Blessed Sacrament Church

By James Reinke
Guest columnist

The Catholic voice has been missing from the public debate on the Polymet mine. Pope Francis made it clear in “Laudato Si,” his encyclical on the environment, that since Vatican II there has been a growing ecology component to the social dimension of the gospel. He wrote: “Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork (mother Earth and all her creatures) is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or secondary aspect of our Christian experience.”

For sure, individual Catholics have contributed to the discussion. However, some explicit and specific Catholic criteria for sustainable mining that could add to the quality of this debate have not been stated. What the papers and television generally report are largely hyperbole spoken from “I’m right and you’re wrong” perspectives, as though it were a competition.

The public is used to this. It’s what typically comes out of our political debates. One side claims that all hard rock mining, such as Polymet, results in an acidically contaminated site. The other soothingly assures that since they are Minnesotans they will do it “right.” Neither claim can be substantiated and, of course, can guarantee nothing. It is a contentious debate.

Environmentalists can point to acidic pollution and degradation all throughout the world and the United States (including the heavily polluted South Dakota copper-nickel Gilt Edge Mine pit visited by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton) created by mining enterprises — some pursued in a very slipshod manner and others that resulted in unexpected pollution. Given so many negative outcomes, Mark Twain quipped that “a mine is a hole in the ground with a liar at the top.”

On the other hand, there is a growing realization on the part of mine executives that it is in their best interest and most profitable for all to extract minerals in a sustainable and nonpolluting way. Mother Earth would agree.

The Catholic Church does not have an answer for whether or not the Polymet proposal should go forward. However, the church offers four general principles garnered from its social teaching that set criteria necessary for creating consensus on mining proposals. First, the upholding of the human dignity of every person involved in some way with the mining is nonnegotiable. Second, human beings are stewards of the environment, not dominators and exploiters. We have an obligation to pay to our home planet, God’s creation. Third, the principle of solidarity requires the interconnection of people locally, globally, and intergenerationally. Fourth, the common good requires an outcome that promotes the human flourishing of all.

These principles underlie key issues raised by Pope Francis. Assessing the environmental impact of this Polymet venture demands transparent political processes, characterized by a farsighted statecraft that prioritizes the long-term common good, and a decision-making process that is interdisciplinary, transparent, and free of all economic and political pressure.

This process should be geared to facilitating consensus among all stakeholders. The potential negative outcomes require that decisions be made based on a comparison of the risks and benefits foreseen for the various possible alternatives. The principle of subsidiarity demands that the local population has a seat among the stakeholders, given their special interest in the project’s impact on themselves and anticipating their children’s’ future. Likewise indigenous people have a vested interest.

Also, some considerations, such as water, must have a higher priority, since it is an indispensable resource and a fundamental right. The pope writes: “This indisputable fact overrides any other assessment of environmental impact on a region.” Additionally, when comparing the risks and benefits of the venture remains inconclusive, the Precautionary Principle defined in the Rio Declaration of 1992 demands that those supporting the mine prove it will not cause uncontrolled environmental damage, versus the typical expectation of being required to prove or demonstrate that it will.

Given such caveats, which stem from previous mining disasters, opposition to every new venture is not in the common good’s best interest. Rather, the final choice must show itself as stemming from a balanced, transparent process that is manifestly free from every dominating special interest, ideology, power, and financial consideration.

Pope Francis was educated as a scientist. He encourages informed and inclusive participation in a decision-making process that is transparent with necessary nonnegotiable priorities, and the precautionary principle — all of which stem from scientific consensus.

The Minnesota approval process should reflect such requirements. All perspectives need to be included to make this a fully informed process. We local Catholics, as well as those throughout the world, are stakeholders in this process and should question, research, Google, talk, participate, and join with others more informed.

Living out our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork" demands that each of us become involved with a perspective supporting the common good, and not just to join one of the competing teams. As stated earlier, the Catholic Church does not offer a specific answer to this enterprise. However, the church does offer four necessary Gospel principles, an expression of our most noble human qualities, to guide us in “striving intelligently, boldly and responsibly to promote a sustainable and equitable development within the context of a broader concept of quality-of-life” (192).

