February 2013 - Diocese of Great Falls

Transcription

The
Harvest
Vol. 28 No. 2
February 2013
Diocese of Great Falls-Billings in Montana — Your Family’s Catholic Newspaper — www.dioceseofgfb.org
Always to
Walk in
Christ
Getting to the
Heart of Lent:
“Listen to Him”
By Bishop Michael Warfel
Every year early
during the season of
Lent, we listen to one of
three Gospel accounts
of the Transfiguration.
Though there are some
differences in the way
the Transfiguration of
Christ is remembered
in the Gospels, all three
present a consistent scene.
In each, Peter, James and
John go up the mountain
to pray with Jesus. Upon
arriving, they experience
a glimpse of the Lord in
his divinity. The teacher
who invited them to
follow in his company
truly is not an ordinary
man. Hearing the voice
from the heavens, they
are informed that he is
the beloved Son of God.
And then, all three Gospel
accounts add, “Listen to
him.”
We often think
of Lent as a time to give
up something like candy,
or to add a practice to
our agendas like doing
the Way of the Cross
on Fridays. These are
obviously good and
important spiritual
practices for Lent but
they must be placed into
context. Lent is more than
mere subtraction and
addition. Lent is about a
spiritual journey in which
we become more aware
of what God has done
and continues to do for us
in Christ. And it is about
surrendering ourselves
ever more deeply to
the Lord that we may
experience salvation from
sin and death a salvation
that came as a result of
his death on the cross.
Out of love, God
created us for holiness
and to share life within
a communion of saints.
Sin, however, seriously
damaged our ability
to live holy and saintly
lives. Out of love for
us, God sent his only
begotten - his beloved
Son - to become like us
in all things but sin and
to show us the way to
holiness. Out of love for
us, God sent his Son to
take on our sin so that
it could be remitted.
Out of love for us, Jesus
destroyed death through
his own death, and
restored the possibility of
experiencing the life God
intended for us from the
beginning.
What God asks
of us is that we “listen to
him.” In response to the
life God offers to us in
Christ, transformation is
needed. Penance – in a
broad sense of the word
– is our response to
God’s gracious invitation
to life in Christ, of
having “listened to him.”
To do penance means
that we recognize the
utter seriousness of sin
and its deadly nature.
Because of sin in our
lives, we must depend
upon God’s absolute
graciousness and mercy
in order to come out
well on the other side of
death. Lent provides us a
time to reflect seriously
on our lives, to examine
how we are attending to
the message of Christ,
and to admit the reality
of sin where it exists. It is
time to “listen to him.”
Interestingly
enough, the word
continued on page 5
Safe Environment Training
Makes a Difference
By Kristen McGuire,
Great Falls
For decades, clergy
sexual abuse cases have
been a source of shame
for the Catholic Church
in this nation. Although
reported cases are mostly
dated in the past, the pain
and suffering of the victims
is a long-term concern. As
a Church, we have moved
from a time of painful
self-examination into a
new era of care for the
victims, and safeguards
for our Church so that
sexual abuse can never
occur again. Alongside the
training we now receive to
prevent sexual abuse, we
find ourselves in a better
position to pray that it will
never happen again.
“Sexual abuse is
all over – but the Church
has gotten hit hard by the
media and the press. But it’s
a societal issue, not just an
ecclesial issue,” says Father
Steve Zabrocki, pastor, St.
Thomas the Apostle Church
in Billings. He supports
the background checks
and safe environment
training of both staff and
volunteers mandated by the
United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops. (USCCB)
“Training helps one to
recognize the potential
concerns and problems and
gives the tools to identify
and address that issue
appropriately.”
One might think
that child sexual abuse
is more likely in cities
than in rural areas. But
no matter the size of
the community, abuse
can occur, according to
statistics (see chart below).
Jana Munson, secretary of
St. Francis Xavier Church
in Circle, says she knows
the families in her parish.
She doesn’t mind safe
environment training. “It’s
not something anybody
wants to talk about, but it is
something everybody does
need to take seriously, and
kids need to know that if
something is not right, they
can trust us and tell us.”
The current policies
and procedures
surrounding safe
environment
training are available
on our Web site at
www.dioceseofgfb.
org. (Click on
“Protecting God’s
Children” to view
them.)
Virtus® training
was instituted in the
Diocese of Great FallsBillings in 2003 as a
response to the USCCB
mandate to protect
children, and to create safe
environments in all our
parishes and schools. All
clergy, staff, and volunteers
were required to obtain this
training and have a criminal
background check as a
requirement.
Bishop Michael
Warfel has introduced
additional procedures to
certify that all employees
and volunteers of all
diocesan organizations—
schools, parishes, and
events—are worthy of
our trust. Volunteers
in particular are often
11% Strangers
surprised to discover
29% Family members
that they must undergo
60% Community Members the Child Knows
a criminal background
(Teachers, Coaches, Friends, Daycare Providers)
check, sign a code of
Who Commits the Abuse?
Source: Virtus®
continued on page 12
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transition tips.
Page 2 • The Harvest • February 2013 • Diocese of Great Falls-Billings • Established in 1904
National Briefs
By Catholic News Service
Day Sainthood Cause Stirs Mixed Emotions
NEW YORK -- Patrick Jordan gazed down at the gravestone of a
dear friend who died 32 years ago, a woman the Catholic Church
may one day canonize. He squatted in front of the grave, made
the sign of the cross and then offered a prayer for Dorothy Day,
an American peace activist and co-founder of the Catholic Worker
Movement.
Jordan’s visit to Day’s gravesite in the Cemetery of the
Resurrection in Staten Island, N.Y., came the day before the
anniversary of her death in 1980 at the age of 83. As he looked
down at the simple marker, Jordan noticed the plastic flowers that
had been placed by his friend’s final resting place.
“Dorothy didn’t like fake flowers, but she would have
appreciated the thought,” he said. What would she have thought
about the U.S. bishops’ endorsement of her sainthood cause by
voice vote during their fall general assembly in Baltimore?
Jordan, a former managing editor of The Catholic Worker
newspaper Day helped launch in 1933, was not sure how she
would have reacted to such overwhelming support from the
bishops. Though Jordan has no doubt that Day is a saint -- and he’s
not surprised the votes needed to move the cause forward were
garnered -- he and others associated with the Catholic Worker
Movement did not expect the bishops to give it their full support.
“I had an inkling that this was going to happen, so it
wasn’t terribly surprising, but it is really quite astounding in itself
that bishops who are divided on so many issues, in a church that
is so polarized, can find something in Dorothy Day,” said Deacon
Tom Cornell, co-founder of the Catholic Peace Fellowship and a
decades-long associate of Day.
Supporter of Peace, Justice Dies
WASHINGTON -- Retired Bishop Walter F. Sullivan of Richmond, Va., a resilient advocate for world peace and the dignity of
poor Appalachian coal miners, poverty-stricken urban residents, and
migrant workers working under exhausting conditions alike, died of
liver cancer Dec. 11. He was 84.
From peace rallies to vigils outside Virginia’s execution chamber during the hours before a convicted murderer was put to death,
Sullivan could be found adding his voice and presence to support
activists, grieving family members, and victims of societal indifference.
Friends and colleagues recalled Sullivan as a man who lived out
the Gospel call to love and respect all people, especially those who
were often forgotten or even ignored by society.
“A man of the Gospel, he sought ‘To Unite All in Christ,’” which
was his episcopal motto, the diocese said in a statement. “(He) was
a priest who stood for justice, compassion, and peace. ‘Well done,
good and faithful servant. Inherit your master’s joy.’”
“Bishop Sullivan was a powerful and consistent voice as a
defender of human dignity,” said Stephen Colecchi, director of the
U.S. bishops’ Office of International Justice and Peace, who worked
with the bishop for 16 years in Richmond, primarily as his special
assistant.
“He was always out front, no matter what the issue. He always
felt it was very important to stand with people and the people he
wanted to stand with were the people at the margins of society,”
Colecchi said.
Cardinal Opposes Same-Sex Marriage Law
CHICAGO -- Cardinal Francis E. George told Chicago-area
Catholics that the passage of a same-sex marriage law in the state
would be “acting against the common good of society.”
“This proposed legislation will have long-term consequences
because laws teach; they tell us what is socially acceptable and what
is not, and most people conform to the dictates of their respective
society, at least in the short run,” he wrote in a letter.
The letter, sent to all archdiocesan pastors to be distributed in
parish bulletins, was also signed by Chicago’s six auxiliary bishops
and posted online on the web site of the Illinois Catholic Conference,
www.ilcatholic.org.
The letter was issued the day before a group of Illinois lawmakers introduced the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act,”
which would make all state laws that are “applicable to marriage apply
equally to marriages of same-sex and different-sex couples and their
children.”
George said the bill’s title was deceptive and “ignores basic
truths.”
He said the Catholic Church is not “anti-gay” because it “welcomes everyone, respects each one personally, and gives to each the
spiritual means necessary to convert to God’s ways and maintain
friendship with Christ.”
He pointed out that “marriage comes to us from nature” and
said it is “physically impossible for two men or two women to consummate a marriage, even when they share a deep friendship or love,”
which indicates that “marriage is what nature tells us it is, and that
the state cannot change natural marriage.”
Day’s Granddaughter Follows Granny’s Path
NEW YORK (CNS) -When Martha Hennessy
walks into The Catholic
Worker newspaper office
in the East Village, the
resemblance to her late
grandmother, Dorothy Day,
is obvious.
"Well, we are
family," Hennessy, 57, said
when the physical likeness
was pointed out to her.
Her manner is
dry, serious, but she also
manages a short knowing
smile.
The cosmetic
similarities to the American
Catholic icon and cofounder of the Catholic
Worker Movement are
more than skin deep,
however.
Like her
grandmother, whose
sainthood cause has been
endorsed by the U.S.
Catholic bishops, Hennessy
is a passionate anti-war
crusader, deeply invested
in Catholic social teaching
on poverty, engaged in
her faith, and firm in her
resolve, even when her
views differ from the
hierarchy of her church.
Hennessy sat down
for an interview with
Catholic News Service Nov.
29, the 32nd anniversary of
her grandmother's death, a
date she calls Dorothy Day's
feast day. The interview
took place in the office
where Day worked, located
in Maryhouse, a Catholic
Worker hospitality home.
It's also the house where
her grandmother died in
1980.
"Today is Granny's
death day, and I think more
about Tamar," she said,
referring to her mother and
Day's only child. "Because,
she lost her mother, and
she was here with her. I
know what that's like. I lost
my mother in 2008."
Hennessy took
a deep breath, looked
around the room and said
she feels the presence of
both women. She said
she often reflects on their
lives, achievements, and
sacrifices.
Day's life journey is
well documented, from her
bohemian days in New York
working as a journalist for a
socialist newspaper and her
Dorothy Day
Martha Hennessy
religious awakening and
co-founding of the Catholic
Worker Movement, to her
lay vow of poverty and
anti-war crusades.
"Dorothy was
really guided by the hand
Catholics Get Their Own Dorms
At Two Secular Universities
MELBOURNE, Fla. (CNS)
-- Catholic students at one
secular university in Florida
soon will have a dormitory
all their own.
In a historic
collaboration, Bishop John
G. Noonan of Orlando,
Fla., Anthony J. Catanese,
president of Florida
Institute of Technology,
Matt Zerrusen, president
of the Newman Student
Housing Fund, and
Salvatorian Father Douglas
Bailey, chaplain of Catholic
campus ministry at the
school, participated in the
ceremonial groundbreaking
for Mary Star of the Sea
Catholic Student Residence.
The ceremony
was the second in as
many months at a secular
university in which
housing specifically
designated for Catholic
students is being
constructed.
A similar ceremony
took place at Texas A&M
University-Kingsville for St.
Thomas Aquinas Newman
Center, which includes a
dormitory and chapel.
The Newman
Student Housing Fund is
financing the new residence
hall at the Florida school.
The dormitory will house
140 students beginning in
the fall. Once the dormitory
is completed, construction
of a chapel will begin.
"Fifty percent
of students on college
campuses lose their
faith by the time they
graduate," Zerrusen said.
"This is unacceptable. It
is a huge, huge deal in
campus ministry, and all
the Newman Centers want
to add dorms. These are the
first, the pioneers.
"We are creating
authentic Catholic
campuses inside secular
ones," he explained. "If
we want a way to change
the culture of campus life
and affect the future of our
country, this is a big way of
doing that. We can't sit back
and watch these kids go
uncatechized. We've got to
do something, and we are."
Noonan recalled
how in 1513, Ponce de
continued on page 1
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The Harvest • February 2013 • Diocese of Great Falls-Billings • Established in 1904 • Page 3
World Briefs
Pope Condemns Doping in Sports
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI condemned
“doping” in sports and called on athletes and coaches to strive for
victory through ethical and legal practices.
“Every sport, both on amateur and professional levels,
requires fairness in competition, respect for one’s body, a sense of
solidarity and altruism, and also joy, satisfaction, and celebration,”
he said.
All of that is made possible with “authentic human
maturity, comprised of sacrifice, tenacity, patience, and, above all,
humility, which is never applauded, but is the secret to victory,” he
said.
Benedict’s comments came during an audience at the
Vatican with a 200-person delegation from the Italian National
Olympic Committee, which included Italian athletes and medal
winners from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
If sports are to have full meaning for those who
participate, they have to serve the whole person, the pope said.
What is at stake in the world of sports is not just a
respect for the rules, but upholding a vision of the human person
as someone in need of education, spiritual fulfillment, and
“transcendent values,” he said. “Pressure to achieve important
results must never drive (people) to take shortcuts as happens in
the case of doping.”
Team owners, administrators and coaches are all called “to
be witnesses of the good of humanity, cooperating with families
and schools for the education of young people,” he said. They
must be “teachers of sports practice that is always above-board and
clean.”
Team spirit must be channeled not only to prevent athletes
from taking “these dead ends” of illegal performance-enhancement
drugs or practices, but also to “support those who recognized
they’ve made a mistake, so that they can feel accepted and helped”
afterward, he said.
Benedict also called on all athletes to read about Blessed
Pier Giorgio Frassati, “a young man who merged his passion for
sport -- he especially loved mountain climbing -- with his passion
for God.”
Blessed Pier Giorgio shows how “being Christian means
loving life, loving nature, but above all loving one’s neighbor, in
particular, people in difficulty.”
SSPX Head: Vatican Sent Mixed Messages
ROME -- The head of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X said he
has been receiving mixed messages from the Vatican for years over
if and how the group might be brought back into full communion
with the church.
Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the society, claimed
that top Vatican officials told him not to be discouraged by official
statements from the Vatican, because they did not reflect Pope Benedict
XVI’s true feelings.
The Vatican press office declined to comment on the claims.
According to an audio recording posted on YouTube, Fellay
gave a nearly two-hour talk at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy
in New Hamburg, Ontario. He spoke about the society’s three years
of discussions with the Vatican over the society’s future and explained
how he interpreted behind-the-scenes communications about the
talks. Apparently speaking without a text, he also called the Jewish
people “enemies of the church,” saying Jewish leaders’ support of
the Second Vatican Council “shows that Vatican II is their thing, not
the church’s.”
Vatican Suspends Credit Cards Acceptance
VATICAN CITY -- Vatican City State vendors, including the
Vatican Museums and supermarket, stopped accepting credit- and
debit-card payments Jan. 1, citing technical difficulties amid unofficial reports of regulatory concerns by Italian financial authorities.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said “the
arrangement between several Vatican City State offices and one of
the POS (point of sale) providers, whose services were employed
to facilitate payments by tourists and pilgrims inside the Vatican, is
about to expire.”
He said the Vatican already was in negotiations with other
providers, and the no-plastic policy was expected to be short-lived.
While declining to speak on the record, sources at the Vatican did
not dispute reports that the credit- and debit-card problem arose
when Italy’s central bank denied Deutsche Bank Italia -- the Vatican’s
point of sale provider -- permission to operate in Vatican City State,
a foreign country.
