, Kristin’s family is de-stroyed financially and also by

the death of Erlend and the es-trangement of Kristin’s sons.

Although it seems thatKristin Lavransdatter will endin despair, this is not the case.After all these afflictions,Kristin finally turns to God andasks forgiveness. She dedicatesthe rest of her life to helpingthe poor and serving God, anddies while caring for the sick.This ending leaves the readerwith the hope that Kristin at-tained salvation through her re-pentance.

The theme that wrong ac-tions do bear consequencescreates a very tragic element inher writing. “It’s all so tragic,”said Geir Hasnes of her style.“She is dark and gloomy as awriter,” but it is always basedin the truth about human na-ture. The characters’ sufferingsare not empty; they find ulti-mate meaning when united tothe cross of Christ. In fact,Undset’s characters must pass

through this suffering if theyare to be redeemed of theirwrongdoings. In this aspectSigrid Undset can be identifiedwith other great Catholic writ-ers of the period, includingGraham Greene and GeorgesBernanos, for whom redemp-tive suffering plays key roles intheir writing. (Mary Reichardt,Encyclopedia of Catholic Lit-erature, pp. 730-731)

Doubtless, at least part ofUndset’s fame comes from hermasterly portrayal of the me-dieval world. Some considerUndset’s best work to be herhistorical novels because she isable to capture the spirit of thetimes and shows an under-standing of past peoples. Oneway this is seen is through hertreatment of a person’s rela-tionship to the community.Modernity defines this rela-tionship as the individualstanding alone against all else.It is the idea of the LoneRanger single-handedly fight-ing the outlaws of the OldWest, Batman defendingGotham City against corrup-tion and evil, and a super-politician making the world abetter place to live. However,this was not the way medievalsociety viewed the world. Inthe 14th century, it was not theindividual but the communitywho bravely fought against

tyranny. The individual’s placein the culture was located with-in a group. It was the age of theguilds, the societies, and the as-sociations. It is this communityspirit that Sigrid Undset is ableto capture so well. In her his-torical novels, Undset showsthe connections of the charac-ters to the community in whichthey live. The actions they takeinfluence others, and there is astrong sense of the Christiancommunion of saints. Thus,Undset is able to convey asense of the underlying founda-tions of society in the MedievalAges.

Perhaps Geir Hasnes may ormay not be right in callingSigrid Undset “the most fa-mous Catholic novelist ever.”In any case, Undset’s writingcertainly earns her a placeamong the greats of Catholicand non-Catholic authors.

Melissa Hackenmueller is astudent at the University of St.Thomas who is studying inRome.

This article was funded by theSt. Francis of Assisi Chair of Writ-ing co-sponspored by Paul andDonna Beery and Terry and Loret-ta Ratajczyk

Sigrid Undsetcontinued from page 1

M a r c h , 2 0 1 0 T h e C a t h o l i c S e r v a n t P a g e 9

of Christ. We have to reflect to-gether on how this one Gospel,which so clearly safeguards lifeat its beginning, requires ourallegiance to the constant workof charity for people at all mo-ments of their life.

Philosophically, we have toteach again and again—againstrelativism—that there are cer-tain inalienable truths. Whatwe have going for us is theNatural Law which is embed-ded in human hearts; workingagainst us is a sense that eachperson decides truth for him-self, or that truth “evolves” andis able to be redefined withinthe needs of a certain age or setof circumstances.

“The Catholic Servant”:Many Catholics do not seethe powerful influence andobligation that they havewhen it comes to voting forcandidates who are pro-life.Some Catholics are afraidthat they will be accused ofsingle-issue voting. Howwould you respond to suchconcerns?

Bishop Finn: There aresome things that constitute adirect attack on human life, orthat contradict the most funda-mental structures of human so-ciety. The Church tells us wemay never support them.

At the same time, candi-dates for public office are al-ways “imperfect.” We may, onoccasion, choose to support

someone over his or her oppo-nent because their position isless extreme on a vital issue.For example, we might vote fora person that would allow abor-tion in some particular circum-stances vs. supporting a personwho would actively promoteabortion in all instances.