Take these principles and their goal, do some research, raise questions, and network, then go to polymet.mn.gov for information and to enter your comments on the four current permit requests by March 16. Contribute to a process that should be determined by current science and engineering, and not by loudness, money, numbers, or power.

This is not a team sport. Either we, all the generations after us, and the earth are winners, or we are all losers.

James Reinke writes from Duluth, where he attends St. Benedict Church.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said it is the duty of the laity to represent the Catholic faith in the public arena, especially pointing to the current debate surrounding immigration.

“Within the Church, it is the laity who are called upon to ‘especially assist with their Christian wisdom’ the shaping of the temporal order in order to both further the common good and prepare the way for the Gospel,” said Archbishop Hebda, citing the “Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity” from the Second Vatican Council.

The archbishop’s call to action in a March 8 column for The Catholic Spirit came in preparation for the second of three “Capitol 101” workshops, focusing on educating and encouraging the Minnesota faithful to better participate in the legislative process.

The first session was held by the Minnesota Catholic Conference on Feb. 26, and follow up sessions will be held March 16 and April 17. At the workshops, attendees are able to meet Minnesota senators and representatives and learn about relevant policies and the legislative process.

Outside of the event, the Minnesota Catholic Conference has encouraged Catholics to offer an hour of adoration or a rosary for lawmakers and ask for the intercession of St. Thomas More, patron of statesmen.

The first workshop coincided with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s National Catholic Call-In Day in Support of Dreamers, which took place on Feb. 23.

The Call-In Day encouraged Catholics to contact their representatives in Washington, D.C., asking them to work toward a fair and compassionate solution for Dreamers — immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children.

A program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) had offered protection for these individuals, but the policy is set to expire. The U.S. bishops have called for a solution that protects Dreamers from deportation and provides a path to citizenship.

“Many of the Dreamers, through no fault of their own, had been brought here as infants or toddlers; the United States is accordingly the only home that they have known, and the prospect of deportation to an unknown country is devastating,” Archbishop Hebda said.

While political philosophies and perspectives differ, he said, it is always the obligation of Catholics to aid the process of peace.

He quoted the U.S. bishops’ document “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” which says, “Catholics may choose different ways to respond to compelling social problems, but we cannot differ on our moral obligation to help build a more just and peaceful world through morally acceptable means so that the weak and vulnerable are protected and human rights and dignity are defended.”

Noting that America’s Founding Fathers sought to protect the practice of faith in public life, the archbishop rejected the argument by some that separation of church and state means that religion should be excluded from the public square.

“They misread our Constitution as requiring a division between personal belief and public action, or between moral principles and political choices.”

Archbishop Hebda expressed gratitude for the success of first “Capitol 101” workshop and encouraged participation in the next two workshops, noting it is a responsibility of every Catholic to pray for the vulnerable and build a just community.

“All of us share the responsibility of striving to build a just community in which the weak and vulnerable are protected and human rights and dignity are defended. Let us pray for one another in undertaking this important work,” he said.

— Catholic News Agency

Fake news that distorts public discourse and manipulates the public will not be countered effectively by a renewed interest in journalistic ethics or more laws aimed at improving disclosure of the sources of online content. It is a cultural problem.

In an increasingly secular society that no longer recognizes objective truth, politics loses a standard to which policies should conform, and the media loses its influence as an instrument of accountability and judgment.

Jason Adkins Faith in the Public Arena

The public discourse becomes merely a battleground for those driven by greed, ideology, and the naked lust for power. In such a culture, leaders work not to defend the truth but rather to gain control of the process and impose their own ends — their own “truth.”

The news business, especially, and the proliferation of media across social networks play a key role in the battle to manipulate hearts and minds for ideological, political, and economic goals.

It is the truth, however, that sets us free from the slavery of the 24-hour media cycle and those who would seek to control it for their own interest.

But to convert our hearts to the truth, and make them open to it, we need the truth of a person — the Truth of Jesus Christ to transform a people who deceive and are willing to be deceived.

