And miles to go

by Bishop John C. Nienstedt

I greet you in this New Year of God’s grace and favor! May the year 2006 be a happy, holy and peaceful year for our Diocese and all of our Catholic people. I wish to designate these next twelve months as a “Year of the Family.” Elsewhere in The Prairie Catholic today you will find a statement from the Minnesota Conference of Catholic Bishops. We are asking our Catholic people and all men and women of good will to join us in petitioning our legislators to put the issue of a Constitutional Amendment for Marriage on the ballot for November 2006. This amendment would specify that in the State of Minnesota, marriage is a union between one man and one woman. As you know, nineteen other states have preceded us with such legislation. Fifteen more states are in the process of doing so. I believe it is Minnesota’s turn to stand up and be counted on this issue. Please take the time to read the Bishop’s statement.

Bishop Frederick Henry of Calgary, Ontario was in the Metropolitan area recently to speak on the results of not having such legislation in place. Recently, the Canadian government has expanded the notion of marriage to include same sex genders. In opposing such a measure and reiterating Church teaching, Bishop Henry was brought before their federal Human Rights Commission and charged with hate speech for merely teaching what is in the Catholic Catechism. He also said that public schools are now forced to review all textbooks so that wherever marriage is mentioned there must be the legal equivalency of a same sex union represented as well. The ramifications of the situation are multiple: The Ninth Circuit Court in California ruled recently that parents who objected to certain sex education materials have no fundamental right to censor what their children learn. A man in Boston who went to his daughter’s principal’s office to insist she not attend sex education classes was placed in jail overnight and banned from entering his daughter’s school.

Our motivation for proposing this legislation is not to be “anti-anyone.” We are pro-life, pro-family and pro-marriage. However, in order to protect the definition of marriage from the judiciary, a State Constitutional Amendment is the only sure solution. I am hoping that we will have a representative in each parish or Area Faith Community who will organize the postcard campaign which begins now and will culminate on the second Sunday of February, World Day for Marriage. If this effort is successful, we will then turn our attention to the November ballot. I am grateful for the assistance of our Pastoral Leaders as well as our parishioners in this effort, especially members of the Council of Catholic Women and the Knights of Columbus.

Secondly, the week of January 9-13 is National Vocation Awareness Week. Here, in our Diocese, a second collection will be taken up on Sunday, January 29, 2006 for the support of our seminarians. Presently we have eight young men in priestly formation programs. They are doing well and I pray that they will persevere in their discernment toward the priesthood. But, the needs of our Diocese are great. We should really have three times that number in formation. I do recognize that the secular climate of our society today makes it very difficult for a young man to discern God’s call properly. Noise and distractions are everywhere and we don’t properly teach our young people how to pray. This places religious vocations in a very difficult situation. In addition, parents and grandparents do not always encourage their son or grandson to think about the priesthood. A word of encouragement goes a long way towards allowing a young person the freedom to follow his inner call. I ask that we take the time during this month to pray ardently for vocations. I am grateful with all my heart for the large number of you who continue to abstain from meat on Fridays in order to support that prayerful petition to God. I ask that all Catholics in the Diocese respond generously to the collection to be taken up on the weekend of January 28-29, 2006.

Thirdly, the Church Unity Octave takes place from January 15-22. We will be hosting an ecumenical prayer service at the Church of St. Anastasia in Hutchinson on January 15, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. This is the 40th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council. That historic Church gathering made us more acutely aware of Christ’s prayer at the Last Supper for the unity of all his followers. I invite and encourage our Catholic people to attend the Scripture Service scheduled for January 15 in Hutchinson.

Finally, the week of January 30-February 3 is Catholic Schools Week. I have said many times before that I believe our Catholic Schools are more important now than ever before. I say that because of the materialistic and secular values that dominate our whole social life through the media. In contrast, Catholic Schools provide a catechetical atmosphere in which young people can learn to live the Christian life, putting basic Christian values into practice. In a Catholic School, a student can learn to recognize the presence of God in various moments throughout the day. Here, there is an integration of God’s presence with studies, recreation and normal human interaction. In addition, where our culture tends to compartmentalize faith from other activities, a young Catholic School student is able to see the importance of living his/her Catholic faith in the give and take of everyday life. One begins to see that faith is a part of the very heart and soul of each individual’s response to a given situation. A strict separation of faith from the activities of the marketplace is utterly impossible and totally unrealistic. The Catholic School context also provides a unique opportunity for regular communal and individual worship. This, too, is an indispensable aspect for the life of a follower of Christ. Catholic Schools do all this and so much more. Catholic Schools Week gives us an opportunity, as well, to thank our Catholic School administrators and teachers who give of themselves with such dedication and love for the development and growth of their students. We salute them in a particular way at this time of the year and thank them for the incalculable contribution they make to the wellbeing of our Church and society.