“The Catholic Servant”:You recently established apolicy in your Diocese thatsays all parents of studentsattending Catholic schoolsand their teachers are to signan agreement that they willattend Mass on Sundays andHoly Days of Obligation. Isthis policy working? How didyou get around any canonicalor theological objections,such as “this may be violatingmatters of conscience?”

Bishop Finn: Our schoolplan and its implementation isstill in formation. Time willtell.

“The Catholic Servant”:One of your first PastoralLetters as a bishop addressedthe problem of pornography.What advice do you give tosomeone who is addicted topornography? Most addic-tive behavior needs a supportgroup such as Alcoholics

Anonymous. Can someoneovercome this addiction ofpornography without thesupport of a group?

Bishop Finn: Most peopleneed some level of support: agood confessor or spiritual di-rector; a sponsor and/or sup-port group; a professionalcounselor. There are physicalelements to this behavior thatare best addressed with a com-prehensive plan over time.God, of course, can work mira-cles.

“The Catholic Servant”:Before you were made a bish-op, you were the editor of“The Saint Louis Review,”the Catholic newspaper forthe Archdiocese of St. Louis.What role do you see theCatholic press taking asmuch of the world goes “In-ternet”?

Bishop Finn: The blogs aremaking some good contribu-tions. Because they are oftenwritten and edited by one per-son, they can pretty much saywhatever they want. Sensation-alism sometimes gains thegreatest following.

There is something to sayfor a steadier, collaborativeventure provided it submits to

the Church’s authentic teachingand has a responsible editorand/or editorial board. As edi-tor I participated in the work ofproducing a paper that provid-ed a fair representation of news(local, national, and universal),some faithful teaching andcommentary on news that wastrustworthy, and some storiesof inspiration. I never felt in-clined or obliged to give spaceto dissenting opinions. Theseare readily available elsewhere.

It is my opinion that somebonafide Catholic media suc-ceed because and to the extentthat they are overseen by afaithful benevolent dictator. Inthis way they constantly pro-tect their credibility with theirconstituents. Other media andpublications seem to try toplease such a wide audience

that they are preferred by none.Some Catholic publications, itmust be admitted, are born ofdissent, and continue to thriveonly because of that.

John Sondag is Director ofReligious Education at theChurch of St. Helena, Min-neapolis, and publisher of“The Catholic Servant.”

This article was funded by theSt. Francis de Sales Chair of Writ-ing sponspored by Jeff and SusanPitman.

Bishop Finncontinued from page 1

P a g e 1 0 T h e C a t h o l i c S e r v a n t M a r c h , 2 0 1 0

By Douglas G. Bushman

E v e r yLent theChurch in-vites thefaithful to en-ter moredeeply intothe meaningof their bap-tismal con-version, theirdeath to sin.

Lent is a time of intense coop-eration with God in the unend-ing process of conversion. Forthose preparing for Baptism orto enter into full communionwith the Church, Lent is thetime of final preparation.

The Catechism of theCatholic Church enumeratesfive effects of Baptism: for-giveness of all sins (in the caseof infants, original sin; in thecase of adults, original sin andall personal sins); adoption as ason or daughter of God; infu-sion of all the Christian virtues,especially faith, hope, andcharity; incorporation into theChurch; an indelible spiritualseal or sacramental character.

Essentially, Baptism bringsabout a complete reorientationof a person’s life. Sin is forgiv-en and sanctifying grace makes

a person a new creation inChrist. Having become onewith Him, every baptized per-son can say with St. Paul: “It isno longer I who live, but ChristWho lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)The Catechism spells out whatthis means: “Christ enables usto live in Him all that He Him-self lived, and He lives it inus.” (n. 521)

Above all, life for Jesusmeans being one with His Fa-ther. The Father was His firstand last point of reference forall He did. His consciousnesswas permeated with awarenessof the Father’s love for Him.He knew that He was the objectof His Father’s love. He knewthat His Father’s love was fullysatisfied in Him. In Jesus allthat the Father ever desired forman is fulfilled. Finally a Manwas able to receive all that theFather desired to give. Therewas nothing in Christ otherthan total openness, perfect re-ceptivity to His Father’s love.

This is why, when Jesuswas baptized, He heard the Fa-ther’s voice say: “You are Mybeloved Son; with You I amwell pleased.” (Luke 3:22)This expresses the love of con-tentment, the state of joy andfulfillment that come when anartist produces a work that per-

fectly corresponds to the imagein his mind. Jesus is this mas-terpiece of the Father’s wisdomand love. Put another way, thegoodness of Jesus had the pow-er to elicit an expression ofcontentment and joy from theFather.