The central bank, the Bank of Italy, said it discovered in 2010
that Deutsche Bank Italia had been handling the Vatican’s credit- and
debit-card transactions without the necessary approval. Deutsche Bank
applied for permission, which was denied Dec. 6 by the Bank of Italy,
claiming Vatican City State did not have banking and financial laws
stringent enough to prevent money laundering.
Benedict Visits Jail, Pardons His Butler
VATICAN CITY (CNS)
-- During a 15-minute
meeting in the Vatican
police barracks, Pope
Benedict XVI visited with
his former butler, Paolo
Gabriele, and told him he
was forgiven and was being
pardoned.
Jesuit Father
Federico Lombardi, Vatican
spokesman, said the pope
had wanted "to confirm his
forgiveness and to inform
him personally of his
acceptance of Mr. Gabriele's
request for pardon."
The Vatican
described the pope's visit
and the pardon as "a
paternal gesture toward
a person with whom the
pope shared a relationship
of daily familiarity for
many years."
Gabriele was
allowed to return home the
same day; he had been in
a cell in the Vatican police
barracks for almost two
months after being found
guilty of aggravated theft
for stealing and leaking
private Vatican
documents and papal
correspondence.
Sentenced
to 18 months in
jail, Gabriele began
serving the sentence
Oct. 25.
Gabriele, 46,
who worked in the
papal apartments
from 2006 until his
arrest in May, has
been barred from
further employment at the
Vatican. He, his wife, and
three young children have
been living in a Vatican
apartment but will have
to move now that he is no
longer employed by the
Vatican, Lombardi said.
Gabriele's wife,
Manuela Citti, told the
Rome newspaper, Il
Messaggero, that the pope's
clemency filled her with
joy.
"I'm too emotional
to say anything else," she
said.
The day Gabriele
began serving his sentence,
Pope Benedict Meets With
Paolo Gabriele.
(Photo From L’Osservatore
Romano)
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone,
Vatican secretary of state,
said Gabriele's crime caused
damage to the pope and to
the universal church.
By stealing private
correspondence to and
from the pope and other
sensitive documents, and
by leaking them to an
Italian journalist, Gabriele
committed "a personal
offense against the Holy
Father," Bertone wrote.
Climate Talks Ignored Need for Urgent Action
DOHA, Qatar (CNS) -Representatives of Christian
aid and development
agencies expressed
disappointment that,
despite a Dec. 8 agreement
among delegates at the
U.N. climate talks to extend
the Kyoto Protocol aimed
at curbing greenhouse gas
emissions, there was little
urgency to quicken the
pace to respond to climate
change.
The representatives
were concerned because
the Kyoto Protocol covers
just 15 percent of the
world's carbon output, an
amount, they said, that is
too small to reverse the
trend of rising atmospheric
temperatures and the
growing threat of drought,
rising ocean levels, and
severe weather.
"The failure to
agree (on) urgent action
in Doha will mean that
carbon emission cuts in the
immediate future will be
too small and too late to
stop the relentless path of
climate change," explained
Christian Aid's Mohamed
Adow of Kenya.
In one instance
tied to climate change,
700 Halia people have
been forced to relocate
from the Carteret Islands
in Papua New Guinea to
higher ground on the main
island of Bougainville 50
miles to the south. The
Halia are widely considered
the world's first climate
refugees.
Citing another year
of extreme weather around
the world in 2012, Adow
said he is concerned that
scientists' predictions of
rising global temperatures
mean "it will only get
worse," especially for the
world's poorest and most
vulnerable people.
"The effects of the
0.8 degrees warming above
pre-industrial levels are
bad enough," he said. "Just
imagine what it will be
like if we remain on course
for a rise of more than 2
degrees."
Difficult decisions
on the importance of
emerging economies in
China and India in reducing
carbon emissions as well as
providing financial support
to vulnerable countries
were postponed during
the 12-day conference,
the representatives said.
The talks nearly collapsed
in the final hours
over compensation to
developing countries for
damage and loss caused by
climate change.
Emilie Johann of
the international alliance
of Catholic development
agencies, CIDSE, said
developed countries
came to the talks with no
political will and without a
mandate to take ambitious
action.
She called for
solidarity between
developed and developing
countries.
"Even Typhoon
Bopha hitting the
Philippines during the talks
didn't stir them to action,"
she said. "Developing
countries were forced to
accept an empty outcome.
Governments might be able
to live with this agreement,
but people, the world's
poorest in particular, and
the planet cannot."
The World Council
The Pope
Speaks
Medical
Ethics
By Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk
Table
of Contents
Medical Ethics..............4
Pope Speaks..................4
Catholic Social Services...........5
Question Corner....................6
Poor Clares..............8
MT Catholic Conference.....8
O b i t u a r y. . . . . . . . . . . 9
Around the Diocese....14,15
Arts & Entertainment.............22
C a l e n d a r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4
Subscription Address Changes..24
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The Pill as
Health Care?
Physicians will
sometimes prescribe
a hormonal regimen
(in the form of a
hormonal contraceptive
like the Pill) to treat
certain gynecological
problems like heavy
menstrual bleeding,
dysmenorrhea (painful
periods), PMS (premenstrual syndrome),
endometriosis, or other
conditions like severe
acne. In these cases,
the Pill is used not as a
contraceptive, but as a
therapy for a medical
condition.
This can be
morally permissible
under the principle
of double effect,
which allows for the
treatment of a serious
medical problem (the
good effect), while
tolerating its unintended
consequences, when
other less harmful
treatments are not
available. In this
case, the unintended
consequences would be
the impeding of one's
fertility and the potential
health risks and side
effects of the Pill (the evil
effect).
Married couples
may sometimes struggle
with the question of
whether a pathology
is serious enough to
warrant the therapeutic
use of the Pill. The wife
of one couple I worked
with reflected on the
matter and concluded,
"Yes, the bleeding is
intense, and I'm basically
wiped out for at least
two or three days each
month, but it's not so
debilitating that my
husband and I can't
manage, and we'd really
prefer, morally and
medically speaking, not
to get mixed up with a
powerful pharmaceutical
like the Pill."
Other treatments
beside the Pill may at
times be available to
remedy these medical
conditions without
having to impede
fertility. Some young
women, though, may
be content to opt for a
treatment that also offers
more latitude for sexual
activity. Approaching
the medical use of the
Pill in this way can
raise concerns about
ambiguous intentions.
A friend of mine who
dated several young
women who were on
the Pill for a medical
condition described his
own experiences and
struggles this way:
“Those I know
who have done this
also tended to be the
ones who were sexually
active…. I believe it does
have an effect on one’s
psyche and soul. In fact,
in the past I’ve dated
two women who were
doing this and it made
it really, really hard at
times to be chaste. When
I brought up alternative
ways to treat something
that doesn’t involve
the Pill, they got very
defensive. So I think it
definitely blurs a line
even in the minds of the
most faithful Catholics
who rationalize that
this is what the doctor
ordered.”
Lines can blur
not only in the minds
of those who may be
dating, but also in
the minds of medical
students, who may be
taught to prescribe the
Pill almost reflexively for
various gynecological
issues rather than
addressing the root cause
of the problem. As Lili
Cote de Bejarano, M.D.,
has noted: “For most
of these conditions, the
Pill is only treating the
woman’s symptoms,
while her underlying
medical problem —the
Blessed Are the
Peacemakers
True peacemakers defend
human life at every stage of
its existence and promote
the common good through
their economic policies and
activities, Pope Benedict
XVI said in his annual
message for the World Day
of Peace.
Attacks on human
dignity and human rights
-- from abortion and
euthanasia to limits on
religious freedom, and
from religious fanaticism
to "unregulated financial
capitalism" -- undermine
efforts to bring peace to the
world, he said.
While reiterating
Catholic teaching about the
sacredness of every human
life and about the dangers
of an unregulated freemarket economy, Benedict
explained those teachings
as logical, natural principles
needed for a life marked
by dignity and peaceful
coexistence.
In fact, some people
may not even realize they
are promoting a "false
peace" when they urge
the legislative adoption of
"false rights or freedoms,"
employing "the clever use
of ambiguous expressions
aimed at promoting a
supposed right to abortion
and euthanasia."
True peacemakers
"are those who love,
defend, and promote
human life in all its
dimensions."
"Anyone who
loves peace cannot tolerate
attacks and crimes against
life."
Peacemakers
need to take a new look
at the importance of
the traditional family in
handing on the values
that promote peace and
in resolving problems and
tensions that undermine
peace.
"The family is
one of the indispensable
social subjects for the
achievement of a culture of
peace."
Cardinal Peter
Turkson, president of
the Pontifical Council for
Justice and Peace, said
Benedict was being very
concrete in helping people
understand what it takes
to promote true peace.
"He calls attention to the
most urgent problems,
the correct vision of
matrimony, the right to
conscience objection,
religious freedom as
'freedom to' (contribute to
society), the question of
work and unemployment,
the food crisis, the financial
crisis, and the role of the
family in education."
As part of Benedict's
discussion about religious
freedom, he insisted
governments recognize
and uphold "the right to
invoke the principle of
conscientious objection
in the face of laws or
government measures
that offend against human
dignity, such as abortion
and euthanasia."
"Sadly, even in
countries of long-standing
Christian tradition,
instances of religious
intolerance are becoming
more numerous, especially
in relation to Christianity
and those who simply wear
identifying signs of their
religion."
In all people of
good will, the New Year
brings hope for a better and
more peaceful world.
Yet "it is alarming
to see hotbeds of tension
and conflict caused
by growing instances
of inequality between
rich and poor, by the
prevalence of a selfish and
individualistic mindset,
which also finds expression
in an unregulated financial
capitalism."
True peacemakers
must work to counter the
Getting to the Heart of Lent: “Listen to Him”
continued from Front Page
“obedience” is rooted in
the Latin word audiere
which means “to listen.”
When persons are
obedient, it is because they
are listening to one who
has authority over them. It
is within this context that
we embrace the Lenten
practices of fasting, prayer
and almsgiving, i.e., works
of charity and justice.
Fasting is a
fundamental spiritual
exercise. Get hungry or
do without something
upon which we believe
we depend, and we begin
to realize just how fragile,
vulnerable and dependent
we are. Hunger, of some
sort or other, leads to
humility and humility is
truth. The truth fasting
hopes to lead us to is that
God is God and we are
not. The fasting may be
from food, but it may also
be from any thing or any
activity upon which we
feel dependent. The hunger
that fasting brings leads us
to admit our dependence
on God for everything,
including life itself. Fasting
displaces us from life’s
center and places God
rightfully at life’s center.
Prayer opens up a
means of communication
between God and us.
True prayer is a love
relationship between a
divine person and a human
person. Unfortunately,
many of us have grossly
underdeveloped prayer
lives. Nonetheless, prayer
is a non-negotiable for
Christian spirituality. In
prayer we come to God in
Christ, not only to express
our needs and desires,
but to surrender ourselves
to the will of God. Such
prayer of relationship
knows the importance of
“listening” to God’s desires
and our need to surrender
to God. And God’s desires
takes precedence over
what we think we may
need, and certainly what
we may want. Prayer - as
understood as relationship
– leads to growth in our
love for God who has
loved us from eternity.
When prayer becomes
an expression of a loving
relationship, we enter into
communion with Christ. It
is then that we are not only
able to listen, but desire
intensely to “listen” to
Christ.
When Christ’s life
is stirred within us, our
greatest desire is to share
life with others. Charity
and social justice can
never be an afterthought
to fasting and prayer, or,
for that matter, a healthy
Christian lifestyle. In fact,
when we know deeply
that we are loved by God,
we will want to love those
whom God loves. When we
listen attentively to God, we
realize that we have many
sisters and brothers, some
of whom are in great need.
Money and possession,
time and abilities – most
of us have more than we
need. The Gospel reminds
us that for those of us
who have received much,
much will be expected.
If genuine and concrete
concern for the poor and
needy are not a part of our
practical spirituality, our
spiritualities are simply too
narcissistic.
The season of
Lent affords us time to
prepare to renew our
baptismal promises. Deeply
appreciating how much
God desires to forgive us
of our sins and our need
of forgiveness, we look
forward with great joy to
the celebration of Christ’s
rising from the dead on
Easter. It is why we must
“listen to him.”
Catholic
Social
Services of
Montana
By Rosemary Miller, Executive
Director
Catholic Social
Services of Montana
celebrates 60 years of
service to Montana
families in 2013. The
original founders had
the vision that Catholic
Charities, as it was called
in the beginning, would
serve families throughout
Montana who needed
assistance with
unexpected pregnancies,
children in need of
homes, advise and assist
delinquents, couples
wanting to adopt, and
relief work among the
poor and needy. In the
60 years this agency has
done many services to
thousands of families
and continues to provide
quality, ethical services.
The organization
partnered with Catholic
Orphanages and Catholic
hospitals run by nuns
to provide services to
children and families in
Montana.
In the beginning
parish priests played an
important role as families
came to them with their
family problems. When
they had a daughter who
became pregnant out
of wedlock it was not
unusual in the 1950’s
for the family to want
to send their daughter
away until the baby was
born. Often the young
lady would go to live
in a Catholic hospital in
Montana and work in the
kitchen or laundry and as
such pay off the cost of
the delivery. The priests
also identified couples
who were unable to
have children and would
refer them to Catholic
Charities. For adoption
it was required that the
parish priest recommend
the couple and this
requirement continues
to present day. In the
1960’s Catholic Charities
opened a maternity
home in Helena. It
eventually closed and
staff then referred young
women to the Florence
Crittenton Home in
Helena.
In the beginning
of Catholic Charities a
young social worker fresh
from getting a Masters
Degree in Social Work,
Jim Flanagan, was hired
to establish the pregnancy
and adoption program.
He brought high standards
of social work to the newly
established agency and put
into place practices that
continue to this day. His
sense of ethics was a great
base for the pregnancy and
adoption program. He
remained with Catholic
Social Services until his
retirement in 1988. His
influence continues to be
felt because of his vision
for quality services and his
heart for children.
Catholic Charities changed
its name to Catholic Social
Services for Montana in
1972 and the Diocese
of Great Falls-Billings
formally joined the
organization as an equal
partner. Many Catholic
Charities throughout the
country changed their
name during this time
because their mission was
broader than providing
“charity” to the poor and
needy. Interestingly, many
of the Catholic Social
Services in the country are
now changing their name
back to Catholic Charities.
The most striking
change in Catholic Social
Services of Montana
has been the change of
practice to open adoption.
It has proven to be very
beneficial for children in
particular. Birth families
and adoptive families have
benefited also. All parties
are able to celebrate the
gift of a child given to
them by God.
As 2013 progresses
watch for opportunities to
help us celebrate 60 years
of service to Montana
families.
Perpetual Adoration in
Billings
The Perpetual
Eucharistic Adoration
Chapel in Billings was
started in 1994 with the
help of Father Warkulwicz
of the Missionaries of the
Blessed Sacrament, Mount
Clemmens, MI, and with
the approval of Bishop
Milone.
A beautiful Chapel
was constructed in the
basement of Sacred Heart
Renewal Center with
volunteer labor and with
financial contributions
from people interested in
Perpetual Adoration. The
Chapel has always operated
on financial donations. In
2007 it was relocated to the
Annex at St. Patrick’s CoCathedral.
The Chapel has
over 200 registered adorers
(committed to a designated
hour/hours,)many nonregistered walk-ins, plus an
adequate substitute list. It
was open 24/7 for almost
18 years until in 2010 it
was temporarily changed to
limited hours from 5 a.m.
to midnight seven days a
week.
When Father
Warkulwicz spoke to us
in Billings, he told us that
we would see an increase
in vocations from our
diocese among many
other blessings. Father
Michael Schneider, Father
Leo McDowell, Father
Patrick Zabrocki, Father
Daniel O’Rourke, Father
Kevin Kristofferson,
Father Rob Oswald, Father
Dom Pizzonia, Father
Michael Schreiber, Father
Daniel Wathen, Father
Marc Lennemen, Father
Cory Sticha, Father Ryan
Erlenbush, Father Bart
Stevens, and Father Samuel
Question
Corner
By Father Kenneth Doyle
Catholic News Service
Do I Need a Priest For Confession?