As you can see from all of the above, 2006 looks to be as busy a year as the last four have been for me. Let us make a New Year’s resolution that we won’t get so caught up in all of these activities, however, that we miss the presence of Jesus who is, as Pope Benedict XVI reminds us, bombarding our hearts with daily messages expressing His Will for us and the world.

May God bless us with a prosperous and blessed New Year!

(January 2006)

Falta Mucho por Recorrer

Por el obispo John C. Nienstedt

Que el 2006 se colme de felicidad y tranquilidad para nuestra diócesis y para todo nuestro pueblo católico. Quisiera designar los próximos doce meses como el "Año de la Familia." En este ejemplar hay un articulo con referente a una declaración por parte de la Conferencia de los Obispos Católicos de Minnesota. Pedimos a todo el pueblo católico, hombres y mujeres de buena voluntad para unirse en solicitar a nuestros legisladores de emitir una enmienda constitucional sobre el matrimonio para las elecciones de Noviembre del 2006. Esta enmienda especificaría que Minnesota, el matrimonio es la union entre un hombre y una mujer. Como sabrán, 19 estados ya nos han precedido con tal legislación y 15 estados más están en el proceso. Yo creo que ahora es el turno de Minnesota para que se haga escuchar su voz. Por favor lean la declaración del Obispo.

Recientemente el Obispo Frederick Henry de Calgary, Ontario estubo por aqui para hablar de los resultados que no existe una ley. Recientemente, el gobierno de Canada extendió el concepto del matrimonio para incluir la union del mismo sexo. A contrario de tal medida y reafirmar las enseñanzas de la Iglesia, el Obispo Henry tuvo que presentarse ante la Comisión de los Derechos Humanos y fue acusado por hacer discursos de odio por simplemente enseñar lo que contiene el catesismo católico. El también dijó que hoy en día los colegios públicos son obligados a repasar todos los libros y donde se mencione matrimonio haya una equivalencia legal de la union del mismo sexo y se desempeñe de la misma manera. Las ramificaciones de la situaciones son multiples: La novena corte de circuito de California decretó recientemente que los padres de familia que se opongan a ciertos materiales de educación sexual no tienen ningun derecho fundamental para censurar lo que sus hijos vayan a aprender. Un hombre en Boston fue al director del coleguio de su hija para insistir que su hija no asista a las clases de educación sexual, por ende este fue encarcelado por una noche y le prohibieron entrar a la escuela de su hija.

Nuestra finalidad para proponer esta legislación no es para "estar en contra-de todos." Nosotros estamos a favor de la vida, familia y matrimonio. Sin embargo, para proteger el dictamen del matrimonio contra el poder judicial, la única solución segura es una enmienda constitucional del estado. Espero que podamos tener un representante por cada parroquia o por cada Comunidad de Fe y así organizar la campaña que empieza ahora y culmina el segundo domingo en febrero, "Día Mundial del Matrimonio." Si este esfuerzo es todo un éxito, nos concentraremos en las elecciones de Noviembre. Estoy muy agradecido por la ayuda de nuestros lideres pastorales y de los feligreses por esta causa, especialmente a los miembros del Concilio de Mujeres Católicas y a los Caballeros de Colón.

Como pueden ver, parece ser que el 2006 será un año muy ocupado así como lo han sido para mi estos cuatro años. Hagamos una resolución para el año venidero y es que no nos mantengamos tan ocupados en todas esas actividades y sin olvidar la prescensia de Jesús quien es, como nos recuerda el Papa Benedicto XVI de enviar mensajes diarios a nuestros corazones para expresar su voluntad de Dios por nosotros y el mundo.

¡Que Dios los bendiga y muchas bendiciones para el Año Venidero!