By Baptism this experienceof Jesus becomes ours. Helives it in us, and we live it inHim. We experience ourselvesas the objects of God’s goodpleasure, since He sees in usHis own Son. By Baptism thewords first addressed to Jesusare now addressed to us:“You—John, Richard, Steve,Mary, Ellen, Nancy—are Mybeloved son or daughter. Yourvery existence brings Me joy. Iwant you to know that youbring delight to Me. It is good,it is very good, that you exist.”

The counterpoint to the di-vine joy over the fullness oflife in Christ is the suffering ofGod, in Christ, over sin. Whatis sin? It is the rejection ofGod’s love. (CCC, n. 1850) Itis a choice to decide for oneselfwhat is good, contrary to whatGod has determined, by Hislove, is truly good for us. So,by engaging one’s freedom in away contrary to God’s law aperson effectively shuts Godout of his life in that action. In

every sinful act there is a re-fusal to let God be God, an ex-change of His love for anotherlove. Such an act cannot elicit areaction of contented love fromGod. It cannot be the source ofdivine joy. He cannot delight insin.

How God responds to sin isrevealed in the suffering of Je-sus in the Paschal Mystery. It isthe suffering of love that hasbeen rejected. It is expressed inJesus’ words over Jerusalem:“How often would I have gath-ered your children together as ahen gathers her brood underher wings!” (Luke 13:34) Bythe grace of Baptism this, too,becomes our own experience.In Christ we are able to re-spond to sin the way God does!Christ enables us to live in Himthis pain over sin, that is, overlove that has been spurned, andHe lives it in us.

This is perhaps one of themost perplexing of all revealedtruths. God’s love for us is sogreat that He does not reserveeven suffering for Himself. Hisdesire to be completely onewith us means that He does notwant to be alone in His suffer-ing. Since the suffering of Godin Christ is His response oflove to sin, the more we are re-newed in Him, the more His

love reigns in our hearts, themore we are configured to Himand it is no longer we who suf-fer, but Christ suffers in us.

The deepest meaning ofLenten penance and conver-sion, then, is love. Every Lentwe have the opportunity to en-ter more fully into our bap-tismal union with Jesus, to peelaway anything that is an obsta-cle to God’s love, and to unitewith Jesus in love’s sufferingover its own rejection. The de-gree to which we are con-formed to Him in this peniten-tial suffering will be trans-formed, on Easter, into the pro-found joy of hearing the Fa-ther’s words of contented loveaddressed to us anew: “You areMy beloved son or daughter; inyou I am well pleased.”

Douglas G. Bushman,S.T.L., is Director of the Insti-tute for Pastoral Theology ofAve Maria University.

This article was funded by theSt. John Mary Vianney Chair ofWriting sponsored by LeafletMissal in St. Paul.

Renewing our thoughts on the sacrament of Baptism: born anew in Love

Bushman

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By Fr. Randal Kasel

This pastJune 19, 2009our Holy Fa-ther, PopeBenedict XVIinaugurated a‘Year forPriests’ as away to inspirea renewed

love for the or-dained priest-

hood in the hearts of bishops,priests, religious and lay faith-ful. In his opening paragraphPope Benedict wrote: “”Thepriesthood is the love of theheart of Jesus,” the saintlyCuré of Ars would often say.This touching expressionmakes us reflect, first of all,with heartfelt gratitude on theimmense gift which priests rep-resent, not only for the Church,

but also for humanity itself.”The priesthood is a great giftfor you, me and the entireworld. If we are to begin to un-derstand and offer thanks forthis gift, we need to reflect andunderstand who the gift is.