Q. Must confession (the sacrament of reconciliation)
be done in collaboration with a priest? I see very small
lines these days for the confessional, but it seems that 90
percent of those attending Mass receive Communion. So my
question is this: Are we allowed to “self-confess” without
the assistance of a priest and thus be eligible to receive
Communion? (Toms River, N.J.)
The current Board Members and Advisors in the photograph,
left to right are: Rich Wood, Berni Kuhlmann, Linda Trythall,
Kathleen Simpson, Vicki Auzqui and Jack Auzqui. Not
pictured is Greg Simpson (who took the photo).
Spiering were all ordained
after the Adoration Chapel
opened. Many of these
priests had family members
who are or were adorers (as
well the priests themselves)
from its inception. There
are a number of those in
seminary studying now
who have been scheduled
adorers. We would like to
think that the Adoration
Chapel and our prayers
were instrumental in their
vocation.
When we take time
out of our busy lives and
give a little to our Lord,
we proclaim to everyone
that Jesus is truly present
among us. We know the
importance of prayer in
our lives. Jesus asked his
Apostles and now us the
question, “Could you not
watch one hour with Me?”
Many people say
that seeing Jesus in His
Eucharistic Presence leads
to a more intimate spiritual
relationship with Him. It
helps us to be faithful to
our scheduled hour because
we know that Jesus cannot
be left alone in the Blessed
Sacrament exposed in a
monstrance. We as prayers
are guardians of the Blessed
Sacrament.
As we spend more
time in the presence of
Jesus in the Most Blessed
Sacrament we grow in
holiness. As a community
our prayers help increase
Mass attendance,
conversions, return of fallen
away Catholics, vocation to
the priesthood, diaconate
and religious life and
better confessions. These
are just a few of the fruits
of Eucharistic Adoration.
The Holy Father declared
that we are contributing to
“the radical transformation
of the world,” the
“establishing of everlasting
peace,” and the coming of
Christ’s kingdom on earth.
This is being accomplished
with every prayer hour
we spend in Eucharistic
Adoration.
The current Board
Members are Kathleen
Simpson Director (St.
Thomas the Apostle), Berni
Kuhlmann (St. Patrick),
Vicki Auzqui (St. Pius X),
Linda Trythall (St. Thomas
the Apostle), and Rich
Wood (St. Pius X). Our
Board Advisors are Jack
Auzqui and Greg Simpson.
For more information
about the Adoration
Chapel please visit
our web site at: www.
adorationchapelbillings.
org. Or send an email to:
adorationchapelbillings@
gmail.com.
A. The sacrament of reconciliation requires the presence
of a priest. Only God, of course, can forgive sins, but Jesus
has shared the power of absolution with his apostles and their
successors (thankfully, because it is always more comforting
to hear another human being proclaim that we are forgiven.)
Some sins -- doubtless the great majority -- can be
forgiven without the sacrament, by appealing directly to
the mercy of the Lord. Technically, the only sins that require
confession to a priest are mortal sins -- i.e., grave violations
of God’s law done with full knowledge and complete consent.
Lesser sins -- traditionally called “venial” and described
by the Catechism of the Catholic Church in No. 1458 as “everyday faults”-- can be forgiven by such practices as prayers
of repentance or works of charity.
Participation in the Eucharist, since it strengthens us
in living Christ’s way of love, has the effect of wiping away
venial sins, says No. 1394 in the catechism, and the penitential rite at the beginning of Mass reminds us of our need for
forgiveness and invites us to ask for God’s mercy.
It should quickly be noted that, though not strictly
necessary, regular confession to a priest, even of venial sins,
is “strongly recommended” since this practice helps one to
monitor behavior more closely and to make steady progress
on the long road to holiness.
Are There Any Options To the Sign of Peace?
Q. My wife is relatively new to the Catholic Church
and absolutely abhors the exchanging of the sign of peace.
I remember when this was not a part of the Mass. It seems
to have been an accretion that crept into the liturgy during
the “feel-good” 1970s, and I agree with my wife that it is
quite unnecessary.
My wife is on the shy side and prefers not to have to
shake hands with the person who happens to be next to
her in the pew. At most, she would nod but feels that this
would be rude. Are there any options? (If you ran a petition
drive to eliminate the sign of peace, I’ll bet that it would
be greeted with 95 percent approval from Catholics.)
(Louisville, Ky.)
A. Far from being a new invention of the 1970s, the
restoration of the sign of peace was actually a return to a
practice common in the earliest days of the church. In those
times, Christians, in a reminder of the charity that linked the
eucharistic community, exchanged a greeting at the offertory
-- that timing chosen from the suggestion of Jesus (Mt 5:2324) that one reconcile with others before presenting gifts at
the altar.
By the late fourth century, the exchange of peace had
been placed instead right after the Our Father, since Christians were committed to live in harmony with those with
whom they were about to share the Eucharist. The greeting of
peace faded gradually into disuse over the centuries and was
restored to the Mass during the liturgical reforms following
the Second Vatican Council.
Technically, the sign of peace is optional. The General
Instruction of the Roman Missal prescribes in No. 154 that
it be shared “when appropriate.” But other sections of the
general instruction (in No. 82 and No. 239) imply that it is
customarily used. (During a flu epidemic, for example, the
exchange of peace could reasonably be suspended.)
The greeting ought to be exchanged in a quiet and dignified manner, and Pope Benedict XVI reminded Catholics in
2006 that restraint was needed lest the gesture distract from
the reverence appropriate to the reception of holy Communion. (Marathons during which congregants roam the church
widely in search of hugs would seem to run counter to that
caution.)
Ministry
Formation
By Deacon Mark Zenner
Director of the Office Ministry
Formation
Gifted and
Shared
As a result of God
touching the hearts of the
very generous Thieltges
family of the Chester area,
and in response to that call,
a portion of the Mathew
and Julia Thieltges Estate
was gifted to the people of
the diocese establishing the
Thieltges Lay Ministry Grant
program in the mid 1980’s.
Each year a portion
of that fund’s earnings
are awarded to volunteers
and staff of the diocese
parishes and schools for the
enrichment and education
of laity in ministry,
theology, liturgy and
religious education. This
year, parishes and schools
in Cycle 1 are eligible to
submit applications to
be considered for a grant
award. Staff members
and volunteers of parishes
and schools may apply
for awards of up to five
hundred dollars or one-half
of the program cost with
matching funds provided
by the sponsoring parish or
school. For experiences to
be eligible for grant awards,
the program must occur
between the dates of June
1, 2013 and May 31, 2014.
Application
instructions and forms are
available at your Cycle 1
parish and school offices
or they may be obtained
by contacting the Office
of Ministry Formation
at the diocesan offices.
The Cycle 1 roster of
parishes and schools
may be accessed through
the diocesan website at
www.dioceseofgfb.org .
Then click on the banner
heading “Ministries” tab
and scroll to the “Office of
Lay Ministry”. Select that
heading and you will be
directed to its page, then
scroll down to: Thieltges
Grants and click on the link
to access the Cycle 1 Parish
/ School List. Your parish
or school will be displayed
in either the Cycle 1 or
Cycle 2 list.
Completed
applications must be
received by the Office of
Ministry Formation by
April 1, 2013 in order to
be considered. An awards
committee composed of
lay representatives from
each of the five vicariates
of the diocese will meet to
consider the merits of each
application. Awards will
be announced to successful
applicant parishes and
schools by April 30, 2013.
Past awards
have been provided to
parishes and schools
aiding in-service staff
development, spiritual
growth and nourishment
in retreat opportunities,
educational programs in
theology, ecclesiology,
and youth religious
education and ministry.
These opportunities have
been accessed through
participation in: the
Los Angeles Religious
Education Congress, on-line
Youth Ministry Certificate
Program (YMSC), Lay
Ministry Summer Retreat
– Diocese of Great FallsBillings, Life Teen /Edge
Training Conference and
the National Association
for Lay Ministry (NALM)
annual conferences.
Pastors, pastoral
councils, school
administrators and
catechetical leaders are
encouraged to avail
themselves of this
marvelous gift to enrich
the lives and ministry of
our parish/school staff
and volunteers. As we
enter into this Lenten
season in the Year of Faith,
let us approach our God
with a renewed sense of
gratitude for the many
gifts with which we
have been blessed, and a
recommitment to sharing
in the work of the New
Evangelization.
Chastity in Our
Children
By Daphne Sutton, FCP
Diocesan Director of Natural Family Planning
In this day and age
it seems as if we do not
expect to find this virtue
of chastity in our children.
Typical sex-education
programs undermine our
basic values and morals
by telling children that
they should experiment
before they settle down
with one person, if they
decide to. It seems that
our current culture has
tossed out morality and
replaced it with moral
relativism – if it feels good,
do it; don’t worry about
the consequences. But
these programs do not take
into consideration all of
the physical and emotional
consequences of unbridled
self-control. They do
not teach that fertility is
a gift and a responsibility.
They are not teaching self
respect, respect of others
or how to handle all of
the emotions that come
from being sexual beings.
Young people want high
ideals, and the best people
to show them are their
parents.
We all know
the laundry list of bad
consequences of not being
chaste before and during
marriage: guilt, STD’s,
unplanned or unwanted
pregnancies, loss of self
respect, treating or being
treated as an object instead
of a human being, loss of
fertility, abortion, possible
stunted mental and
emotional growth, and the
list goes on. So how do we
combat this? The same way
we work out anything with
another rational being: we
communicate.
Do your children
understand or see the
example of your values?
Have you talked to your
children about their duty
to respect and honor every
human being? Have you
talked to your children
about their life goals such
as education, career or
vocation and how they will
better achieve those goals
if they wait for marriage to
have children? Have you
shown them by example in
how you act and dress to be
modest and chaste? Have
you discussed the above
consequences and that the
best way to avoid all of
them is to wait until they
are married to have a sexual
relationship? But most of
all have you done this in
a loving and supportive
manner, assuring them
that whatever they do, you
will always love them and
accept them and be there to
help them?
Know your children
and their friends. Listen
to them whenever they are
willing to talk, and if they
don’t, start conversations
with them. If they have
given into the expectations
of our culture, don’t forget
to forgive them and help
them start over. You cannot
replace certain things,
but you can change the
mindset.
“The greatest gift
young people can give
to each other on their
wedding day is their
virginity!” – Mother Teresa
One of the best resources
for this topic is, Love and
Family: Raising a Traditional
Family in a Secular World,
by Mercedes Arzu Wilson.
There are also many video
and audio tapes as well,
or contact me personally
at daphnemsutton@
gmail.com, Fertility Care
Center of Eastern MT, PO
Box 267, Shepherd, MT
59079, or visit www.
billingsfertilitycare.com.
Natural Family Planning Classes
Diocese of Great Falls-Billings
Billings and Eastern Montana
Daphne Sutton teaches the Creighton method of Fertility Awareness and is available for individualized instruction if these classes do not fit into your schedule. This intro class is free. All other
sessions are individualized. Please call to register for classes and to confirm location and time.
Phone: 406-794-1582 E-mail: [email protected]
Introduction to Fertility Care at St. Vincent :
• 7:00 p.m. January 7, 2013
• 7:00 p.m. April 8, 2013
• 7:00 p.m. July 8, 2013
• 7:00 p.m. October 7, 2013
• And always, by appointment.
Good News classes in Billings will be:
• As needed (contact information below)
• Location: TBA
• Natural Family Planning classes are available in the Great Falls area as needed by calling Karen
Miller at 406-453-5622 e-mail: [email protected] Karen teaches the sympto-thermal method.
• Katie and Joel LaLiberty teach the Couple-to-Couple League sympto-thermal method of
natural family planning in and around the Three Forks area. Online resources are available with this
method. Contact Joel at 719-244-7576 or Katie at 970-231-5660 e-mail: [email protected]
for information.
• For more information about Natural Family Planning or to request a speaker for your group,
please call Daphne Sutton, FCP, NFP Coordinator, Diocese of Great Falls-Billings.
Phone: 406-794-1582 E-mail: [email protected]
Montana
Catholic
Conference
Catholics in the
public square.
Consistency is
the Key
Catholics are
called to bring their faith
and values to the public
square because many of
the decisions that affect
families, church and
country are made in that
arena. We are called to the
public square to stand up
for those who have no
voice. As Cardinal Dolan
says, “We root for the
underdog in Catholic social
justice.”
Catholic
involvement in the public
square is a noble pursuit.
Considering that secular
groups have their own
ideals, we cannot let them
stand in a vacuum and
make decisions without
our involvement. There
is an adage that says,
“Somewhere there is a
group meeting to decide
your future and you have
not been invited.” Decisions
will be make that affect us
whether we are there or
not.
We are the ones
who fight for the underdog.
Every issue we work is
protecting the life and
dignity of every person.
This session we will see
bills on abortion, the
death penalty, physicianassisted suicide, poverty,
homelessness, religious
liberty, and many others. It
is the duty of the laity to
get involved and do what
we can to protect those, the
least of our brothers and
sisters.
The foundation
of all our efforts comes
from Catholic social
teaching which tells us
that we must recognize
human life as sacred and
respect the dignity of the
human person. From that
foundation, we can build a
just society.
I know I have said
By Moe Wosepka,
Director Montana Catholic
Conference
this before, and I will say
it again. Cardinal Bernadin
had it right when he said,
“Those who defend the
right to life of the weakest
among us must be equally
visible in support of
the quality of life of the
powerless among us: the
old and the young, the
hungry and the homeless,
the undocumented
immigrant and the
unemployed worker.
Consistency means we
cannot have it both ways.”
The single word,
consistency, says it best.
Fighting to protect the
innocent child in the womb
is absolutely necessary for
pro-life efforts. Consistency
means we vote to save the
child in the womb. We
also vote to abolish the
death penalty, and we vote
to prohibit doctors from
prescribing chemicals for
patients to commit suicide.
All of us have
difference experiences
and different concerns so
we are more passionate
about some issues than
others. For some the
issue may be abortion
or the death penalty. For
others it may be elder
abuse or poverty or other
social issues. However,
our work on those issues
does not excuse us from
supporting other life and
dignity issues. Cardinal
Bernadin further stated, “…
the Catholic position on
abortion demands of us,
and of society, that we seek
to influence a heroic social
ethic. If one contends,
as we do, that the right
of every fetus to be born
should be protected by civil
law and supported by civil
consensus, then our moral,
political and economic
responsibilities do not stop
at the moment of birth.”
The Catholic voice
on Capitol Hill will be
consistent. We will work to
protect the life and dignity
The Power of Prayer
By Sister Maryalice
Pierce, OSC
Many years ago,
when my mother said night
prayers with my brothers
and me each night, we said
a special prayer for Uncle
Teddy, Mom’s brother, who
was no longer attending
Church on Sundays. Those
prayers were answered
before he died. Now I
still find myself praying
for family members for
the same reason. It is a
worry that so many people
share with us. Many of
the petitions we get for
prayers are for children,
grandchildren and other
relatives who have left the
Church.
Not long ago I
came across an article
written by Father Ronald
Rolheiser that I found very
encouraging in regard
to people whose family
members or close friends
have left the Church. It
is entitled: “Incarnation
Imparts Power,” and can be
found in his book, Forgotten
Among the Lilies. It can
also be found on Ronald
Rolheiser’s website, where I
found it.
In the article Father
Rolheiser reminds us
that we need to love and
challenge those family
members who have gone
astray. We can do this by
our own faithfulness, by
our lives more than our
words. He also reminds us
that in John’s Gospel, Jesus
says to his disciples after
his resurrection, “Whose
sins you forgive, they are
forgiven; whose sins you
retain, they are retained.”
He goes on to say that if
you love someone and they
accept your love, because
you are part of the body of
Christ, they, too, are bound
to the body of Christ and
sustained in salvation.
