Freedom to Love

A Lenten Day of Recollection with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia will be held for all women ages 18-30 at St. Mary’s on  Saturday, March 17, from 3:00 – 7:30 p.m.  A donation of $10 is requested.  Tea is served at 3:00 p.m. followed by a presentation, “Freedom to Love”, by Fr. Peter Williams at 3:30 p.m.  Following the talk there will be a Holy Hour, Vespers, Rosary  and Benediction.  A St. Patrick’s Day dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. and there will be a Q&A session at 6:30 p.m. to conclude the day.  Please RSVP to the Domincan Sisters by Wednesday, March 14.

 We see especially the bishops today in the United States are really quite courageous. They are facing something right now that just happened last month, and I want you to take the bulletin and read it. In place of my column, I have a letter from Archbishop Nienstedt that he wants to be read or printed in the bulletin in all of our parishes*, and it is about the decision of the Health and Human Services Department and the approval of the Obama Administration to force the Catholic Church to provide health care coverage that would cover things that we preach against, namely, sterilization, contraception, abortion, and things of that sort, and that we get one year to comply but if we don’t then we are going to be penalized. I have never seen in my entire priesthood the bishops of the United States come out as strongly as they have against this. It is something that happens – I mean, we are all busy with our own particular lives and none of us can make these decisions by ourselves, so when something like this happens we kind of acknowledge it but we may not recognize how serious a threat this is, and that’s what they’re pointing out. It is so serious that the Holy Father himself is addressing this to the bishops themselves last month. His words are very strong. That means this is a really, really serious matter. As our Holy Father said to the bishops, “The Church’s witness is, of its nature, public. She seeks to convince by proposing rational arguments in the public square. The legitimate separation of Church and state cannot be taken to mean that the Church must be silent on certain issues, nor that the state may choose not to engage or be engaged by the voices of committed believers in determining the values which will shape the future of a nation.”

 What they are calling, and especially all of these bishops and Cardinal-Elect Dolan, who is the president of the United States Conference of Bishops, is very, very strong. He is saying this is going against, and it is a full attack on, our First Amendment rights as Catholics to object to providing for things that we don’t believe in. Now, this is where it becomes a little difficult again, because we know there are these particular issues that are issues that the Church is not preaching to the choir, that we have many Catholics who disagree even with abortion but they do disagree with contraception, and that has been for the last forty-some years that has been one of these things that has been difficult, and yet we see something. We see that the Church’s message on these issues has been consistent, that it hasn’t changed, that even where other religious denominations have changed their teachings on these things, the Catholic Church has remained firm, and actually what that can do to us is it brings in a reverse kind of reassurance that maybe there is an authority behind this teaching that is beyond this world. And that’s one of those things where the authority of the Church to say things has been not believed so much, yet we have to look at where that comes from. That goes back to Jesus Himself, and even if those charged with that message – bishops or priests or whomever – even if they haven’t articulated it well or if they failed morally themselves, that truth of those things still remains and that’s what we’re seeking. That’s what we want to have.

And so, we have to keep looking at these things, keep proposing them and not be afraid to do so. The voice of the Church should not be silenced, and this is what we can find can happen so very easily today. There is a real darkness in our dialogue today in the world, like certain things can’t be brought up and if somebody takes a stand there is a fire storm, there is intimidation, there are all of these things in an attempt to silence those voices, and that’s not freedom. Freedom is to speak these things, the things we believe – and that goes for those on the other side, too. They can speak what they believe. They can go ahead and try to provide rationales for it. Why do they believe that? That is a free and an intelligent dialogue. We see that even with those particular issues that we’re talking about in this past week when the Susan Komen Foundation decided not to continue funding Planned Parenthood, we saw a tremendous fire storm, so much so that they backpedaled within a day, and that just isn’t right. This is a free organization. They should be able to give their money to whomever they want, but it should be going for the very purpose for which they were founded and why they exist. It is a gruesome irony, in fact, that the sole reason for that foundation is to defeat and to find a cure for breast cancer, yet Planned Parenthood’s most common methods for planning families involves contraception and abortion and there have been scientific links that these things, particularly oral contraceptives and hormonal things, actually increase the risk of breast cancer in certain instances, and these are things that we really should know. That should be the thing that is being talked about. Is that true? There are lots of studies out there, yet it was never mentioned. And if we are seeking the good, why aren’t we doing that? Why isn’t everybody looking for this truth? And that truth is just about what makes us happy and what makes us healthy and good.