When you think of yourparish priest or the priesthoodin general what thoughts fillyour mind and heart? You maythink of the ways priests havechanged and formed your life.Possibly, you may rememberwhen a priest helped you in adifficult time or was presentwith your family in happytimes or moments of sadness.It is also easy to think of priestsin light of their humanstrengths and weaknesses orpersonality traits that you likeor do not like. Priests come inall shapes, sizes and differinggifts and talents. However,through sacred ordination, all

priests share one powerful, glo-rious, and priceless gift: thepower of Christ the High Priestliving within us. It is true.Christ lives in the priest andconforms him unto His ownimage in a particular way. As apriest I know this is true. I al-so know that it is not easy tounderstand the greatness of thegift that Christ shares with meand my brother priests. St.John Vianney said it well whenhe gave us these words:

“O, how great is the priest!… If he realized what he is, hewould die… God obeys him:he utters a few words and theLord descends from heaven athis voice, to be contained with-in a small host…” (Taken fromPope Benedict XVI’s letter forthe Year for Priests)

Words like these remind meof the gift Christ has sharedwith me and my obligation todispense Divine Mercy to allthose who hunger God’s Loveand Truth. Along with St. JohnVianney, one of my favoritesaints is St. Pio of Pietrelcina.During the homily for canon-ization of St. Pio, Pope JohnPaul II said:

“I am the Lord who actswith mercy” (Jer 9,23). PadrePio was a generous dispenserof divine mercy, making him-self available to all by welcom-

ing them, by spiritual directionand, especially, by the adminis-tration of the sacrament ofPenance. I also had the privi-lege, during my young years,of benefiting from his avail-ability for penitents. The min-istry of the confessional, whichis one of the distinctive traits ofhis apostolate, attracted greatcrowds of the faithful to themonastery of San GiovanniRotondo. Even when that un-usual confessor treated pil-grims with apparent severity,the latter, becoming consciousof the gravity of sins and sin-cerely repentant, almost alwayscame back for the peaceful em-brace of sacramental forgive-ness. May his example encour-age priests to carry out with joyand zeal this ministry which isso important today…”

In the Diary of St. Faustinawe can learn more of the greatmeaning and purpose of thepriesthood from Our Lord:“When you go to confession, tothis fountain of My mercy, theBlood and Water which cameforth from My Heart alwaysflows down upon your soul…”and “Every time you go to con-fession, immerse yourself en-tirely in My mercy with greattrust, so that I may pour thebounty of My grace upon yoursoul. When you approach the

confessional, know this, that IMyself am waiting there foryou. I am only hidden by thepriest, but I Myself act in yoursoul. Here the misery of thesoul meets the God of mercy”(1602) Make your confessionbefore Me. The person of thepriest is… only a screen. Neveranalyze what sort of a priestthat I am making use of; openyour soul in confession to Me,and I will fill it with My light.”(1725)

My brothers and sisters,may we always remember whois hidden within the priest for‘The priesthood is the love ofthe heart of Jesus’. Let us jointogether in a prayer of thanks-giving for all the priests in theworld, that the love and mercyof Our Lord may ever more begiven by priests and faithfullyreceived by souls. May priestsgrow in knowledge of whothey are and the gift Who liveswithin them for the sake ofmercy and love. May OurBlessed Mother, under her glo-rious titles of Queen of theClergy and Our Lady of Fatimahelp us always and obtain forpriests the graces needed to befaithful dispensers of DivineMercy and lead all to EternalLife, to sing the praises ofGod’s mercy forever!

Fr. Randal Kasel isparochial administrator of St.Charles Church in Bayport,Minnesota.

This article was funded by theSt. Benedict Chair of Writing spon-sored by an anonymous patron.

Year for Priests “The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus”—St. John Vianney

Fr. Kasel

By Christopher Barnard

If some-one men-tioned thedate of March16 to you in acasual con-versation as aday of greatimportance Iimagine verylittle would

first come to mind, unless ithappens to be your birthday.Generally speaking, nothingwell-known is associated withthis day. But if the other personin this casual conversation thenbegan to relate to you how hewas going to attend a LatinMass specifically to celebratethis day, your interest might becaptured. And if he continuedby saying that this Mass wouldbe held in a unique chapel,where on this day a 14-year-old boy was recalled from thedead, you would probably findyourself asking for directions.