This is a powerful
thought. We, as members
of Christ’s body can forgive
the sins of others. As long
as we continually love them
and hold them in our lives,
they are still part of the
Church. Our love for them
and our prayer for them are
powerful, indeed. You may
have read that St. Monica,
the mother of St. Augustine,
a Doctor of the Church,
prayed for many years for
her son’s conversion. She
lived to see her prayer
Diocese Great Falls-Billings
Thieltges Lay
Ministry Grants
provide lay men and women opportunity in
Continuing Education Courses
Spiritual Growth Retreats
Ministry Workshops
Regional & National Religious
Conferences
“We are grateful to the Thieltges Grant for
making attendance at the Life Teen Training
Conference in Atlanta possible.”
-Amanda Bell, Pastoral Associate, St.
Raphael, Glasgow
Application Information and Forms are now
available at all Cycle I Parish and School Offices …
or by contacting the Office of Ministry Formation
[email protected] or at
1-800-332-9998.
answered. We, too, must
believe in the power of
our living faithfully in the
church and our prayer for
our loved ones.
In our monastery,
after we read aloud
intentions that people send
us by mail, e-mail or phone
calls, we keep all of them in
a big urn right in front of
our choir stalls in chapel.
When we pray the Liturgy
of the Hours six times a
day we include all of those
intentions in our prayer.
We, the Poor Clares
of Montana, would like you
to know that you and your
intentions are always in our
prayer. The very center of
our lives and our vocation
as Poor Clares is to pray
with and for you. Please
feel free to contact us and
let us know how we can
assist you in prayer. We are
so grateful for your support
over the years since our
arrival here in Montana. As
St. Paul says in his letter to
the Colossians “We always
give thanks to God, the
Father of Our Lord Jesus
Christ, when we pray for
you”( Col. 1,3).
Obituaries
Rev. Eugene P. Hruska
Rev. Eugene P.
Hruska, 81, a Catholic
priest of the Diocese of
Great Falls-Billings, died of
natural causes in Great Falls
on Monday, December 24,
2012.
The Funeral Vigil
was held at Our Lady of
Lourdes Church in Great
Falls on Friday, December
28. The Mass of Christian
Burial took place Saturday,
December 29, also at Our
Lady of Lourdes Church.
The burial followed
immediately at Mount
Olivet Cemetery. Schnider
Funeral Home handled the
arrangements.
Father Hruska was
born on May 20, 1931. He
was raised in Lewistown,
one of ten children born
of James and Caroline
(Simacek) Hruska. After
completing his junior
high school education
at St. Leo’s, he attended
St. Edward Seminary in
Kenmore, Washington,
where he received his
high school, college and
graduate education. He
was ordained a priest
May 24, 1958, at St. Leo’s
Church in Lewistown.
His first assignment
was at Holy Rosary Church
in Billings, as an assistant
pastor and a teacher at
Billings Central Catholic
High School. In 1966,
he was transferred to
Black Eagle, where he was
assistant at Most Blessed
Sacrament Church while
teaching at Great Falls
Central Catholic High
School. In 1967 he was
named principal of the
high school. He asked for
an experience in a more
rural parish, and in 1968
he was assigned as pastor
of Immaculate Conception
Church in Forsyth for two
years. In 1970 he was
appointed rector of St.
Ann Cathedral in Great
Falls. In 1972 he received
a foreign missionary post
in Guatemala, returning to
Great Falls as pastor of Our
Lady of Lourdes Church
in Great Falls in 1975. In
1983 he took a six-month
educational sabbatical. In
1987 his brother priests
elected him to serve as
temporary administrator
of the Diocese after Bishop
Murphy was transferred to
Seattle, and before Bishop
Milone was named Bishop
of Great Falls-Billings in
1988. In 1989, Bishop
Milone gave Father Hruska
the chancery roles of
Moderator of the Curia and
Vicar General, and at the
same time assigned him to
serve as pastor of St. Ann
Church in Fort Shaw and
Sacred Heart Church in
Cascade. He resigned his
chancery positions in 1997,
and retired from ministry
in 2006 for health reasons.
Father Hruska was
a Fourth Degree Knight of
Columbus and he was their
State Chaplain for many
years. He was active in
the Great Falls Ministerial
Association, and served
on numerous
advisory
boards of
the Diocese,
including
the Priests’
Council, the
College of
Consultors,
the Clergy
Personnel
Board, and the
Clerical Benefit
Association.
For many
years he was
Chaplain to
the Catholic
Daughters
of the Americas. He also
served as editor of the
diocesan newspaper, The
Harvest. He oversaw
the expansion and
renovation of Our Lady
of Lourdes Church. He
also led his parishioners
in Fort Shaw and Cascade
with construction and
remodeling projects. He
was instrumental in
bringing the Poor Clare
Sisters to Great Falls. He
was respected as an advisor
to bishops, and as a
dedicated pastor to many
people in eastern Montana
and Central America.
He was preceded
in death by his parents, his
sister Anna Marie Berry,
brothers Robert, Edward,
Thomas and James. He is
survived by brothers Albert
“Hap” Hruska of Santa
Maria, CA, Roy Hruska
of San Francisco, CA, Joe
Hruska of Idaho Springs,
CO, and Tony of New York,
and by many cousins,
nieces and nephews.
Condolences may
be sent to Joe Hruska, P O
Box 1134, Idaho Springs,
CO, 80452. Memorials
may be given to The Poor
Clare Monastery, 3020
18th Ave S, Great Falls,
MT, 59405, or Great Falls
Central Catholic High
School, 2800 18th Ave S.,
Great Falls, 59405
To read a copy of Father Hruska’s funeral homily – which he
wrote himself and was read at his funeral Mass – please visit www.
dioceseofgfb.org and you can access it on our homepage.
Father George Rassley
Father George Rassley,
C.Ss.R., entered into eternal
life on May 8, 2012, at the
Redemptorist's St. Clement
Health Care Center in
Liguori, Missouri. He died
of a heart attack, following
a recent surgery, at age 83.
Father George August
Rassley was born in
Worden, Montana, on
August 30, 1928, to George
and Katharine Rassley.
When he was ten years old,
his family moved to Coeur
d'Alene, Idaho, where they
joined St. Thomas Parish.
Coming full circle, St.
Thomas Parish in Coeur
d'Alene is the last parish Fr.
Rassley served at on a fulltime basis.
He attended Holy
Redeemer College
in Oakland, Calif. He
professed his perpetual
vows as a Redemptorist in
1951, and was ordained to
the priesthood on June 29,
1953. He studied library
science at the Catholic
University in Washington,
DC and spent the next 22
years of his priesthood
serving as the librarian at
Redemptorist seminaries in
Wisconsin and New York.
He was noted to be an
exceptional researcher and
writer of history.
In 1978, he began
parish ministry in Portland,
Oregon, Fresno, California
and Great Falls, Montana.
He reached out especially
to the Afro-American,
Vietnamese, Hispanic and
Native American peoples
in those ministries. With
the permission of Bishop
Anthony Milone, he
celebrated the 1962 Mass in
Latin once a month during
his time in Great Falls. He
continued to provide that
Mass during his time at St.
Thomas Parish in Coeur
d'Alene, as well.
In this retirement
years, Fr. Rassley served
as a chaplain for several
organizations, including
the Catholic Daughters of
the Americas, the Knights
of Columbus, St. Vincent
de Paul Society, and the
secular Carmelites. He
chronicled the history
of the Redemptorists in
the U.S., celebrated the
Eucharist where needed,
heard confessions, and
conducted Holy Hours and
Perpetual Help devotions.
He was active as long as his
health allowed him to be.
Father Rassley is
survived by his sister, Sister
Mary Rassley, IHM, of
Scranton, PA, sister-in-law
Joan Rassley of Spokane
Valley, Wash., two nieces,
a nephew, other extended
family and dear friends. He
was preceded in death by
his parents and his brother,
Thomas E. Rassley.
A vigil was held on
May 16, 2012, at St.
Thomas Catholic Church
in Coeur d'Alene, and the
funeral Mass was held
there on May 17, 2012.
Burial was at St. Thomas
Cemetery following the
Mass. Memorial donations
in Father Rassley's honor
may be made to St. Clement
Health Care Center, c/o
The Redemptorists, 1230
S. Parker Rd., Denver, CO
80231.
Transition tip 1: The
campaign this year is going
to be envelope-based.
-
Watch for information in your mailbox.
-
Watch for envelopes available in your parish church.
Sister Lynn Casey Enters
Retirement
On December 14, 2012, a retirement party was held for Sister Lynn Casey, SCL, Chancellor
and Executive Coordinator of the Diocesan Pastoral Council. Many colleagues, friends and
relatives came to wish her well at a reception in Great Falls. Some comments by attendees
include, “I can’t imagine the Committee on Planning without you – It has been a pleasure
to serve with you!” and “With your new life-path ahead, we wish you every blessing. We
are forever indebted to you… I will truly miss your wisdom and insight and experience”
and “You have identified leaders who had a heart for their mission in life, and offered your
assistance and opportunity to succeed.” Sister Lynn will remain busy and engaged with the
Sister of Charity Hospitals Board. As Sister Lynn leaves the office, the Diocese welcomes her
replacement in the Chancery, Darren Eultgen. Farewell, Sister Lynn, and greetings Darren!
Pictured here, left
to right, are Sister
Maryalice Pierce,
OSC, Sister Lynn,
and her blood
sisters, Jerry
Maddio and Sister
Jean Casey, SCL.
Pictured here, left to right , are Collette Strizich, Mearle
Tilton, Lori Horton and Jerry Maddio
The Pope Speaks
continued from page 4
increasingly popular notion
that "economic growth
should be pursued even to
the detriment of the state's
social responsibilities."
The right to have
a steady job is "one of the
social rights and duties
most under threat today."
With an emphasis on
promoting free markets, the
right and need to work is
too often treated simply as
a market variable.
"In this regard, I
would reaffirm that human
dignity and economic,
social, and political
factors demand that we
continue to prioritize the
goal of access to steady
employment for everyone."
As the global
economic crisis continues
to be felt around the
world, people need to
"promote life by fostering
human creativity in order
to draw from the crisis
itself an opportunity for
discernment and for a new
economic model."
The current
economic model, the
one that led to the crisis,
promoted "maximum
profit and consumption,"
which basically is a selfish,
individualistic approach.
"In economic activity,
peacemakers are those who
establish bonds of fairness
and reciprocity with their
colleagues, workers, clients,
and consumers."
"The creation
of ethical structures for
currency, financial, and
commercial markets is
also fundamental and
indispensable. These must
be stabilized and better
coordinated and controlled
so as not to prove harmful
to the very poor."
Peacemakers must
pay attention to "the food
crisis, which is graver than
the financial crisis" today.
According to the U.N.'s
World Food Program, some
870 million people in the
world are "chronically
hungry," and hunger kills
more people each year
than AIDS, malaria, and
tuberculosis combined.
"The issue of food
security is once more
central to the international
political agenda as a result
of interrelated crises,
including sudden shifts
in the price of basic
foodstuffs, irresponsible
behavior by some
Pictured here, left to right, are Sister Lynn, Maria Mathews
of Great Falls, a member of the Committee on Planning,
and Sister Mary Kaye Nealen SP, recently retired from the
University of Great Falls.
economic actors, and
insufficient control on
the part of governments
and the international
community." the pope.
Peace isn't simply
a feeling or a passive
awareness that things are
going well. Peace implies
"activity, compassion,
solidarity, courage, and
perseverance."
At the end of
the message, which the
Vatican sends to heads of
state around the world,
Benedict prayed that God
would enlighten them "so
that, besides caring for the
proper material welfare
of their peoples, they
may secure for them the
precious gift of peace, break
down the walls which
divide them, strengthen
the bonds of mutual love,
grow in understanding,
and pardon those who have
done them wrong."
Editor's note:The text of
Benedict's message in English can
be found online at: http://www.
vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_
xvi/messages/peace/documents/
hf_ben-xvi_mes_20121208_
xlvi-world-day-peace_en.html
St. Leo’s Continues It’s Celebration of the
Year of Faith
By Jim Moe, Lewistown
St. Leo’s will hold
two ‘retreat weekends’
called Cum Christo (that
is, in Latin, ‘with Christ),
in January 2013. The
weekends go from Thursday
evening 7 p.m. to Sunday
at 3:30 p.m. in St. Leo’s
Parish Center. The first
weekend is for men only,
January 24 to 27, and
the second weekend is
for women only, January
31 to February 3. These
weekends (also known as
Cursillo Weekends) have
proven to be an amazing
opportunity of faith
growth or conversion for
literally millions of people
around the world since its
inception in Spain over 50
years ago. You don’t have to
be Catholic to attend. You
just have to have an open
heart and an open mind.
The weekends are put on by
laypeople and for laypeople,
ordinary folks like you and
me, seeking to connect
with God’s presence in
our lives. If you want
to join us, or want more
information, call St. Leo’s at
406-538-9306. You need to
sign up to attend.
We all experience
successes and failures,
joys and sorrows. We all
want to know life has
some meaning and it is
going somewhere. In the
recent horror of Newtown,
Connecticut, we have seen
the darkness of evil, hurt,
sin and loss. We need to
be able to see the God who
enters into our suffering,
pain and sin, to bring us
healing, forgiveness, light
and hope. Sometimes,
there are no easy answers
to our struggles other than
faith, i.e. ‘to know’ that
God is with us. He has a
plan. He cares for each of
us personally. He can bring
good, even out of evil, and
light to our darkness. This
is the message of Jesus and
Christmas, a message we
need ‘to know’ in our heart
and soul and not just in our
head.
At the funeral of the
little two-year-old, Maddox,
who at the Pittsburg Zoo
over a month ago fell 14
feet from his mother’s
arms to his death into
the African dog exhibit,
the priest could only say,
“We are with you… We
are with you. To have
faith is to surrender our
lives in loving trust to the
Lord Jesus often without
knowing all the answers
to all our questions, but
knowing that he is with us
every step of the way. He
doesn’t abandon us.” That’s
what the Lord is trying to
tell us in so many ways,
and it has been heard by so
many in such a powerful
way during a Cum Christo
weekend.
When we look at
our society, at times we say
that the American paradox
is, “We have soaring wealth
but shrinking spirits. We
have bigger houses, but
more broken homes; higher
incomes but lower morale;
more comfortable cars but
more road rage. We excel
at making a living, but
often fail to make a life. We
celebrate our prosperity,
but yearn for purpose. We
cherish our freedom, but
long for connections. In
an age of plenty, we feel a
spiritual hunger.”
To make a Cum
Christo weekend, you just
need to be human and have
that hunger. Somehow in
the safe, welcoming, nonthreatening environment of
the Cum Christo, the Lord
uses ordinary people to
feed our hunger, nourish
our souls, and to remind us
He is with us, and He will
never abandon us.
As Pope Benedict
XVI recently said, “Life is
not just a succession of
events or experiences. It is
a search for the true, the
good and the beautiful.
It is to this end that we
make our choices; it is for
this that we exercise our
freedom; it is in this – in
truth, in goodness, and
in beauty – that we find
happiness and joy…” It is
in the Father who created
us, the Son who came to
redeem us, and in the gift
of the Holy Spirit that our
search and our journey
is satisfied and we find
the faith ‘to see’ truth,
goodness, and beauty that
is present and lasts forever. This is the
opportunity and power of
the Cum Christo weekend,
to meet Jesus with other
men or women of faith.
This is Jesus, who is Savior,
who brings healing and
hope to our souls, and
purpose and direction to
our lives. Again if you are
interested, call St. Leo’s; we
would love to have you.
But more important than
that, He will be excited to
spend time with you.
cause of the symptoms —
remains unaddressed and
undiagnosed.”
Lines become
further blurred when
medical professionals
start to insist that the
Pill, taken purely to avoid
pregnancy, is “health
care.” It is not, in fact,
health care, but a lifestyle
decision. This lifestyle
decision is frequently
made in the midst of a
cultural backdrop that
encourages “neutered”
sex in an endless array
of forms, and sanctions
the misguided view that
“health” means we have the
right to practice consensual
indiscriminate sex without
consequences.
The Pill, when
chosen strictly for these
contraceptive purposes, fails
the test of being healthcare
because it does not heal or
restore any broken system
of the human body. On
the contrary, it actually
breaks a smoothly working
system — the reproductive
system — by disrupting
the delicate balance of
hormonal cycles regulating
a woman’s reproductive
well-being and fecundity.