The fake news phenomenon

We should not be surprised today by the presence of “fake news,” recently described by Pope Francis in his World Communications Day 2018 message as “the spreading of disinformation online or in the traditional media. It has to do with false information based on non-existent or distorted data meant to deceive and manipulate the reader. Spreading fake news can serve to advance specific goals, influence political decisions, and serve economic interests.”

Fake news has instant allure for the consumer, wounded by original sin. As Pope Francis says, “[t]he effectiveness of fake news is primarily due to its ability to mimic real news, to seem plausible. Secondly, this false but believable news is ‘captious,’ inasmuch as it grasps people’s attention by appealing to stereotypes and common social prejudices, and exploiting instantaneous emotions like anxiety, contempt, anger, and frustration.”

Pope Francis equates the tactics of the producers of fake news to those of Satan, the father of lies, whose use of mimicry is a “sly and dangerous form of seduction that worms its way into the heart with false and alluring arguments.”

Hearts open to truth

Undoubtedly, all of us have trafficked in fake news (gossip included), either as producers or as willfully ignorant consumers, spreading lies and disinformation to others, often to assassinate the character of other persons or achieve partisan or ideological goals. For example, clicking on and sharing media content with sensational headlines about a person without actually reading and evaluating its content is one way to fall into the functional equivalent of the sin of gossip.

As Pope Francis clarifies, “the economic and manipulative aims that feed disinformation are rooted in a thirst for power, a desire to possess and enjoy, which ultimately makes us victims of something much more tragic: the deceptive power of evil that moves from one lie to another in order to rob us of our interior freedom. That is why education for truth means teaching people how to discern, evaluate, and understand our deepest desires and inclinations, lest we lose sight of what is good and yield to every temptation.”

We combat the temptation to traffic in fake news by recognizing first that God does not need our lie to build his kingdom. What is needed to bring true peace and order into the world is an encounter with Christ the Lord, and the transformation that springs from that encounter.

According to Pope Francis, “we discover and rediscover the truth when we experience it within ourselves in the loyalty and trustworthiness of the One who loves us.”

When we open our hearts to the truth of Jesus Christ, Jesus opens our hearts to reality, that is, the truth of all that he has made and that he continues to sustain in existence by his love. This truth brings both the interior freedom and peace of soul that is the effective remedy to the cultural problem of fake news.

Jason Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference.

Just a couple weeks ago, my arm cast was removed after the broken bones in my wrist healed. Back in November, while rebounding for my son, I stumbled and crashed to the ground. My seventeen-year-old, who likely was embarrassed by his mother plopping to the floor, chastised me: “Mom, just sit down; I don’t need your help!”

Betsy Kneepkens Faith and Family

This comment had little to do with the chance I could get injured. More likely, he was horrified by the fact that others may witness again the scene of his middle aged mother dropping onto the basketball court. The whole thing was rather dumb, so being a stubborn soul, I followed dumb with being dumber. I quickly got up and insisted that I chase balls for him again. In a matter of minutes, as my son anticipated, I fell a second time. I think it was flop two that ultimately did in my wrist bones, but who could be sure?

I can often, reflectively, see how God is alive in all areas of creation and certainly in my life. Even in a situation like breaking my wrist bones, I could see how God graciously provided an invitation to improve my relationship with him. I consider this recent incident when my arm was immobilized to be preparation for the upcoming Easter.

To live out this time of year thoroughly, I think approaching Lent with a heart of gratitude is essential. Before my little gym escapade, I honestly believed that I had a grasp of how fortunate I am and how others suffer. I thought I was appreciative of what I had and what I could do. Well, I was mostly wrong.

With these little bitty broken bones causing some minor inconvenience, I was quickly drawn to notice others who can’t change their circumstances. I found myself more deeply moved that their burdens remain with them the rest of their lives while mine was just temporary.

With my messed-up wrist, everyday tasks like zipping my coat, putting earrings in my ear, slipping a note in an envelope, and washing dishes became a huge hassle. It now brings a more profound pause when seeing others who constantly lived “hurdle” lives. My challenges became bummers and theirs significant, appreciated, and honored.

