St. Cloud priest beats the odds

by Jan Crowe

On Saturday, March 11, 2000, at St. Mary parish, Bird Island, the Charismatic Renewal Committee will host a diocesan Renewal Day for everyone interested in hearing a wonderful story of God’s unfailing love. The day will begin at 9:00 a.m. with registration and coffee. There will be a noon lunch and a closing Mass at 1:30 p.m.

Mark Stang, a middle child in a family of ten, had no intention of becoming a priest but wanted to farm the family farm. Mark disregarded the tugs of his heart toward the priesthood since he had had a very difficult time in school learning to read and to comprehend. Eventually, after five years of farming and dealing with a call to become a priest, Father Mark commented, "I decided to give the seminary a try for six months so I could get it out of my system." Six months became two years. April 1990, it was Father Mark’s third year in the seminary; he discovered a lump in his abdomen and was diagnosed as having malignant lymphoma cancer.

This meant chemotherapy and being sick every third week. Still in the seminary, but now totally committed to the priesthood, Father Mark says "I then came to realize that through commitment comes peace." By July of that year, doctors gave him only a few months to live. As a result, Bishop Jerome Hanus moved up Father Stangs priestly ordination by a full year. Two days after his ordination, doctors at Mayo Clinic in Rochester confirmed that the malignant tumors had left his body. Father Mark says, "I really can’t explain why things happened the way they did and why I am still alive today. I now realize, however, that my life is not really mine anymore. It is really in God’s hands."

Everyone is encouraged and invited to come hear the story of Father Mark Stang. Encounter this gentle, holy priest of God. We especially invite any young people thinking of the priesthood to come and join this Renewal Day. Cost of the day is $10. In order to have a count for lunch, please pre-register by contacting Jan Crowe, (320) 275-2424.