When taken for
lifestyle purposes, the
Pill is quite the opposite
of health care — being,
in fact, detrimental to
women’s health — in
light of its frequent side
effects of weight gain,
headaches, and depression,
as well as its heightened
and well-documented
risk of thrombotic stroke,
myocardial infarction (heart
attack), and breast cancer.
The International Agency
for Research on Cancer, an
arm of the World Health
Organization, classifies
hormonal contraception as
a Group 1 carcinogen.
When a
married couple has a
proportionately serious
reason not to become
pregnant — for example,
when pregnancy itself
would seriously threaten
the woman's life or
health — they can opt
for periodic abstinence
during part of her cycle
by assessing various
indicators of fertility. This
is sometimes referred to
under the general heading
of “Fertility Awareness
Methods,” and offers a
morally acceptable, safe
and effective approach to
spacing children.
To sum up,
then, the use of the
Pill for medical (noncontraceptive) purposes
requires a disciplined
approach to the matter.
Alternative medical
therapies should be
seriously considered, the
great good of fertility
should be respected, and
unspoken sexual agendas
should not be allowed to
trump the duty to exercise
moral responsibility and
sound medical judgment.
Rev.Tadeusz Pacholczyk,
Ph.D. earned his doctorate in
neuroscience from Yale and did
post-doctoral work at Harvard.
He is a priest of the diocese of
Fall River, MA, and serves as
the Director of Education at
The National Catholic Bioethics
Center in Philadelphia. See www.
ncbcenter.org
newspaper in July that
Gabriele had written "a
confidential letter to the
pope," asking for his
forgiveness and telling the
pope he had acted alone.
Gabriele had told
investigators that he had
acted out of concern for the
pope, who he believed was
not being fully informed
about the corruption and
careerism in the Vatican. He
had repeated the claim at
Mt Catholic Conference
Benedict Visits Jail
Gabriele's actions
also "violated the right to
privacy of many people;
created prejudice against
the Holy See and its
different institutions;
created an obstacle between
the communications of
the world's bishops and
the Holy See; and caused
scandal to the community
of the faithful."
Gabriele's lawyer
had told an Italian
Medical Ethics
his trial.
Lombardi also
told reporters that Claudio
Sciarpelletti, a computer
technician in the Vatican
Secretariat of State who was
found guilty of obstructing
the Gabriele investigation
and was given a suspended
sentence, has returned to
work in the Secretariat of
State. A full pardon also is
expected for him, Lombardi
said.
of all humans, the innocent
baby, the homeless, the
disabled, and the elderly,
and the inmate on death
row. Why is that? Because
each of those lives was
created by the same God,
in His image. As a result, all
life has the same inherent
value. The Catholic voice is
pro-life and it is consistent.
I believe that is the only
way that pro-life people
will ever be effective in
creating a culture of life.
We hope you join
us. Follow our efforts
by subscribing to our
Legislative Alert, which
will be issued every Friday.
It will provide an update
on issues and a call to
action when a bill is in
need of support. Send us
your e-mail address and
we will get you on the list.
Also, join us on March 4th
for Catholic Days at the
Legislature. More details
will follow soon.
Safe Environment Training Makes a Difference
continued from Front
conduct and complete
Virtus® training prior to
serving in any ministry
that involves children or
youth. This is not because
our church is unfriendly,
but because we are
committed to a protected
environment for all. (See
below for a chart of the full
requirements.)
Thousands of
Catholics have been
investigated and trained
in this diocese alone since
December 2003. Annual
audits completed by the
USCCB National Review
Board show the Diocese
of Great Falls-Billings to
be in compliance with
the USCCB Charter and
Norms for the Protection of
Children and Young People.
“While I am pleased that
our diocese complies with
the norms set down by
the USCCB, the goal is to
be proactive to ensure that
sexual abuse never happens
in our churches ever again,”
emphasizes Bishop Warfel.
The graph on page
12 shows that the reported
cases of priest sexual abuse
in the Catholic Church
started in the 1960s, rose
quickly in 1970s and then
declined dramatically in the
1980s. And, nationwide,
reported cases of child
sexual abuse fell more than
60 percent from 1992 to
2010, according to David
Finkelhor, a leading expert
who has also consulted for
Virtus®. It appears that
awareness and training has
now helped to decrease the
number of victims.
We must not
become complacent.
The U.S. Department of
Justice estimates that only
30% of sexual assault
cases are reported to the
police. From 2008-2009
in Montana alone, there
were 1492 reported cases
of child sexual abuse.
Online pornography is
a continuing problem
that leads to deviant
behavior and gives abusers
unprecedented access to
vulnerable children.
The Virtus®
training used by our
diocese for staff and
volunteers includes video
interviews with child
sexual abusers who have
been caught, parents of
child victims, and child
victims themselves sharing
their experiences. It can
be shocking for first-time
viewers. Greg Lucotch,
a retired teacher and
parishioner at Our Lady of
Lourdes Church in Great
Falls, attended the training
there recently. He notes,
“I actually think the kids
might be a little smarter
about these issues than the
parents. Maybe the parents
need the training as much
as the kids do.”
Carrie Galvez was
not shocked. Her day job
is executive director of
the Children’s Receiving
Home, a foster care
placement agency, and
she spent ten years as a
forensic investigator for
Family Protective Services
of Montana. “In our state,
we do have a problem with
sexual abuse. Parents need
to be more vigilant about
who is okay to supervise
their children.”
She serves as a
catechist at Corpus Christi
Church in Great Falls.
“When you are entrusted
to care for people’s
children—you are held to
a higher standard. I will
go peek in my daughter’s
classroom from time to
time. Call me paranoid, but
there’s nothing called, ‘too
safe,’” she asserts.
Her work with
abused and
neglected
children can
be particularly
heartbreaking, but
Galvez points to
her faith as her
stability. “What’s
enlightening
and glorious is
when the cycle
is broken and
families can heal
and children can
heal,” she says.
“There is nothing
more miraculous
than when you
see that happen.
My faith helps
me see the good,
even when I have
to be realistic and
cautious for the
kids I am trying to protect.”
“I invite all
Catholics to join me in
prayer this Lenten season
for the victims of sexual
abuse, and for all those
who are impacted by this
terrible sin. We must stand
in solidarity with them,
and understand the deep
pain they suffer, and work
even harder to ensure that
it never happens again,”
says Bishop Warfel. “This is
who we are called to be as
Catholics.”
Safe Environment Training Requirements—Diocese of
Great Falls-Billings
1.
All individuals must attend a Live Training Session or be approved for Smarttrain online training.
2.
All individuals must register at Virtus.org;
3.
All individuals must sign and submit a Release for Background Check to be performed;
4.
All individuals must sign and submit the acknowledgement page from Code of Conduct for Volunteers or Employees (as applicable);
5.
Employees only must return the acknowledgement page from the Child Protection Policy (Page 51);
6.
Volunteers only must complete and return the Volunteer Application.
7.
All individuals must read two years of bulletins from Virtus (which is prompted by registering) and complete Recertification Training I & II.
How to Report Suspected Child Abuse
Diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator:
Sr. Kathleen Kane, (406) 378-2250
[email protected]
Child Abuse Safety Hotline Montana:
1-866-820-5437
School personnel and members of the clergy are
mandated reporters according to the laws of the state of
Montana. This means that teachers, catechists and priests
are required BY LAW to report any suspected cases of child
abuse, included sexual abuse, to the proper authorities.
From Safe
Environments to Faith
Environments
Elizabeth A. Heidt Kozisek, Ph.D.
Director – Child Protection Office
Diocese of Grand Island, NE
In his last formal
address to the Victim
Assistance Ministry
Conference as chair of the
United States Conference
of Catholic Bishops
Committee for Protection
of Children and Youth,
Archbishop Gregory
Aymond of New Orleans
called for a paradigm shift
– "from Safe Environments
to Faith Environments." A
key point of his address was
clear: Our efforts to right
the wrong of sexual abuse
and to protect the life and
dignity of our children are
not just about safety, but
about our faith. All that we
do as Church to respond to
those suffering the pain of
abuse; to protect children
and youth; and to promote
right relationships models
the Gospel message of
Christ.
Not our Compliance, but
our Calling
Often when we
hear about the efforts of the
Church in regard to sexual
abuse, we hear about the
importance of compliance
with the USCCB Charter
for the Protection of
Children and Young People.
From a faith environment
perspective, the importance
is not in our compliance,
but in our calling. As
Catholics we are called to
respect the life and dignity
of every human person
from conception to natural
death. The Charter guides
us in action to our calling.
Our calling furthers the
Timely Lessons on
Physician-Assisted Suicide
By Bradley Williams. President of MAAS
Reprinted with permission
1. What is physician-assisted suicide?
The American Medical Association defines physician-assisted suicide as follows:
"Physician-assisted suicide occurs when a physician facilitates a patient’s death by providing
the necessary means and/or information to enable the patient to perform the life-ending
act (e. g., the physician provides sleeping pills and information about the lethal dose, while
aware that the patient may commit suicide)" (A.M.A. Code of Medical Ethics, Opinion
2.211).
2. Is it true that most states have rejected assisted suicide?
Yes. There are just two states where assisted suicide is legal: Oregon and Washington.
3. Why is assisted suicide a recipe for elder abuse?
In Oregon and Washington, assisted suicide statutes have significant gaps that put elders
at risk. The most obvious gap is a lack of witnesses when the lethal dose is administered.
Without disinterested witnesses, the opportunity is created for an heir, or another person
who will benefit from the death, to administer the lethal dose to the person against his will.
Even if the person struggled, who would know? Preventing elder abuse is official Montana
State policy.
4. Why is legislation needed to strengthen Montana's law against assisted suicide?
In 2009, the Montana Supreme Court issued Baxter v. State, which left our law unclear.
The Montana Lawyer, November 2011, where the editor's headline states: "Court ruling still
leaves the [assisted suicide]issue open to argument." More immediately, suicide proponents
are engaged in a misinformation campaign that assisted suicide is legal under Baxter. This
puts Montana citizens, especially the elderly, at risk to coercion, abuse and worse.
5. How does legal assisted suicide empower the government, not the individual?
In Oregon, patients under the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) have been steered to
suicide. The most well-known cases involve Barbara Wagner and Randy Stroup. See Susan
Donaldson James, "Death Drugs Cause Uproar in Oregon," ABC News, August 6, 2008 and
"Letter noting assisted suicide raises questions," KATU TV, July 30, 2008.
Wagner and Stroup each wanted treatment. The Oregon Health Plan offered them assisted
suicide instead. Neither Wagner nor Stroup saw this as a celebration of their "rights." Wagner
said: “I'm not ready to die.” (KATU article). Stroup said: “This is my life they’re playing
with” (ABC News article).
Wagner and Stroup were steered to suicide. Moreover, it was the Oregon Health Plan, a
government entity, doing the steering. State-sanctioned suicide empowers the government,
not the individual.
6. Will legalization of assisted suicide apply to people who aren't dying?
Probably, yes. In Washington and Oregon, assisted suicide laws apply to people diagnosed
with less than six months to live. These people are not necessarily dying. See Nina Shapiro,
“'Terminal Uncertainty,' Washington’s new 'Death with Dignity' law allows doctors to help
people commit suicide - once they’ve determined that the patient has only six months to
live. But what if they’re wrong?" [The Seattle Weekly, January 14, 2009].
7. Will legalization of assisted suicide apply to people with chronic conditions such as
diabetes, who are not dying?
Possibly, yes. During the Baxter litigation, the plaintiffs proposed that assisted
suicide, termed "aid in dying," be applied to "terminally ill adult patients." See: http://
maasdocuments.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/plaitiffs_proposal_001.pdf
The proposed definition of this term was so broad as to render young adults with
diabetes and other chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS "eligible" for assisted suicide.
In a joint opinion letter, attorney Theresa Schrempp and Doctor Richard Wonderly stated
that such patients "could live for decades." See http://www.euthanasiaprevention.on.ca/
ConnMemo02.pdf
8. Will legalization of physician-assisted suicide in Montana affect our already high
suicide rate?
If we follow Oregon’s pattern, yes. Oregon's suicide rate, which excludes suicides under
its physician-assisted suicide law, has been "increasing significantly" since 2000. Just three
years prior, in 1997, Oregon legalized physician-assisted suicide. This significant increase
is consistent with a suicide contagion. In other words, normalizing one type of suicide
encouraged other suicides.
Suicide prevention for people of “all ages” is official Montana State policy. Montana
already has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. We don’t need more suicide.
9. How can I help?
Sign our petition [http://
montanansagainstassistedsuicide.blogspot.com/p/signour-petition.html] to tell your legislators to clarify and
strengthen our law against assisted suicide. Please volunteer
and donate what you can. Thank you so much!
U Free Advertising!
Diocese of Great Falls-Billings parishes and
schools receive a free 4 col. inch ad (the size
of this message) in “The Harvest” (subject to
availability of space, first come - first served).
Please send your info for upcoming events to
Father Jay Peterson,
[email protected].
Faith Environments
continued from 12
Gospel message of Christ.
Not Retribution, but
Reverence
When we are
bogged down with the
requirements of a safe
environment program
or when we linger on
the costs of healing and
prevention efforts, we
may be tempted to say,
"That's not my problem,
I didn't cause the abuse."
From a faith perspective
however, this is a matter of
looking out for the need
of others – their healing,
safety, support and respect.
As Christ said, "Whatever
you do for the least of my
brothers you do for me."
Not Managing Risk,
but Modeling Right
Relationships
Safe environment
programs are more than
"risk management,"
focusing on the actions to
reduce the risk of abuse,
to reduce further damage
to our children and our
Church. They involve
modeling Christ, creating
for children the kind of
loving relationships that
Christ teaches about in
His gospel message. Every
protective message to
children, from noting their
unique and special creation,
their dignity as a person,
and true meaning of love
in relationships furthers the
Gospel message of Christ.
Not merely
Programs, Policies, and
Procedures, but Who and
How We Are
As we move
from the concept of safe
environments to that of
faith environments we
realize that our efforts
are more than a program
with requirements to
be checked off on a list.
Healing those who have
been harmed, preventing
abuse, and modeling right
relationships must be an
inherent part of who and
how we are with children.
Matthew 18:
4-5 NAB, "And whoever
receives one child such as
this in my name receives
me. Whoever causes one
of these little ones who
believe in me to sin, it
would be better for him to
have a great millstone hung
around his neck and to be
drowned in the depths of
the sea."
Reprinted with permission
Around
the
Diocese
Send in your
photos
and stories!
When submitting
photos and articles
for publication in
“The Harvest:”
• If sending the
information by
e-mail please save
the document as
an RTF file or copy
and paste the story/
caption into the body
of the e-mail. When
sending photos
online, please save
them as TIFFs, JPGs,
or PDFs and attach
them to the e-mail.
Wolf Point
At Immaculate Conception Church in Wolf Point, children
participated in a liturgical dance during all four Sundays of
Advent, bringing the candles to the Advent wreath. Then
in preparation for Christmas, children from kindergarten
through fifth grade performed a play titled, Mary is Chosen,”
giving all who watched it a chance to think about the real
story of the season. Thanks to all the students and teachers.
Entrance to the Novitiate
With great joy, we received in our Institute on the Solemnity
of the Epiphany our three new novices, Sr. Evelyn Montes
de Oca originally from Cuba, Sr. Kristi Bergman from Illinois,
and Sr. Mary Woelkers from Montana. May this new stage in
their religious formation be a gift to the Heart of the Child
Jesus and Our Lady. Sr. Mary is the daughter of Peter and
Monica Woelkers of Holy Spirit Parish in Great Falls. Please
share in our joy and accompany them with your prayers.
PCCW Forsyth Prayer
Transition tip 2:
During the 2013
campaign, donors will
continue to make their
contributions to the
Diocese through your
LOCAL PARISH.
Rev. Jay H.
Peterson’s
e-mail address
is: vicargeneral@
dioceseofgfb.org.