I understand a mature, empathetic person likely already has this sort of realization, but I needed to feel it and not just know it. God gifted this situation to stir my heart. Lent should stir our hearts, and God’s generosity has given me a broader, more outward perspective to take on this Lenten season.

Up until this time, one of my few claims to fame was that I had never broken a bone. I don’t know why I thought it mattered, but it did to me. One thing I quickly learned is that broken bones hurt. Well, everyone knows injuries like these are painful. However, until you feel that kind of pain you may not completely understand. I didn’t.

Once I met with the orthopedic hand doctor, and she determined the degree of breakage, the offer of pain meds quickly followed. Because of some misguided fear, I refused the prescription. Although I am somewhat convinced I would not get addicted to this sort of medication, I decided that due to the significant prescription crisis, I would abstain. I am well aware that my decision was not rational and probably lacked good science, but I made the decision, nonetheless.

The discomfort was more challenging than anticipated, affecting things like sleep and everyday tasks for a few days. I did, however, realize on about the second day that I could use this suffering as a way to offer the pain up for the sake of others. This decision immediately changed my perspective, and the situation became transformational. I sensed there was a use for the pain, creating in me a broader purpose and an opportunity to deepen spiritually. I was granted this realization through this recent event, allowing me to grow in ways I hadn’t before.

In a certain sense, fasting could now have the same sort of goal during Lent. When determining what I chose to do this year, I sought out opportunities that would frequently gnaw at me, create a generous amount of discomfort so that I would be reminded to offer the sacrifice up for others but more importantly for Christ this holy season. In the past, I gave things up because it would directly make me better. Hopefully, this Lent my sacrifices will lead me away from myself and focus outwardly. I firmly believe God planted that idea in me as early as the moment I thumped to that gym floor.

I continue to see how God remained with me even when my cast was removed. I foolishly assumed that at the last stage, when you no longer have to wear the splint anymore, the wrist is healed. Well, the bones are better, but full use of your wrist is not possible. It will take time, daily exercise, and some dedication to get my wrist to where it was before. I think, in a way, God uses this same message about Lent. I have always let Lent be just 40 days for me, but I now see that to indeed gain what I seek during Lent, I must use this time as only a starting period. The “cast” of Lent may be removed before Easter day, but to be transformed into the goodness we were created for and continue the spiritual path I seek, those changes must go past the Easter season.

Some might say I should have listened to my son that morning when he told me to sit down. I, however, see everything about this time as God using my lack of judgment as an opportunity to show he continually works in my life. His invitations are ever-present and always inviting, as long as I am willing to respond.

With that said, you can expect to see me again in the neighborhood gym rebounding basketballs for my children. Going forward I am not sure of exactly what lesson God has in store for me, but I remain hopeful that I answer when he is inviting me to learn.

Betsy Kneepkens is director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of Duluth and a mother of six.

“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day” (Exodus 20:8). It seems that a commandment telling us to rest would be an easy one to follow. Being told to “take a break,” especially when it is God directing us to do so, would appear to provide a welcomed respite in our busy lives.

However, our secular culture and goal-driven society makes following even this commandment difficult. Sunday can easily become a “catch-up” day in order to complete those tasks we didn’t finish during the week. Or an excess of sporting activities offered on Sunday can distract us from the true meaning of “rest in the Lord.”

Liz Hoefferle Handing on the Faith

While we may be tempted to justify a disregard for or minimize our adherence to this commandment, there are a lot of good reasons why we should take this commandment seriously.

A day of rest

Divine revelation shows us the value of work, but also the necessity of rest. The Book of Genesis describes how, after God completed his work of creation, he rested. Man, who is made in God’s image and likeness, is, thus, called to imitate his Creator. “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath day to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work” (Exodus 9-10).

Under the New Covenant, this day of rest and worship is celebrated on the day of Christ’s Resurrection — Sunday, the first day of the week. It is the day that Jesus rose from the dead, appeared to his apostles, and met the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Sunday is the day of the Holy Spirit’s outpouring at Pentecost and the day of the first baptisms in the church. This day of the “new creation” is a foreshadowing of eternal life, or “the day without end” (cf. Dies Domini 19-26).