This casual conversation

still takes place today, but usu-ally in the Italian language andon the streets of old Rome. Forit is there that St. Philip Neriwas asked by the wealthy Mas-simo family to come in haste toheal their sick son. Unfortu-nately, he seemed to arrive toolate, like Jesus’ entry intoLazarus’ funeral, for the childwas already dead. Still, theholy man began to pray overhim quietly, and when hecalled the boy’s name, youngPaolo Massimo opened hiseyes to the amazement of hisfamily. Paolo told St. Philipthat he had forgotten to men-tion a sin and wanted to con-fess it. After the priest heardthe boy’s confession and gavehim absolution, the family re-turned to the room. St. Philipspoke quietly to the youth forseveral minutes, finally askinghim if he was willing to die orwished to continue longer inthis life. Paolo said that he wasready to die, to see his motherand sister in Heaven, and to en-joy the splendor of God. St.

Philip responded, “Go, and beblessed, and pray to God forme.” With that, the boy expiredpeacefully in the saint’s arms.

Soon, not only his familybut the whole Roman peoplebegan to spread the astonishingnews of what happened onMarch 16, 1583. Every year af-ter, on this date, the PalazzoMassimo alle Colonne stillopens its doors to the public tocelebrate this great miracle.And so popular was the devo-tion to this great work that in1855 Blessed Pius IX granted aspecial Mass for the yearlycommemoration of la Festa delMiracolo.

This is the very liturgy thatmy wife and I were privilegedto participate in, on March 16of 2008. After arriving at the16th-century palazzo, wefound ourselves soon making ashort tour through part of thehouse on our way towards thechapel. The dimly lit rooms,which contained a variety ofold sculptures, maps, paint-ings, and furniture, seemed to

put forth an odor of antiquity.In contrast to our currentAmerican homes, this noblepalazzo seemed to put moreemphasis on the people whohad used it in earlier genera-tions than on its perfect func-tionality. The floorboardsthemselves gave and creakeddeeply with each step andseemed to resonate with thesteps taken by those from yearsbefore. A large painting cov-ered an entire wall commemo-rating the unexpected awaken-ing of Paolo and the astonish-ment of his family. A few stepsmore and we found ourselvesin the chapel itself.

It was decorated in aBaroque style. The left andright walls were covered inrich scarlet velvet. From thesescarlet walls gold and silverreliquaries jutted out at odd in-tervals as if the pattern had notbeen decided from the begin-ning but was gradually addedto as the collection grew. Thered-stained glass above thewalls tinted the morning sun

and gave a rather homey feel tothe chapel. Baby-faced angelssmiled down on us from therafters above. This was thekind of place where one feltthat someone could be raisedfrom the dead, and indeed, thisis where it once happened. TheLatin Mass began and the lightchant added perfectly to theharmony of the scene.

Admittedly, I was at firstdisappointed when told that itwas against the law to take pic-tures in the chapel, but nowlooking back, it seems that thespiritual picture I took with meis much more valuable thanany camera could have cap-tured. Thus we commemoratedthe important date of March16.

Christopher Barnard is aRome correspondent for “TheCatholic Servant.”

This article was funded by theSt. Anne Chair of Writing spon-sored by Leaflet Missal in St. Paul.

M a r c h , 2 0 1 0 T h e C a t h o l i c S e r v a n t P a g e 11

The Lazarus of Rome: St. Philip Neri followed in the footsteps of our Lord

Barnard

P a g e 1 2 T h e C a t h o l i c S e r v a n t M a r c h , 2 0 1 0

By Fr. John Paul Echert

Last month wefollowed the Ark ofthe Covenant into theCity of Jerusalem toits semi-permanenthome, where it wouldremain in place forthe next four hundredyears or so. ThoughKing David deeplydesired to build a

suitable house to honor and enclose theArk, by divine directive this privilegewas postponed and left to his son KingSolomon to accomplish. And what afine temple this King did build for theLord! It was a massive undertaking,spanning seven years of steady con-struction and making use of the verybest and costliest materials: cedars andfirs from Lebanon, bronze castings andbrass coverings, fine fabrics, and goldgalore. Though similar in design to thesimple tabernacle structure constructedin the time of Moses, this temple wasmuch more impressive than the skin-covered sanctuary of the past.