• Articles and photos
are published in the
order received,
upon approval by
Rev. Jay H. Peterson,
editor.
Climate Talks
continued from 4
The women of the Forsyth PCCW organized a prayer session for the
Connecticut school children and staff who were victims of the December
shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School of Newtown, Conn.
Pictured left to right are Lavina Hall, Donna Kennedy, Marie Rangel and
Margo Anderson as members of Immaculate Conception in Forsyth set up
a prayer devotional session in the parish center and brought the parish
together for a prayer cession lead by Father Michael Schneider following
Mass on December 23. The names of the 20 children and 6 adults killed
at Sandy Hook School were recited in remembrance. The children and
adults of the parish were also included as part of the collective Mass
intention for Christmas.
U Free Advertising!
[email protected].
of Churches expressed
concern about the effect
of climate change on
food security during the
conference. The worldwide
fellowship of 349 churches
told world leaders "time
has arrived to promote
more sustainable and
climate resilient food
production to urgently
make more food available
to sustain the human family
especially in the most
vulnerable societies, ill
prepared to deal with food
scarcity."
Sarah Fayolle
of the French Catholic
development agency
CCFD-Terre Solidaire said
little attention was given
to the important role of
agriculture in the talks.
She charged that smallscale agriculture and agroecological approaches
receive too little political
attention and financial
support.
"Working on
the ground ... we know
from experience that
small-scale farming can
help communities deal
with food insecurity
and climate change, but
decision-makers still have
to recognize this potential,"
she said.
Countries will
reconvene in 2013 in
Warsaw, Poland, to continue
discussions on a new global
climate deal.
40 Days for Life
campaign in
Great Falls
Feb.13-March 24
40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with
a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and
peaceful vigil to end abortion.
The mission of the campaign is to bring together
the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused
40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism,
with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn
hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life,
thus bringing an end to abortion. Persons of all faiths are
welcome.
Need more information? Call Sharon at 868-0047.
How can you help?
1. Pray and fast - at your church, at home, as you go
throughout your day. Pray for an end to abortion.
2. Join our peaceful vigil at the corner of 2nd Avenue
South and 9th Street North. February 13 - March 24. Visit
40DaysforLife.com or watch your parish bulletin for more
details.
3. Share with your community the facts about
abortion. Last year alone, there were over 2000 abortions
in Montana. One-fifth of all pregnancies nationwide end in
abortion. Visit AbortionFacts.com.
Ursuline Pre-School Registration is
Now Open for the
2013-14 School Year!
Pick up applications at the School located at
2300 Central Ave in Great Falls
or call School Director, Wende Curry at 452-8585.
Join us for an Open House on March 5th.
Meet Our Teachers &
Tour Our Classrooms!
campaign this year
begins about one month
later than usual: April
6-7, 2013.
Rediscovering the Heart of Jesus
Conference
Journey with Mary to Divine Mercy
By now you should
have seen posters and flyers
in your local church about
our upcoming conference.
And perhaps you are
wondering about who
the Eucharistic Apostles of
Divine Mercy (EADM) are,
and what made the EADM
Cenacle from Sacred Heart
Church in Cascade think to
put on this conference.
You may not have
heard about EADM before.
It is an apostolate of the
Marian Fathers of the
Immaculate Conception.
And since it’s founding in
1996, it has spread to over
35 countries worldwide.
It has even received
multiple special Apostolic
Blessings from Pope John
Paul II. He called Divine
Mercy the message of
the new millennium.
According to Fr. Seraphim
Michalenko, MIC, “Divine
Mercy is quickly becoming
the greatest grassroots
movement in the history
of the Church” (Cenacle of
The Divine Mercy, p.5).
To get some
background information
on EADM, refer to the
Cenacle Formation Manual
1 – Eucharistic Apostles
of The Divine Mercy
written by Bryan and Susan
Thatcher with Preface by Fr.
Seraphim Michalenko, MIC.
In their mission statement
it is stated that they are to
“profess and proclaim the
truth of the Real Presence
of Jesus in the Most Holy
Eucharist” by promoting
Perpetual Adoration and
offering of the Divine
Mercy Chaplet for the sick
and dying. EADM also
seeks to enlighten others
about the Divine Mercy
Message by the use of the
diary of Saint Faustina
Kowalska. To form cenacles
(small faith groups) so
that people can meet to
pray for vocations, pro-life
issues, and “experience the
splendor of our Catholic
Faith” by studying Sacred
Scripture, the Catechism,
and Saint Faustina’s diary.
Come meet Dr. Bryan
Thatcher, the founder of
EADM, at the conference in
Billings (March 16th) and
Great Falls (March 17th)
and hear him tell the story
of how and why he started
the Eucharistic Apostles of
Divine Mercy.
If you think about
it, the Christian faith
began in cenacles. And it
has expanded to what it
is today because of the
work of people in small
groups reaching out to
others. We live in a world
where atheism is trying
more and more to win over
people to their ideology. It
sometimes seems that one
see the lack of faith more
than the presence of faith,
especially in the media.
But we can fight back! As
Blessed George Matulaitis
wrote in his diary “ How
much good laymen and
laywomen could do if they
were only instructed and
enlightened beforehand in
matters of faith, informed
about the needs of the
Church, enkindled with
the fire of holy zeal and
then organized into groups
and attracted to the work
of spreading the Faith!
They would be able to
bring Christ in to places
we priests could not even
approach.”
Eucharistic Apostles
of Divine Mercy believe
that the message of Divine
Mercy is much more that
a devotion, it is a WAY
OF LIFE. One can miss
the point of the Divine
Mercy message if one only
practices the devotional
part of the message without
realizing a deeper trust in
God. His abundant mercy
should bring us closer to
Him. Jesus revealed to
Saint Faustina, “Behold,
for you I have established
a throne of mercy on earth
– the tabernacle – and
from this throne I desire to
enter your HEART” (Diary
of Saint Faustina, entry
#1485). And when you
get closer to Jesus, you
want to share that with
others. This is why this
conference is being held.
It all began about
nine months ago, at one
of our EADM meetings,
when we were discussing
how we could continue
the work of spreading the
message of Divine Mercy
that had been begun when
Brother Stanley gave his
personal testimony of
Divine Mercy in the Great
Falls and Hi-Line areas of
our diocese last year. One
of our members said that
we needed a conference
with dynamic speakers to
reach as many people as
possible. Once the idea
was spoken, we all agreed
and the project took off at a
very quick pace.
The four speakers
that are outlined in last
month’s article for the
conference (Bishop
Anthony Chirayath from
India; Father Michael
Gaitley, MIC; Dr. Bryan
Thatcher; and Bob Allard)
all have fruits of their work
to share with us. They
are passionate about their
works and we believe they
can inspire others to come
closer to our beloved Lord
and His Blessed Mother. So
please come and learn more
about The Divine Mercy
that flows from our Lord’s
most Sacred Heart, come
to the Rediscovering the
Heart of Jesus conference
this March (the 16th in
Billings & the 17th in Great
Falls). Come learn how to
take full advantage of the
abyss of mercy that our
Lord has waiting for us.
Don’t miss another chance
to understand what Divine
Mercy is all about. Come
and rediscover Jesus’ Heart
and see what it holds for
you!
For more details about
the conference, please look for the
flyers and posters that were sent out
to all the diocese parishes in late
December. You may also visit the
website at http://www.webhund.
com/RHJC/2013.html
FTC Urged To
Protect Online
Privacy Rights of
Children
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops is one of more than 50 organizations
asking the Federal Trade Commission for more stringent
safeguards to protect children's online privacy rights.
Although the Children's Online Privacy
Protection Act, known as COPPA, was passed by Congress
in 1998, more advanced online tracking techniques have
been developed that threaten those protections.
Under that law the FTC is charged with
establishing the rules for online privacy. It issued its first
rules in 2000, and is now considering updating them.
"Today's young people are growing up in a
complex media environment, connected to a vast array
of mobile
devices,
online games,
personal
computers,
social
networks,
and real-time
interactive
marketing
services,"
said the
organizations
in a letter to
FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz and the commissioners.
As a result, the letter added, "data collection
and marketing practices have become increasingly
sophisticated and much less transparent, undermining
the ability of parents to make meaningful decisions for
protecting their children's privacy and safety."
Rule changes, the letter said, "are not only
essential, but also urgent, addressing a variety of
techniques that are swiftly becoming commonplace,
including: 'cookies' and other 'persistent identifiers'
for following a child online, mobile and geo-location
tracking, facial recognition software, and behavioral
advertising."
The proposed rule changes, announced by the
FTC in 2011, expand the definition of what it means to
"collect" data from children. The new rules also would
present a data retention and deletion requirement, which
would mandate that data that is obtained from children
is only kept for the amount of time necessary to achieve
the purpose for which it was collected.
Another proposed rule would require any third
parties to whom a child's information is disclosed
have reasonable procedures in place to protect the
information.
"The FTC's efforts to update COPPA are long
overdue. These proposed rule changes are sensible and
fair," the letter said. "We urge you to act decisively and
soon to ensure that the law will continue to empower
parents and protect children in the growing digital
marketplace."
The FTC has said the requirements of the
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act also apply to
foreign-operated websites if such sites "are directed to
children in the U.S. or knowingly collect information
from children in the U.S."
The commission has already collected fines for
violations of the law, principally for letting children
younger than age 13 sign on to their sites without
Congratulations!
Director of Stewardship & Development for Diocese Earns
CHARTERED ADVISOR IN PHILANTHROPY® Designation
Judy Held, Director of Stewardship
and Development for the Diocese of Great
Falls-Billings, recently earned the Chartered
Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) professional
designation from the Richard D. Irwin Graduate
School of The American College, Bryn Mawr,
Pennsylvania. The CAP® designation includes
advanced coursework in design, implementation
and management of charitable gift techniques
and strategies as well as philanthropic tools
including charitable trusts, private foundations,
donor-advised funds and charitable gift
annuities.
Judy has 20 years of experience in
nonprofit management and philanthropic estate
planning. She recently completed two terms on
the Board of Directors of the Montana Nonprofit
Association, Helena, and continues to serve on its Public Policy Council. Parishes which
would like Judy to conduct a seminar or workshop in planned giving, endowment-building
or another area of philanthropic planning may contact her at 800-332-9998, ext. 120 or at
[email protected].
parental consent,
including $1
million from the
Xanga website,
which hosts
blogs and social
networking profiles,
and $400,000 from
Universal Music
Group. Other FTC
actions have been
taken against Hershey Foods,
Mrs. Field's Cookies, and the
makers of Jolly Time Popcorn.
Other religious groups
among the signatories to
the letter include the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of
America, the National
Black Church Initiative, the
Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ), and the United
Church of Christ's Office of
Communication.
Among the other
organizations that signed on
to the letter were Consumers
Union, the Campaign for a
Commercial-Free Childhood,
the American Academy of
Pediatrics, the American Heart
Association, the American
Psychological Association, the
Electronic Privacy Information
Center and Teachers Resisting
Unhealthy Children's
Entertainment.
campaign this year will
wrap up earlier than
customary: August 4,
2013.
When you see this “Catholic
Businesses Supporting Catholic
Ministries” logo please take note.
We’re encouraging parishioners
who own businesses to support
“The Harvest” through their paid advertising and
with their time, talent and treasure within their parish
community.
In turn we’re asking parishioners to support the
Catholic businesses thereby strengthening our own
communities and parish ministries in the process.
Thank you for supporting our advertisers!
Catholic Dorms
Day’s Granddaughter
continued from Page 2
continued from Page 2
of God, so I don't think
she ever really considered
that forsaking a more
comfortable life was
a matter of sacrifice,"
Hennessy said. "Tamar, on
the other hand, had this
lifestyle thrust on to her
from the time she was a
young child, and so, in
that sense, her sacrifice was
different."
Tamar Teresa Day
Hennessy was very young
when her parents separated.
She was 7 when Day and
Peter Maurin launched The
Catholic Worker newspaper
and opened a house of
hospitality for homeless
people during the Great
Depression. She spent much
of her childhood living in
Catholic Worker houses of
hospitality, often left in the
care of others while her
mother was traveling for
the cause.
In a 2003 interview,
Tamar Hennessy told
National Catholic Reporter
that Day was a loving
and devoted mother, but
she could be tough. "She
wanted everybody to be
like saints," Hennessy said.
"I mean, who can measure
up to that?"
Tamar Hennessy
would get married as a
teenager and raise nine
children in Vermont.
Martha Hennessy
said her grandmother
visited her family often,
and as a teenager she spent
time working at both
Maryhouse and St. Joseph's
House, another Catholic
Worker hospitality house in
New York.
"I loved spending
time down here with
Granny and it was a lot
of work, but I'm the type
of person who loves to
work. I'm such a Martha, as
Granny loved to point out,"
Hennessy said, referring
to biblical references to
Martha getting caught up
in the work that had to
be done, instead of being
more contemplative.
Like her mother,
Hennessy "fell away" from
Catholicism as an adult.
She married, became an
occupational therapist,
and raised three children,
but was always politically
active and a fervent pacifist.
Following her mother's
death, Hennessy spent
some time in Hawaii and
had a religious awaking of
her own.
"My landlady
simply started taking me
to church with her," she
said. "I thought that was
lovely to share that with
her. Things just started
happening from there."
Hennessy then reengaged with the Catholic
Worker Movement and now
divides her time between
the home she shares with
her husband in Springfield,
Vt., and Maryhouse. She
also travels around the
world in her role as a peace
activist, going to places
such as Cuba, Iraq, and
Afghanistan.
Following her
interview with CNS,
“Whether I need a
prescription filled,
a birthday card or
religious gift, or a nice
place for lunch with
friends, I like to shop
at Snyder Drug. I am
confident in suggesting
Snyder Drug to friends
because they are the kind
of Christ-based business I
want to support.”
— M.B. (Snyder Drug customer)
Hennessy helped prepare
dinner for the residents
of Maryhouse and then
welcomed guests who
arrived for a special Mass in
honor of her grandmother.
One young couple
traveled from Australia,
where they are involved
with a Catholic Worker
house. Others were people
who worked with Day,
including Patrick and
Kathleen Jordan of Staten
Island, N.Y.
Since the crowd
of about 75 wouldn't fit
in the small chapel in
Maryhouse, the dining
room was transformed into
a temporary worship space
for the Mass.
The walls are
adorned with images of
Gandhi, the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr., Our Lady
of Guadalupe, and Day. A
black cat darted in and out
of the room as the service
continued, accentuating the
casualness of the setting.
After Mass,
Hennessy embraced many
of the guests who came to
honor her grandmother.
She said she feels Day's
presence even stronger, and
now appreciates her deep
spiritual connection. Her
own religious awaking, she
said, has given her an inner
peace.
"The listening to
the voice of God above our
own clamoring has been
a gift of grace," Hennessy
said. "That somehow my
heart and my mind were
able to open up, and to act
upon this love of God."
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Leon brought the Catholic
faith to what is now St.
Augustine, Fla., and that the
project provides one more
example of the growth of
the church's presence in the
state.
"It's important
for us to remember
Christianity's coming,"
he said. "Pope Benedict
has declared this the Year
of Faith and we must be
renewed in our faith."
Noonan said
renewing God in the lives
of young adults is vital in
today's world.
"We educate the
whole person: mind,
body, and spirit. It's the
foundation of our faith
and very important for our
students -- especially a
residence hall where they'll
live spiritual as well as
academic lives," he said.
Catanese recalled
the institution's history,
pointing to its growth since
its founding in 1958 near
the start of the space age.
"There are 6,000
students on campus here,
2,000 students on military
bases and 7,000 students
online," Catanese said of
the number of enrollees
in campus academic
programs. "It's a tough
university. Technology can
be used for great good. A
residence hall is where you
develop a community.
"This residence
hall is faith-based and will
help our students develop
their sense of values and
use technology for great
good. Mary Star of the Sea
Catholic Student Residence
is a tribute to the Catholic
Church, to Florida Tech, the
Newman Student Housing
Fund, and Father Doug
Bailey," he said.