We can trust that God knows what is best for us by commanding us to observe a day of rest and worship. There are many benefits to be gained from the renewal that results when abstaining from work. There is the physical rest needed to refresh our tired bodies. As sleeping patterns indicate, the human body is designed for a minimum amount of rest each day. Carrying this pattern into our work week by taking one day to deviate from the physical demands of our job or household work contributes to a good rhythm of rest for our bodies.

Rest from work on the Lord’s Day is also important for authentic human development. When we leave behind the worries of the workplace and our daily chores, we are free to give ourselves over to a time of holy leisure and direct our thoughts toward others. We can grow more fully in our social relationships and through our cultural expressions. We have time to strengthen family bonds, respond to the needs of others, and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.

Sunday rest prevents us from becoming slaves to our work and being lured into the worship of money. It helps us keep work in its proper perspective. Such restraint from work also allows us to grow in our trust of God by recognizing our dependence upon him. It leads us to acknowledge that our work is not actually our own but a gift from God meant to be used for his glory.

The most important form of renewal attained through observation of the Lord’s Day is that of our spiritual renewal. With the celebration of Mass as the high point of Sunday, we are reminded that the Mass is the “source and summit” of our entire lives. We encounter the risen Lord, and we bring the joy of that encounter and the power of his sacrificial love back into the world. As I heard a Catholic school teacher recently say, “On Sundays, we fill up our tanks.”

Listening to our Lord

Far from being a day of sloth or laziness, the rest commanded of us on the Lord’s Day is ordered to our growth in relationship with God and others.

As with all of the commandments, this has not been given to us as a hoop to jump through in order to get to heaven or a test to pass to determine if we are worthy enough. The commandments are laws from our Creator which help us grow in the ways of love.

Man’s ultimate fulfillment is found in a living relationship with God. By taking a day to focus intentionally and fully on God turns our hearts from the things of earth to the things of heaven.

I often find myself going through the week with a mental checklist, thinking about what I need to do next. I’ve come to realize that such a checklist can get in the way of listening to God. Sunday gives us the perfect opportunity to set aside our checklists and open ourselves more fully to God’s presence.

Such practices of trust and openness to the Lord on Sunday can, then, lead us to greater attentiveness to his presence throughout the entire week. (Those for whom family obligations or important social services require work on Sunday may need to make adaptations but should still ensure adequate time for rest and holy leisure.) Thus, let us use the opportunity we are given each week to become more and more who God has created us to be.

Liz Hoefferle is director of religious education for the Diocese of Duluth.

I know that you have commented on gossip in the past, but I sometimes struggle with practical ways to determine whether I should share information or not. Do you have any advice?

The fact that you want to honor the truth and honor God with your words is a very good sign. We know how often the Bible admonishes us to choose our words wisely. In fact, in the Letter of James chapter 3, he says “the tongue is like a fire.” The way we use our words can either provide light and comfort for someone, or they can do irreparable damage. James also says that one who does not know how to control his tongue deceives himself and his religion is worthless (cf. James 1:26).

Father Michael Schmitz Ask Father Mike

But since you already know how serious this is, what are some practical tips for implementing the wise and prudent use of language?

I came across something that referred to Socrates’ “Test of Three.” I found it to be incredibly helpful in sorting out what should be said from what ought not to be said. It was a story (most likely fictional) about an individual who wanted to share some news with Socrates about one of his people.

Before he could share the information, Socrates asked him, “Is what you have to share with me true?” The man admitted that he wasn’t sure if the information he had was accurate or not. At this, Socrates challenged him over why he would want to share information that he wasn’t certain was true.

This happens to us all of the time. How many times have you heard a tidbit of information about some celebrity, politician, or person in our lives, and we were more interested in sharing that piece of gossip than we were in checking out whether it was true or not? This was Socrates’ test of Truth.

Next, Socrates asked him, “This information you want to share with me, is it good news?” The man replied that it was most definitely not something good. Again, Socrates challenged him regarding why he would be willing to share something that was not favorable when he didn’t even know if it was true.