 This is where we all have a part to play. It is not, you see, only the pope’s and the bishops’ obligation to preach the Gospel, but it is every Catholic. We all share in this. That was the call of the Second Vatican Council, that universal call to holiness which has always been there ever since Jesus Himself. Each one of us takes that Gospel then and we go out into the world, and it is especially the laity that is the most important part. You are the ones who go out. You are the ones who work. You are on the front lines. You are the ones who really need to know the most about it, to be able to articulate, to argue, to try and persuade, all with respect and love, of course. Again, this is what our Holy Father says about that. He says, “We see the need for an engaged, articulate, and well-formed Catholic laity, endowed with a strong critical sense face-to-face to the dominant culture and with the courage to encounter a reductive secularism which would delegitimize the Church’s participation in public debate about the issues which are determining the future of American society. The preparation of committed lay leaders in the presentation of a convincing articulation of the Christian vision of man and society remain a primary task of the Church in your country. As essential components of the new evangelization, these concerns must shape the vision and goals of catechetical programs at every level.”

 So, then, we see the very great need and the very great urgency that we have. We can think, “Oh, we’ll always be fine in this country. Religious liberty will always be respected”. But it only takes a little study of history, and in particular the last one hundred years, to see just how far off a nation can go. We need to be alarmed. We need to act. There is not one of us that can do this by ourselves. Not all of us in this Church can do it, but it takes everyone. And that’s why we must pray, be engaged, and learn. Never before has so much been available right at our fingertips to learn about our faith, to learn what these things really mean, and to discover in them the way to freedom, the way to happiness. For that is what the Gospel really is. It is a light that will shine out no matter how dark this world may be.

All you can eat Beer Battered Cod, parsley buttered potatoes, coleslaw, and green beans. There will also be PB&J sandwiches and chips for the little ones.
First 6 Fridays in Lent. February 24 – March 30.
St. Michael’s Social Hall
Serving from 4:30 – 7:00  p.m.  Take-out available
Adults: $9.00, Seniors: $8.00, Children 6-12 yrs: $5.00 Children 5 and under: Free. Special Family Household rate: $35.00 max.

We will begin the day with Mass in the Church of St. Michael at 9:10a.m. Following Mass, we will be led in procession to St. Michael’s Social Hall with the Blessed Sacrament. Adoration will continue throughout the day. We will conclude the Faith Rally with the Living Rosary at 2:00 pm and Benediction at 2:45 pm.
 
Please join us as you can for this special day.

“You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. My very self you knew.”   Psalm 139:13-14

God knows and loves each of our children before we even have an inkling of their presence within us. He cradles them first. The death of a baby before birth is devastating whether the loss is due to miscarriage, stillbirth, accident, or another reason. The Order of Naming and Commending of Children Who Have Died before Birth is a prayer service that acknowledges the loss of these babies within your family and our parish community. This rite is a celebration based on Christian faith and hope. In the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word, we find comfort in knowing these babies are with God. This commending rite offers families the opportunity to memorialize their baby by naming their baby and recording that name in a special book. This memorial book is placed in our Adoration Chapel. We know the great love Jesus had for little children, how he gathered them into his arms, and we are confident that he lovingly cradles these babies too.
 We invite anyone who has experienced the loss of a baby before birth to join us for this service. May you be assured of our parish’s prayers and concern for each of you. If you have questions, please call Leann Kaufenberg, Parish Nurse/Pastoral Minister at 651-379-1266.

Please come prepared to read from script. No experience necessary.  For those of you who saw our parishioners in the “Solanus” play last year, you will agree that this is a great opportunity to be involved in an exciting ministry. For details, please email Molly Druffner.

For a full list of 2012 speakers,  please click here:  Growth in Holiness Speaker Series for 2012

Stay tuned!  Our speaker sessions in February include Father Michael Keating, Jason Adkins, Executive Director at Minnesota Catholic Conference and partnering with CCW to bring Mary Ann Kuharski. 
All sessions will be held in St. Michael’s Social Hall and run between 6:30 and 8:00 PM.