Bailey celebrated the
first Mass for FIT students
in 1983 in a garage at an
old house. Through his
vision and efforts, an All
Faiths Center and a chapel
seating 300 eventually were
built. He also took a leading
role in planning for the
new residence hall.
"Five years ago, a
chapel and wing for a dorm
like at the University of
Illinois, Champaign, were
first considered," Bailey
said. "But it wasn't until
Matt and Bill Zerrusen
visited and looked at this
land that my sleepless
nights began. Is FIT big
enough? Is it Catholic
enough? I wondered, but
I never once doubted the
ideal. We believe God is the
most important truth and
thank God for getting us to
this point."
Noonan, who
has spent much of his
priesthood working
in youth and young
adult ministry, said
he understands the
significance of the new
venture.
"One and a half
years ago, I had to explore
and understand the idea
of the residence hall and
it was exciting," he said.
"I'm looking forward to the
completion of this project
and looking to how we can
duplicate it throughout the
diocese."
Bishop W. Michael
Mulvey of Corpus Christi,
described the Texas project
as a "connection made in
heaven."
"We were going to
build the Newman Center,
but to add the housing -made possible through the
Newman Student Housing
Fund -- it became the
seamless garment approach
for these young people,"
he said. "It's giving them
the opportunity to develop
the whole person, not only
intellectual, but spiritual
development as well.
They're in an environment
to support their faith, that
protects and nourishes their
faith all along."
With completion
expected in August, the
building will house 287
students. A 300-seat chapel
and a Newman Center
also will be built once the
students move in.
From the “Gateway to the West”
to the “Big Sky”
By Darren Eultgen, Chancellor and Executive Coordinator
This month, the
Most Reverend Michael
Warfel, Bishop of Great
Falls-Billings, announced
the appointment of Darren
Eultgen of St. Louis, MO, as
the new Chancellor of the
Diocese, effective January 1,
2013.
Mr. Eultgen
succeeds Sr. Lynn Casey,
SLC, who has decided to
retire from the Diocese
and serve as Chair of the
Board of the Sisters of
Charity Health Services
Corporation. ( See page 10
of this issue.)
“Darren has a
solid record of service
to the Church both
in Lay Ministry and
Administration,” Bishop
Warfel said. “He is a man
of great faith with a special
love for the Church and
the people of our State.
I am confident that he
will continue to bring
energy and commitment
to the Diocese and the
many good works of the
Catholic Church in Eastern
Montana.”
“At the same time,”
Bishop Warfel continued,
“the Diocese of Great
Falls-Billings is deeply
indebted to Sr Lynn for
her exemplary service and
expertise she has provided
to the Catholics of Eastern
Montana. She is a great
example of the key role
that women religious play
in applying their vocation,
skills, and expertise to
help the Church fulfill its
mission in the world.” The Chancellor is
a key administrator of a
diocese, and often serves as
the Bishop’s representative.
The duties of a Chancellor
cover a wide range of
responsibilities including:
Holding responsibility
for the canonical records
of the diocese; ensuring
that the accuracy and
integrity of the archives
is maintained along with
establishing diocesan,
parish, and personnel files
in coordination with the
archivist. The chancellor
acts as the Executive
Coordinator of the
Diocesan Pastoral Council,
which meets three times
per year to give advice to
the bishop and to help the
diocese plan for the future.
Darren is the
Bishop’s Liaison in the
Diocesan Planning Process
and committee for all
long-range, operational
and strategic planning. The
Chancellor is a member
of the Diocesan Ministry
Resource Staff who provide
services requested by
parishes in our diocese
for specific in-service
trainings like workshops
on leadership, documents
from the Second Vatican
Council, renewal / inservice days for parish
staffs, and development of
Parish Pastoral Councils.
Finally, the Chancellor acts
as a resource person to our
Parish Life Coordinators
and… “all other duties
assigned by the Bishop.”
Biography of Darren
Eultgen
Born and raised
in St Louis, MO, Darren’s
parents were active in
their local parish, the
Church of the Ascension in
Chesterfield, MO. Darren’s
father, Tom, is a Permanent
Deacon in the Archdiocese
of St. Louis and his mother
(Judy) was the Director
of Religious Education at
Ascension for more than
20 years. Today their
primary ministry is as
volunteer Chaplains at St.
John’s Hospital in St. Louis.
His family traveled to the
Western United States every
year since he was a child,
regularly visiting Rocky
Mountain, Yellowstone,
and Glacier National Parks.
Darren graduated from St.
Louis Preparatory Seminary
South in Shrewsbury,
MO, in 1987. He then
attended the University of
Missouri (St. Louis) where
he received a Bachelor
of Science in Business in
1991. After owning his
own sports collectibles
business five years, Darren
enrolled at Aquinas Institute
of Theology, the Graduate
School of Theology and
Ministry in the Dominican
tradition at St. Louis
University where he
graduated in 1998 with a
Masters of Divinity.
Darren served at
a Pastoral Associate at St.
Ambrose in Godfrey, IL, in
the Diocese of Springfield
for three years before
being asked by Bishop
Wilton Gregory to move
to the Diocese of Belleville,
IL, and become Parish
Life Coordinator of St.
Theresa of Avila Parish and
School in Salem, IL, and
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in
Kinmundy, IL where he
served for nearly 10 years.
He served the Diocese
of Green Bay, WI for the
past three years before
becoming Chancellor and
moving to Montana.
Daren and his wife
Cindy have been married
since 1995. Cindy has been
a Parish Life Coordinator
and spiritual director for
nearly all of the past 10
years and is currently
“on sabbatical” as they
transition to our area.
Darren and Cindy love to
travel, hike, and explore the
American West.
“As a Catholic, I
am excited and honored
to be asked to serve my
Church and Bishop Warfel”
Mr. Eultgen says. “I hope
to build upon Sr. Lynn’s
outstanding record and, like
her, encourage others to
serve the Church of Eastern
Montana and support its
vital work in our families,
parishes, schools, and
communities.”
Cindy and Darren Eultgen in Glacier
Darren visiting Tetons
St. Vincent DePaul
Christmas Program
PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE!
By Dione Leidholt, Executive Director of Saint
Vincent de Paul Society, Great Falls
“People helping
people” – this is what
America is about! There is
so much good happening
and that is what we want to
focus on during Christmas
time. We thank KRTV for
their great and positive
coverage of our event. It’s
too bad that we can’t sit
down and see all of the
good that is happening
every day in America. It far
out numbers the bad. So we
thank our Lord for another
successful Christmas
program.
We also thank all
of our contributors and
volunteers that helped the
St. Vincent de Paul Society
of Cascade County provide
hundreds of people with
Christmas food. This
was the 43rd year of the
program. The free holiday
gift-boxes were distributed
on December 22, 2012, at
the legendary J Bar T. The
boxes contained an average
of 50 pounds of assorted
holiday food, including a
turkey or ham for families
and Christmas candy. Over
10,000 pounds of food was
distributed. The program
also provided 1,150 new
wrapped gifts. Each child
received three to five gifts
to help ensure they got
something they really
wanted.
Our food bank
manager, Jeanette Knaff,
worked countless hours in
the 38 degrees, unheated
J Bar T building, sorting,
counting and separating
all of the presents by
age and gender. For the
giveaway day of the 22nd,
we were fortunate that an
officer from the Montana
air National Guard and a
contractor provided heat
in the building with large
construction propane
heaters. Kind of took the
edge off!
At St. Vincent de
Paul, we act as a catalyst, but
the people of the area are
the volunteers and donors
that make this happen. First,
Our Lady of Lourdes school
children helped color and
decorate 2,000 giving-tree
tags. They also then put
either pink or blue yarn on
them so they could be hung
on the giving trees. Then
about 15 local businesses
put up giving trees with
tags for presents. Mary Lou
Brewster with the Marines
Toys-for-Tots provided
200 gifts. Other volunteers
included Boys Scout
Troup #1, Hugh Smith
and the Great Falls Central
Girls Basketball Team and
Cheerleaders along with
some of the boys, Mason’s
Lodge #34 members,
Pre-Release workers, St.
Vincent DePaul conference
members and numerous
wonderful individuals
from throughout the
area, including some city
employees.
Then we thank the
local area churches and
parishioners, including
Holy Spirit, Our Lady
of Lourdes, Corpus
Christi, and Christ United
Methodist providing most
of the food and children’s
gifts. We also received
support from the outlying
area churches of St Mark’s,
St Ann’s, Holy Trinity and
Sacred Heart. Along with
the churches, many private
groups, businesses and
numerous individuals and
volunteers put in about
2,000 hours of volunteer
help.
In addition to
food and gifts for the
less fortunate, our prison
ministry conference, St.
Dismas, put together
360 bags with assorted
Christmas candy, an apple
and orange, a couple
ramen noodles, along
with a Christmas card
for each inmate at the
regional jail. Earlier in the
season, inmates were given
Christmas cards that they
could send out to their
loved ones. Holy Spirit
Parish generously provided
stamps for the cards. We
want to make sure no one
is forgotten at Christmas
the “Year of Faith”
Webinar Series Continues
With Zane Fulbright
Sharing on
“The Stewardship
Lay Witness:
Sharing Your
Mary, Martha,
and Lazarus
Story ”
Date: Wednesday February 27, 2013
Time: 12:00 (Noon) until 1:00pm
Place: Comfort of your own home or office
Cost: Free!!
All Are Invited- Register Now
To Register: Email [email protected] and you’ll recieve the link to register
or call 800-332-9998 (ask for Judy Held, Director of Stewardship and Development)
Zane Fulbright :
Zane Fulbright has been involved in Catholic Stewardship ministery since 2003. When
he helped establish a parish stewardship program at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Dillon.
H shared what a small parish can do at the 2005 International Catholic Stewardship
Conference in San Francisco, CA. He currently serves on the Diocese of Great Falls Billings Stewardship and Development committee. Zane and his wife Janelle live in
Lewistown, MT with their four children and are members of St Leo the Great Catholic
Church.
Time. We are blessed by
the men and women of this
conference as they do the
work of Jesus Christ. They
make nearly 17,000 inmate
contacts in a year.
It is a wonderful
privilege to experience the
joy of both the volunteers
and the receivers during
this event. I am simply
astonished at the generosity
of so many in our area.
We are truly blessed by
this outpouring and thank
everyone for making our
programs possible, even
though we can’t mention
everyone by name. Again,
we couldn’t do it without
you, and may God Bless
you.
Saint Vincent de Paul
Society provides year around
assistance of food, clothing,
household items and other
necessities. Saint Vincent de Paul
is located at 426 Central Avenue
West, Great Falls, MT 59404.
Free Advertising!
[email protected].
Celebration 2013
Central Cheer Squad
Leads School Spirit
Mark your calendars for “Celebration 2013” Great Falls Central’s largest fundraiser to be
held Friday night, April 12, 2013, at the Mansfield Convention Center. Come and enjoy
the evening filled with good food, games, and silent and live auctions to support Great
Falls Central. We are excited to introduce our speaker for the evening. Reverend Leo E.
Patalinghug, a parish priest from Maryland and highly sought after speaker, will make a
presentation to middle school students from Holy Spirit, Our Lady of Lourdes and Great Falls
Central students on April 11, he will present a cooking demonstration for 10 people as part
of a pre-event auction item featuring his Bobby Flay” Throwdown” Fajitas and then speak at
the Celebration 2013 fundraiser. Fr. Leo is a nationally known chef, native of the Philippines,
martial arts black belt, and author of the popular cookbook “Grace Before Meals-Recipes and
Inspiration for Family Meals and Family Life.” “Grace Before Meals” shows that mealtime is
the perfect opportunity for family members to gather, enjoy one’s company, and discuss the
major issues all families face. Catholic Digest stated, “Grace Before Meals is a movement. A
movement to get families back to the kitchen to feed each other-physically and spiritually.”
Tickets will be available by calling Great Falls Central at 406-216-3344 or e-mailing
[email protected]
Students Give Santa and St. Vincent De Paul a Hand
Members of the Central Girl’s Basketball Team and Cheer Squad
Coach Stevens with Willie the Wildcat KSU’s
Mascot
When most Class C schools are trying to find players for
their sports teams, Central’s Cheer squad, some 14 strong,
leads the school in spirit for football, volleyball and
basketball. Several students participate in sports at the same
time. The squad practices year round, attending cheer camp
held by the Kansas State University (KSU) cheerleaders and
coaches and complete many early morning practices during
the school year. Jamie Stevens, coach of the Mustang Cheer
Squad is ACCA certified and teaches the high flying squad
the proper techniques as they perform aerial stunts at the
games. Coach Stevens was invited to be the guest of KSU
for the KSU/University of Texas football game in December
to assist KSU’s cheer coaches on the field during the game.
Coach Stevens is the Montana High School Association
representative for all Class C schools in Montana.
Transition tip 5: Starting Care
& Share Weekend 2013 (April
6-7), donations can be done
electronically through the
Diocesan Web site.
Two dozen members of the Great Falls Central Girls Basketball Team and Cheer Squad spent
a chilly December 22nd helping hand out food and presents to many families in need of
a little boost for Christmas. The girls handed out over 500 presents to over 100 families
while singing carols and wishing all a very merry and Blessed Christmas. This has become
an annual event for Great Falls Central students to help out St. Vincent De Paul. (See Page 19)
Prior to the event Central donated several large barrels of canned food to the organization.
Sophomore Students Help Santa’s Elves
Great Falls Central Catholic sophomores did double duty with a community service project in
December. Students organized a Drop and Shop project to allow parents time to Christmasshop while children were dropped off at Central for the morning to enjoy many activities
lead by the students. Money raised was used to buy small gifts such as toothbrushes, lotions
and socks for the residents at the Missouri River Manor. One of the temporary residents
receiving care was Fr. McInnis, Central’s Chaplain, who was recovering from an infection.
The students were all smiles when they learned that Fr. Mac would be returning to Central
after the first of the year. Students spent time with the other residents at the Manor giving
away gifts, visiting, and singing carols. Students at Central complete a minimum of twenty
hours of community service throughout the year.
St. Charles Pryor
IRA Gifts Extended
Through 2013!
By Judy Held, Director of Stewardship and
Development
St. Charles Mission in Pryor was pleased to welcome Sister Kateri Mitchell on the feast of
Epiphany. Sister is the Director of the Tekakwitha Conference, and shared about the life and
lessons of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. She also shared photos and stories from the canonization in
Rome. On Monday Sister Kateri shared with students at St. Charles Mission School.
(The first photo
is of Sister Kateri
teaching students
the Round Dance
from the Mohawk
tribe. The second
photo shows
students taking a
closer look at the
relic of St. Kateri.)
On January 1, 2013, Congress extended the
legislation which allows tax-free gifts to qualified charities,
directly from IRA accounts (an “IRA Rollover”). If you are
age 70 ½ or older, you may be able to take advantage of
this important incentive. This new legislation means that
you can direct any amount you wish (up to $100,000) to
your parish or to the diocese for important causes such as
priest’s retirement and seminarian education --or to meet
the greatest needs -- with no federal income tax liability. This
IRA Rollover may provide you with an excellent opportunity
to make a gift during your lifetime from an asset that would
be subject to multiple levels of taxation if it remains in your
taxable estate.
Here are some details and restrictions:
•
You must be 70 ½ or older when you make your
gift, and the gift must be made from an IRA – no other
retirement plans (such as 401k, 403b or SEP accounts).
•
Your gift must be made outright – it cannot be used
to establish a life-income arrangement or support a donoradvised fund.
•
Although the distribution will be free from income
tax, it will not generate an income tax charitable deduction.
It will reduce your taxable estate.
•
You can make these gifts through December 31,
2013.
St. Mary Livingston
School News
•
The administrator of your IRA will make the actual
distribution to the diocese for the benefit of your parish or
the diocese. If you would like a sample letter of instruction
to send to your IRA administrator, I can give that to you.
•
IRA distributions should be made to the “Roman
Catholic Bishop of Great Falls, Montana, for the benefit of
{insert the name of your parish or another ministry or fund
of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings}”.