How often do we stumble into that trap? Typically, the kind of information that gets spread is the same kind of information that gets headlines or clicks on the Internet. In our fallen human nature, we are often more fascinated and preoccupied with bad news than we are with good news. Yet sharing someone else’s bad news (or sharing something negative about another person) can be a sin against charity.

Lastly, Socrates ask the man, “Is what you have to share with me useful to me?” He was asking if this kind of information (even if it was bad information) was it something that Socrates himself could benefit from knowing.

How quick many of us can be to simply talk and utter many words rather than weigh out whether or not what we have to say would actually help the other person? As Scripture tells us, “Say only the good things that men need to hear, things that will really help them” (Ephesians 4:29).

These questions could be incredibly practical ways that we can learn how to prune our speech so that it does not hurt but only helps. The “Test of Three” asks the three questions: Is this true? Is this good? Is this useful? If not, then consider it not worth sharing. I hope that helps!

Father Michael Schmitz is director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

You can buy almost anything on the online auction site Ebay, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Due to pressure from the Catholic Church, Ebay clamped down on the buying and selling of saints’ relics. Unfortunately, there are enough loopholes for people to be able still sell such sacred items on the auction website. There have been a number of great things over the years that I have purchased for my parish on this online auction, including the beautiful candle stands we use for the altar, but about 10 years ago I bought a Mass vestment on Ebay that has become an ongoing joke among my parishioners.

Father Richard Kunst Apologetics

Most priests own their own set of vestments, and because we use the colors purple, green, and white so often, I dare say that most priests have more than one chasuble (the name of the outer vestment worn by priests at Mass) of each of those colors. The other liturgical color that is used, but not nearly as often, is red, which is worn at Pentecost, Good Friday, and for any martyred saint’s feast day.

The color that is used most rarely is rose. The liturgical color rose is only used twice during the year, Gaudete Sunday, which is the third Sunday of Advent, and Laetare Sunday, which we will celebrate in March as the fourth Sunday of Lent.

Now here is the joke about my Laetare Sunday chasuble: It is pretty old, maybe from the 1950s, when Mass was always celebrated “ad orientem” (with the priest facing the same direction of the people), so the decoration on the vestment was only on the priest’s back. Since I do not celebrate the Mass “ad orientem,” I purposefully wear my vestment backwards, so that the decoration can be seen by the congregation. But more significant is that my vestment really is not rose, it’s Pepto-Bismol, or as my parishioners always call it, pink.

They don’t know this (until now), but whenever I am reassigned to another parish, I will be donating this Ebay purchase to the parish as a parting gift.

All this aside, what is the point? What exactly is Laetare Sunday, and why do we celebrate it? This fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare because of the first words from this liturgy’s introit, “Laetare Jerusalem” — “Rejoice, Jerusalem.” During the first several centuries of the Catholic Church, Lent was celebrated for only 36 days. Eventually four days were added before the first Sunday of Lent to make the season a complete 40 days. This is how we got Ash Wednesday, which occurred for the first time in the year 714 A.D.

Laetare Sunday marks the middle of the Lenten season, although technically the very middle of Lent is the Thursday before the fourth Sunday. Nevertheless, on this fourth Sunday, representing the middle of Lent, the church encourages us to be a little more lighthearted. The lighter color of rose (not pink) and the addition of flowers permitted in the sanctuary for the only time in Lent are meant to encourage the faithful in their penance. The church is telling us not to lose heart — our penances are half over; Easter is coming.

The Advent counterpart to Laetare Sunday, as already mentioned, is known as Gaudete Sunday, and traditionally it served the same purpose. In early centuries, Advent, like Lent, had more of a penance theme to the season. On the third week of Advent, the church wanted the faithful to have a lightened break to the penance, so the colors of the vestment and Advent candles were brightened for that one day of the season. Advent, of course, is no longer considered to be a season of penance, but the church has kept the ancient tradition of changing the colors.

So later this month, when I once again don the old rose colored chasuble that I got on Ebay, I would ask my parishioners to kindly be liturgically correct and say nothing about my pink vestments. It may be a little “ratty” compared to my other vestments. Just remember it is my gift to you whenever the good Lord or the good bishop assigns me to another parish!

Father Richard Kunst is pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Duluth and St. Joseph in Gnesen. Reach him at rbkunst@gmail.com.