The basic shape of the temple’s ex-terior and inner courts was rectangularwith the exception of the square innersanctuary. For those who are interested,the precise dimensions and appoint-ments within this edifice are describedin great detail in the Bible (see especial-ly I Kings 6 and Ezekiel 42). The tem-ple was set up in a series of segregatedcourts which increasingly limited ac-cess as one approached the very heart ofthe temple, which was accessible onlyto the High Priest. The Israelite faithful

were allowed access to the Outer Courtof the temple but could proceed no fur-ther. In the later more complex templewhich stood in the time of Jesus, priorto the Outer Court (Court of the Jews)there was a Court of the Gentiles acces-sible to proselytes (Gentile converts).Deeper into the temple complex was theCourt of the Priests wherein there was amonstrous altar upon which whole ani-mals were daily sacrificed and libationspoured out. Nearby there was a hugebasin of ritually pure water known asthe Sea of Brass which rested upontwelve bronze images of oxen, in whichbasin animals of sacrifice and hands ofthe priests were purified—not unlikeour Christian placement and use of holywater in churches. Next closest to theheart of the temple was the Holy Cham-ber in which there stood a smaller altarupon which incense was daily burned toGod, tables upon which twelve loavesof bread lay in presentation—prefigur-ing the Holy Eucharist—which wereconsumed each Sabbath by the priests,and multiple candelabras perpetuallyburning, as do our vigil lamps in thepresence of the Blessed Sacrament inchurches and chapels. Finally, at thevery heart of the temple was the Holy ofHolies, wherein the Ark of theCovenant was kept, the throne and Pres-ence of God on earth. Here follows adescription of the placing of that Ark in-to the Holy of Holies, once the templewas completed:

“At the order of Solomon, the eldersof Israel and all the leaders of the tribes,the princes in the ancestral houses of theIsraelites, came to King Solomon inJerusalem, to bring up the Ark of the

LORD’S Covenant from the city ofDavid (which is Zion). All the men ofIsrael assembled before King Solomonduring the festival in the month ofEthanim (the seventh month). When allthe elders of Israel had arrived, thepriests took up the Ark; they carried theArk of the LORD and the meeting tentwith all the sacred vessels that were inthe tent. (The priests and Levites carriedthem.) King Solomon and the entirecommunity of Israel present for the oc-casion sacrificed before the Ark sheepand oxen too many to number or count.The priests brought the Ark of theCovenant of the LORD to its place be-neath the wings of the cherubim in thesanctuary, the Holy of Holies of thetemple. The cherubim had their wingsspread out over the place of the Ark,sheltering the Ark and its poles fromabove. The poles were so long that theirends could be seen from that part of theholy place adjoining the sanctuary;however, they could not be seen be-yond. (They have remained there to thisday.) There was nothing in the Ark butthe two stone tablets which Moses hadput there at Horeb, when the LORDmade a covenant with the Israelites attheir departure from the land of Egypt.When the priests left the holy place, thecloud filled the temple of the LORD sothat the priests could no longer ministerbecause of the cloud, since the LORD’Sglory had filled the temple of the LORD.Then Solomon said, ‘The LORD intendsto dwell in the dark cloud; I have trulybuilt You a princely house, a dwellingwhere You may abide forever.’” (I Kg.8:1-13)

In many ways, the structure of the

temple with its graduated zones of seg-regation was a pattern for traditionalchurches. As there was an Outer Court,so we have a nave of the church for thefaithful; as there was a Priestly Court,so we have the sanctuary wherein thepriests offer sacrifice; as there was theHoly Chamber, so we have the ap-proach to the most sacred part of thesanctuary; and as there was the Arkwithin the Holy of Holies, so we havethe tabernacle within which is reservedthe Blessed Sacrament. Regrettably, inmany modern architectural styles ofchurches the sense of the sacred whichpredominated in the ancient temple hasbeen sacrificed for the sake of other pri-orities. Sadly, when the outward appear-ance of the sacred is lost in the verystructure of the House of God, the es-sential role of the priesthood may be ob-scured as well, as divinely appointedmediators between God and manthrough the sacrifices they offer at thealtar—formerly bulls and lambs, butnow the Lamb of God Himself.

Next month we will examine the de-struction of the Jewish temple and thedecay of the Levitical priesthood.

Fr. John Paul Echert, S.S.L., is thepastor of Holy Trinity Church and St.Augustine Church in South St. Paul,Minn.

This article was funded by the St. JohnFisher Chair of Writing sponsored by anony-mous donor.

Year for Priests Jewish Temple in Jerusalem had implications for New Testament priesthood

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