•
IRA administrators don’t always include the donor’s
name on distribution checks. If you are planning to make a
distribution to benefit your parish or the diocese from you
IRA, please let us know in advance so that we will be able to
identify your gift. And please let us know if you want your
gift used for a particular fund or purpose.
That’s basically what you need to know, but I will
be happy to guide you through any other necessary details.
Certainly, there are parishioners throughout our diocese who
are happy that Congress acted upon this for 2013. Back in
December, one gentleman from our diocese told me that
he was anxiously awaiting this law to be reinstated, saying
that if given the opportunity, he “would sure rather see
his IRA dollars go to his church than the alternative!” For
more information, contact me, Judy Held, Stewardship and
Development, directly at [email protected] or
800-332-9998, ext. 120. Thank you!
The St. Mary’s School 7th-8th Grade girls basketball team recently completed a great season
with a 7-10 record. Students prepared for Christmas with weekly Advent services and an
all-school, extended-family prayer service and lunch before leaving for Christmas break. The
students wrapped up 2012 with their Annual Christmas Nativity Program Friday, December
21, 2012. The children were very busy learning their lines and the songs.
Arts & Entertainment
Catholic Faith Influenced
Pianist Dave Brubeck
WASHINIGTON (CNS)
-- Dave Brubeck, the
influential and prolific
pianist whose composition
"Take Five" became a
standard in the annals of
jazz, died Dec. 5 at age 91,
one day before his 92nd
birthday.
He died of heart
failure. He was reportedly
on his way to visit a
cardiologist in Norwalk,
Conn., with his son Darius
when he suffered a heart
attack.
Brubeck played his
"cool" brand of West Coast
jazz before Blessed John
Paul II and eight presidents.
He became a
Catholic in 1980 after
completing a commission
from Our Sunday Visitor
-- a Mass titled "To
Hope." Brubeck said
in a PBS biographical
profile, "I didn't convert
to Catholicism, because I
wasn't anything to convert
from. I just joined the
Catholic Church."
He received the
Laetare Medal from the
University of Notre Dame
and the Christophers' Life
Achievement Award, both
in 2006, and the Grammy
Lifetime Achievement
Award in 1996. He got
an honorary degree in
sacred theology from the
University of Fribourg
in Switzerland in 2004.
Brubeck also received the
Kennedy Center Honors in
2009 for his contributions
to American culture and the
arts.
Over a half-century,
Brubeck and his band gave
concerts in foreign lands
during goodwill tours. He
was honored by the State
Department in 2008 for his
efforts.
He formed the
Dave Brubeck Quartet in
1951 and kept the combo
going, with different
musicians, through 1967.
It was during this period
that he co-founded
Fantasy Records, had
his first huge hit with
"Take Five" (credited to
his saxophonist, Paul
Desmond), and toured
regularly despite recording
up to four albums a year.
"When the quartet
was on the road in the early
days, we were being played
so much that we just used
to go on the car radio and
turn the dial," Brubeck
told Catholic News Service
in a 1996 interview. "One
night we heard three of
our songs being played
on three different stations
at the same time. That's
how much we were being
played."
Later versions of the
group after it re-formed
included his four sons and
even his grandsons.
Brubeck originally
turned down the
commission for "To Hope"
since he wasn't a Catholic
then, but Ed Murray, then
the editor of Our Sunday
Visitor, "just wouldn't take
no for an answer," Brubeck
said.
"When I'd say
I didn't know anything
about the Mass, he'd say,
'Exactly what I want, it's
a fresh view. Somebody
who will come in and
just look at this with fresh
eyes,'" Brubeck said. He
eventually told Murray,
"I'll do it if you have
some very knowledgeable
Catholic people -- I'll write
three parts of the Mass
-- and if they like it, then
I'll continue." After they
listened to what he had
written, the word came:
"Tell Dave to continue and
don't change a note."
As for "On This
Rock," which he composed
for the 1987 visit of Blessed
John Paul to San Francisco,
he was also reluctant,
Brubeck told CNS. "I
wouldn't accept that.
They called me late in the
evening and they needed an
answer right away, the next
day," he recalled.
"So I said no, and
then I asked for the text.
And the text was 'Upon this
rock I will build my church
and the jaws of hell cannot
prevail against it.' So I'm
thinking, 'Now they want
nine minutes on this one
sentence. How am I going
to do that?'
"I went to bed
and in the middle of the
night I thought the only
way to do this is how Bach
would have done it -- with
a chorale and fugue. We
can use the words over
and over. I was dreaming
the subject of the fugue,"
Brubeck continued.
"And when I woke
up I said, 'Jeez, I've got it.
This is the way I can do
it, is with a chorale and
fugue.' I think it's the best
thing I've ever written."
Among Brubeck's
favorite jazzmen were Duke
Ellington, Louis Armstrong,
and a fellow pianistbandleader, Art Tatum.
Brubeck was chagrined
when, in 1954, he became
only the second jazz
musician after Armstrong
to grace the cover of Time
magazine, believing such
an honor more rightly
belonged to someone like
Ellington.
In addition to
dozens of albums of jazz
compositions, he wrote
several oratorios, including
"Bending Towards the Light
... A Jazz Nativity," a live
recording of the annual
Christmas jazz pageant
performed at Lincoln
Center in New York."
Brubeck, a native
of Concord, Calif., and a
veteran of World War II,
was active at his craft until
his death. His last album
release was a live recording,
"The Last Time Out," in
2011.
Besides his four
sons, he is survived by his
wife, Iola, herself a lyricist;
a daughter, Catherine;
and 10 grandchildren and
four great-grandchildren.
Another son died a few
years ago.
DAVE BRUBECK
You’ll be Surprised…
Don’t think you can receive a
rate of return better
than 1% in this day and age?
Let us tell you about the rates on a Charitable Gift
Annuity with the Catholic Foundation of
Eastern Montana!
Our rates range from 4% to 9%, locked in for life!
Investing in the Lord’s work right here in our
diocese has more than its share of rewards:
• Helping your parish, diocese or another Eastern
Montana Catholic ministry to thrive
• The immense joy of knowing you are giving
back to God and making a positive difference in
the lives of others
• Receiving an excellent rate of return, with fixed
payments that will continue for the rest of your
life
• Receiving abundant tax benefits in 2013
• The opportunity to see the good work your
donation can do while you are able to experience
and enjoy it
Why not request a free, confidential (and noobligation) example to review in the comfort of
your own home
To learn more,
call 800-332-9998 or
[email protected]
Judy Held
Director of Stewardship and
Development
Come Join Us 2013
Eucharistic Congress
A “Year of Faith” Evangelization Event
for a holy, spirit-filled, inspiring and challenging event as we graciously
welcome Bishop Michael Warfel, Fr. Ryan Erlenbush and Deacon Harold
Burke-Sivers to Corpus Christi Parish in Great Falls, MT, February 15-16, 2013.
You will be inspired and challenged to live your faith more deeply. Start your Lenten journey
by engaging your spirit in this “Year of Faith” evangelization event.
Bishop Michael Warfel
Bishop Michael W. Warfel was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings on November
20, 2007, and installed as the 8th Bishop for the Diocese on January 16, 2008. Prior to coming to Montana,
he had served as Bishop of Juneau for 11 years. He earned his B.A. degree in Philosophy from St. Gregory
and an M. Div. from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West in Cincinnati, Ohio. He later received an M.A. in
Theology from St. Michael’s College in Winooski Park, Vermont. Bishop Warfel served as Chair of the Bishop’s
Subcommittee on Home Missions, in addition to the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young
People. He has also chaired the Committee on Evangelization and served on the USCCB Committees for
International Justice and Peace, the Church in Latin America, the Deaconate and World Missions
Deacon Harold Burke –Sivers
Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers is a powerful
and passionate evangelist and preacher whose nononsense, hands on approach to living the Catholic
faith will challenge and inspire you. He is Founder and
Director of DynamicDeacon.com, a Christian evangelization and apologetics organization dedicated to
the promotion of Catholic values, principles, and teaching.
As one of the most sought after speakers in the Church today, Deacon Harold is active in giving
lectures, retreats and seminars in parishes across the nation. He has appeared on many national and
international radio programs including Catholic Answers Live, Catholic Connection, Kresta in the
Afternoon and Catholic Bookmarks. He is author of “The Mass in Sacred Scripture” and is a frequent
Eternal Word Television Network contributor. Deacon Harold has been featured on Life on the Rock,
EWTN Live, EWTN Bookmark and hosts a popular EWTN series, including “Behold the Man: Spirituality
for Men”, “Made in His Image: Family Life Today”, “Christ the Servant: The Vocation of Deacons” and
“Authentically Free at Last.”
The Eucharist
“To Be Loved And
To Be Lived”
Schedule of Events:
Friday, February 15, 2013
7:00 PM: Opening Prayer
7:15 PM: Bishop Michael Warfel
“The Eucharist, God’s Gift to Humanity”
8:00 PM: Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers
“Living a Eucharistic Faith”
9:00 PM: Closing Prayer
9:20 PM: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Vigil to continue throughout the night
Saturday, February 16, 2013
10:00 AM: Reverend Ryan Erlenbush
“The Eucharist, Model for Family Life”
11:00 AM: Benediction, Prayer and Confessions
12:30 PM: Lunch
1:30 PM: Gathering Song and Scripture
1:40 PM: Bishop Michael Warfel
“The Eucharist, Christ, the Light of the World”
2:40 PM: Break, Refreshments
3:00 PM: Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers
“Dare to Be a Disciple”
4:00 PM: Small Group Discussion Time
5:00 PM: Prepare for Mass
5:30 PM: Mass
Reverend Ryan Erlenbush
Father Ryan Erlenbush is a Montana native,
born and raised in Billings. He completed his
undergraduate work at the University of Saint
Thomas in Saint Paul, MN, majoring in Philosophy
and Classical Languages. After graduating from
Saint John Vianney College Seminary, Fr. Erlenbush
completed his seminary education at the Pontifical
North American College in Rome where he
received ecclesiastical degrees (STB and STL)
from the Pontifical Gregorian University and the
Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
His primary academic focus is on 13th century
biblical studies. Ordained a priest in 2009, Fr.
Erlenbush has served at Sacred Heart Church in
Miles City and Corpus Christi Parish in Great Falls.
Registration Form Eucharistic Congress
Name(s):_________________________________________
Parish:___________________E-mail:___________
While in attendance, I would like to spend time in Eucharistic adoration.
(Check at least one.)
9pm___10pm___11pm___12am___1am___2am___
3am___4am___5am___6am___7am___8am___9am___ Send Completed Form to:
Anthony Allen
Registration Fee: $10.00 Family Fee: $20.00
PO Box 1399
Great Falls, MT 59403
Crisis
Pregnancy
Centers in
Montana
8
410 Central Ave. #601
Great Falls, (406)771-7805
420 W. Pine St.
Missoula, (406)728-5429
Heights: 15 Wicks Lane
Billings, (460)256-7038
www.zoecaringcenter.org
Zoe Women’s Services:
1216 W. Lincoln Unit C
Bozeman, (406) 586-9444
www.stcatherinehealthcare.org
St. Catherine Family Health Care
Clinic and Pregnancy Resource
Center
203 W. Madison Ave., Suite E-2
Belgrade, (406)388-7035
February 1
All Schools Mass-Holy Spirit Parish, Great Falls, 9:15 am
February 6
Harvest Deadline
www.newhopemontana.org
New Hope Pregnancy Clinic
320 S. Idaho
Butte, (406)782-2927
February 8-10 Deacon Candidate Formation Weekend- Great Falls
8
Hi-Line Pregnancy Resource Center
315 1st Street, Havre
(406) 262-4111 or (406)265-3255
727-6683, ext. 110
1-800-332-9998
8
When submitting photos and articles
for publication in “The Harvest:”
8
Send in your photos
and stories to
Rev. Jay Peterson
www.lssmt.org
Lutheran Social Services:
P.O. Box 1345
Great Falls, (406)761-4341
Birthright of the Bitterroot:
259 Van Blaricom
Hamilton, (406)363-6710
8
If you’re moving (even snowbirds!)
please contact Laurie Horton, Executive
Secretary, so she can update your new address.
[email protected]
www.life-way.org
Echoz Pregnancy Services
3226 10th Ave. South
Great Falls, (406)727-1850
172 St. E. Ste. 207
Kalispell, (406)752-8847
8
To START
or STOP
a Subscription
& for Address Changes
8
Deadline:
February 6
March 6
April 6
May 6
June 6
July 6
New Hope Support Center
112 S. Washington St.
Dillon, (406)683-5259
8
Monthly issue:
March 1, 2013
April 1, 2013
May 1, 2013
June 1, 2013
July 1, 2013
August 1, 2013
Diocesan Pastoral
Center Calendar
February
8
“The Harvest”
Publishing Deadlines
http://carenetofbillings.org
LaVie:
2321 Broadwater Avenue
Billings,(406) 652-4868
8
click the link “The Harvest” newspaper
or contact Laurie Horton by email:
[email protected] or call 406-727-6683,
800-332-9998, ext. 110. for more information.
1301 - 11th Ave.
Helena, (406)442-4130
8
advertisers
“The Harvest” is mailed out each month
to over 17,803 households
in the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings.
The Advertising Rate Sheet
is available online at: www.dioceseofgfb.org,
www.cssmt.org
Catholic Social Services
1048 North 30 St.
Billings, (406)252-3399
http://helenaprc.com
Options Women’s Clinic
1205 Butte Avenue
Helena, (406)422-1011
February 9
St. Kateri Tekakwitha Mass of Thanksgiving, 1:00 pm, Our Lady of Lourdes, Great Falls
February 10
St. Kateri Tekakwitha Mass of Thanksgiving, 1:00 pm, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Billings
February 12
IRB Meeting, St. Patrick Co-Cathedral, Billings
Mass for Vocations, 6:00 pm St. Patrick Co- Cathedral, Billings
February 13
Ash Wednesday
Collection for Ad to the Church in Central & Eastern Europe
February 14
All Principals Meeting-Billings
February 15-16 Eucharistic Congress-Corpus Christi Church, Great Falls
February 17
Rite of Election, 3:00 pm St. Ann Cathedral, Great Falls
www.hopepregmin.org
Hope Pregnancy Center
940 1st Ave. East
Kalispell, (406)257-6006
February 20
Mass for Vocations, 6:00 pm St. Ann Cathedral, Great Falls
Pregnancy Help Center
P.O. Box 326
Deer Lodge, (406)559-0131
February 24
Rite of Election, 3:00 pm St. Patrick Co- Cathedral, Billings
Birthright Helena
38 S. Last Chance Gulch, Ste.4A
(406) 443-0662 (800)550-4900
February 27
Webinar-The Stewardship Lay Witness, Noon
www.clearchoiceclinic.org
Clear Choice Clinic
1281 Burns Way
Kalispell, (406)257-5700
www.sunrisepregnancy.org
Sunrise Pregnancy Resource
Center , 116 3rd Ave. N.W.
Sidney, (406)433-7772
Care Net
1515 Fairfiew Ave. Ste. 250
Missoula, (406)532-1585
• If sending the information by e-mail please save the
document as an RTF file or copy and paste the story/
caption into the body of the e-mail.
• When sending photos online, please save them as
TIFFs, JPGs, or PDFs and attach them to the e-mail.
Sparrow’s Vine
190 Redwood Ln.
Seeley Lake, (406)677-1900
Rev. Jay H. Peterson’s e-mail address is:
[email protected].
Pregnancy Care Center
113 W. 10th St.
Libby, (406)293-9435
• Articles and photos are published in the order
received, upon approval by Rev. Jay H. Peterson,
editor.
pregnancyclinicofmc.org
Pregnancy Outreach Clinic
516 Pleasant St, Miles City,
(406)233-3098
Care and Share 2012
Please Visit the diocesan
Web site
for monthly Care and Share
totals for all parishes
Apostleship Of Prayer
Migrant Families. That migrant families, especially the
mothers, may be supported and accompanied in their
difficulties.
Peace. That the peoples at war and in conflict may
lead the way in building a peaceful future.

February 2013 - Diocese of Great Falls

Transcription

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