I suspect some of the deepest, most important questions most Christians have are ones they are somewhat afraid to ask or perhaps never even think to ask: How do we discern God’s will in our lives? How do we know what God wants of us? Can we even know that?

These are really good questions.

Deacon Kyle Eller Mere Catholicism

God is always calling us. Literally at every moment, with each tiny, seemingly insignificant event that takes place and each little choice we make, God, in his providence, invites us to follow the path of love and life. Our primary vocation, whether we are married or single, lay people, clergy, or religious, is holiness, and holiness depends so much on seeking God’s will for us and embracing it. My confirmation saint, St. Maximilian Kolbe, put it very simply: “Christian perfection consists in the union of our will with the will of God.”

To be sure, God’s will is mysterious and, in its fullness, far beyond our comprehension. But since God does not command the impossible, and he commands us to do his will, it follows that we can know it at least well enough to obey him. I love the image of Blessed John Henry Newman, in his hymn “Lead, Kindly Light,” that we may not see the “distant scene,” but the “one step” God lights for us is enough.

We know some things about God’s will for us with great certainty, and they are not trivial. We know God wants us to follow his commandments — to do good and avoid sin. We know he wants us to carry out the daily duties of our state in life as faithfully as we can. We know he wants us to forgive and to love our neighbor. We know he wants us to spend daily time with him in prayer.

This covers important territory, including many of those daily moments. It forms the necessary foundation for deeper discernment. Without them, how could we hope to hear God clearly in greater matters?

But what about those other questions, where we may find ourselves agonizing, longing to know God’s will and yet unsure of what it is? Often these are life’s biggest moments — major decisions, major crises.

I would classify myself as a beginner here, and many wiser and holier people than me have addressed this question, but for what it’s worth, here are some of the lessons that I have learned through the process of discerning a call to be a deacon.

One important lesson is one I already mentioned: Discernment usually doesn’t happen all in a moment. God often makes his will known to us over time, lighting the next step or two but not the whole journey. As we learn to be content with that, we grow in faith and hope. We learn to trust God and not just our own judgment. We begin to better distinguish our passing desires from his abiding call. There is a peace in this.

I thought about diaconal ministry for years before entering formation. Then I spent years discerning it in formation. Not until several months before ordination did I come to feel a certainty that it was God’s call. But at each step, I knew what I needed to know — I felt God wanted me to stay in formation that next month, that next year.

The second lesson is related to that first one: Discernment is not a static process, where we just sit still and wait. We discern in motion.

Sometimes people have the impression that discerning God’s will is just a matter of sitting in the quiet church praying and listening. Certainly it is absolutely essential to do that. But along with that, we take small steps in the direction we think God might be calling us and see where he is in it. That’s one of the ways he makes his will known.

In deacon formation, this is built in. Over the years, more things related to the ministry get added, like making pastoral visits to people, reading at Mass, serving at Mass, leading prayer, assisting with sacramental preparation, practicing the preparation and delivery of homilies.

I found that often the most fruitful of these things were the ones I found most uncomfortable — the ones most out of my experience and confidence. Amid the human nerves and self-doubt, I was delighted to find a spiritual consolation and joy, too. One of God’s beautiful surprises in the wake of ordination is how much joy I find in things I wasn’t even sure I would like.

We can practice this in the questions we’re discerning. Take a small step in the right direction. Then pray about it. Then, when the time is right, take the next step.

We also don’t discern alone. For deacon candidates, the church is also discerning — is this man called? I don’t think I will ever forget the moment at the ordination when the church, in the person of the bishop, said that my classmates and I had been chosen for this ministry. Who could ever feel truly worthy of that?

In other kinds of discernment, it may look different, but the principle applies. As we pray and take small steps as God lights them for us, we should seek counsel. Depending on the situation, it could be from trusted pastor, a spiritual director, or prayerful, holy friend.

I’m still a beginner at discernment, but I’m grateful for the lessons I’ve learned thus far, because as I have come to appreciate, discernment never ends. Ordination was a conclusion to one part of discernment but the beginning of an even greater one. How is God calling me to live out this ministry? I won’t know the full answer to that question until this life ends.

Deacon Kyle Eller is editor of The Northern Cross. Reach him at keller@dioceseduluth.org.

The sixth annual Women of Faith Conference Feb. 24 at Marshall School had almost an embarrassment of riches, with two dynamic speakers — Father James Sichko and Teresa Tomeo — and a registration record of more than 500 women from across the Diocese of Duluth and beyond.

Father Sichko went first. A priest of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, he was appointed by Pope Francis during the Year of Mercy to be one of a select group of papal missionaries of mercy. He now travels the world as an evangelist and missionary, taking no salary and living off the generosity of the people he meets.

Teresa Tomeo

A gifted singer and storyteller, his two talks featured songs, stories, and poetry, as well as a lot of interaction, including answering the phone of one woman when it rang during his presentation and taking numerous selfies with them to add to his collection of them, which includes everyone from Pope Francis to Nancy Pelosi to a homeless man named Kyle.

In his first talk, Father Sichko promised to explain how to fill Mitchell Auditorium even more thoroughly with two words that he said are the essence of the Gospel: #BeKind.

He gave three ways to do that: “stop being jerks,” “hold your tongue,” and “be positive when someone comes to you with a request instead of negative.”

To illustrate the first point, he told a story of a travel nightmare and how he ended up sitting and complaining to his neighbor about the situation without realizing he was speaking to the president of the board of the airline. “He listened. He didn’t get defensive,” Father Sichko said. “… And that’s what Jesus does with each of us.”

By “hold your tongue,” Father Sichko gave a particular emphasis to the sin of gossip. “Pope Francis speaks about that constantly,” he said.

The principle, he said, is to “honor the absent.”

“If you’ve got something to say, say it to the person,” he said. He encouraged the audience not only to avoid participating in it but to object to gossip when they hear it.

Father Sichko’s second talk included a Q&A and several moving stories covering a number of topics, including stewardship — which described as “the act of organizing your life so God can spend you” — and listening to the Holy Spirit to let him take you out of your comfort zone. That, he says, begins by listening in prayer. “If your Bible is in good shape, you’re not,” he quipped.

Tomeo, a quick-talking Italian American who lives in Michigan and is known for her daily Catholic radio show broadcast on 300 stations and her twice-weekly TV show on EWTN, “Catholic View for Women.”

She said an experience traveling in the mountains in Italy and watching a young couple take selfies the whole time while never really experiencing the mountains was part of the inspiration for her latest book, “Beyond Me, My Selfie, and I.”

She said the technology can be good, and she uses it herself, but while it seems to make us more connected, often it doesn’t. “We are still so isolated, even more isolated from each other,” she said.

She told her own experience of growing up Catholic but becoming a pro-choice feminist with one foot in the secular world and one in the Catholic world. She said she was driven by ambition to be a successful broadcaster, and during years of work as a broadcast journalist in Detroit says she had achieved all of those goals by her 20s.

She said her husband’s coming to a deeper faith (he is now a deacon in the Archdiocese of Detroit), marital struggles, and the experience of losing her high-profile reporting job helped bring her to a deeper lived faith.

It also helped her learn that God has a plan and it’s always the best plan. “We may not believe it at the time, but it is so, so true,” she said.

She now has spent 16 years in Catholic media.

“It’s because I’ve surrendered the gifts and the talents that I have to God,” she said.

Tomeo also addressed the #MeToo controversies of the past several months, arguing that they demonstrate the truth of the church’s teaching on contraception. She noted that Blessed Paul VI, in Humanae Vitae, had predicted widespread immorality and objectification of women as a consequence of contraception.

Tomeo’s second talk was on becoming a Catholic who goes “Beyond Sunday,” living a life of faith each day. She discussed some of the cultural challenges, such as Joy Behar’s recent comments on national television suggesting people who believe God speaks to them have a mental illness.

She urged those in attendance to have the courage to pass on the truth to those in their lives.

This year’s women’s conference, as usual, included opportunities for confession, Mass with Bishop Paul Sirba, and vendors. Eucharistic Adoration was also available through the day.