St. Raphael and St. Rose

When as a young adult I was wandering in the spiritual wilderness as an agnostic relativist, God left me a couple of “lifelines” to help me find my way home. One was that I was always pro- life. I really couldn’t shake it.

In many ways this didn’t seem to fit with my other convictions or with those who shared them. There I was, vegan, progressive, pacifist, skeptical, “spiritual but not religious,” anxious that people not “impose their morality” on others.

And pro-life.

Kyle Eller Mere Catholicism

Sure, the pro-life movement is more diverse than it gets credit for, and there was a pronounced “consistent ethic of life” in what I already believed. But the situation was uncomfortable enough for me that I probably thought about the issue more deeply and seriously than I did about any other.

The harder I thought, the clearer it was. The arguments against the pro- life position, I found, were simply terrible, all fallacious or based on false premises or carrying morally repellent consequences or — too often — simply absent, with name-calling and calumny substituted in their place.

In the end, I decided it is not only true but obvious that if abortion is not wrong, nothing is, all the fulmination of the world notwithstanding.

As I reached this firm conclusion, it became like a submerged rock against which the happy little boat of my worldview had run aground. In the salvage operation, I began to rethink much that I had previously taken for granted.

This wasn’t the direct cause of my coming to an adult faith in God, but it certainly helped to clear the way.

It was only after coming to faith that I discovered St. John Paul II’s encyclical letter “Evangelium Vitae” — “The Gospel of Life” — written 20 years ago last month. It remains one of the greatest, most profound things I have ever read.

It begins like this: “The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus’ message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as ‘good news’ to the people of every age and culture.”

Even these words were a revelation and an affirmation. Imagine! The pro-life message is “at the heart of Jesus’ message,” and it’s good news for everyone. And it is to be proclaimed with “dauntless fidelity.”

This beloved saint, who has inspired me so much, went on over the next nearly 50,000 words to take some of the hard-won ideas from the best thinking I had ever done and purify them and state them with great clarity and eloquence, and, most of all, deepen them with a force of profound beauty.

My thinking was rooted in the natural law. His was rooted there too, but even more in the Gospel itself, in the spiritual dimension of the person. I was thinking about this earthly life. John Paul was too, but through the lens of eternity. I grasped the greatness of each human life as an irreplaceable subjective experience of the world. He fully broadened the horizon to include the greatness of every human life as it is rooted in being a “thought” of God and an image of God — every person as someone God loves enough to die for.

St. John Paul spoke like an Old Testament prophet, convicting the culture of a darkening of conscience and its influential powers of erecting “structures of sin,” spreading the kind of terrible confusion that calls what is evil good. He advocated (and practiced) speaking plainly and directly, avoiding the Orwellian euphemism that is the linguistic weapon of the culture of death. He diagnosed the consequences to freedom and democracy of failing to live by the most fundamental principles of defending innocent human life.

And yet this was no polemic. It is an encyclical full of mercy, of tender regard and welcome for those who have had abortions, and of rigorous argument, and it is all the context of the Gospel, connected with all the rest of the church’s social vision, all directed toward the building of something positive and beautiful:

“To all the members of the Church, the people of life and for life, I make this most urgent appeal, that together we may offer this world of ours new signs of hope, and work to ensure that justice and solidarity will increase and that a new culture of human life will be affirmed, for the building of an authentic civilization of truth and love.”

These are the words not of a hater but of a lover.

And it reflected a consistent ethic of life, flowing naturally from the dignity of the human person.

This great masterpiece of St. John Paul II was one of my first encounters with the deep wisdom of the church, a wisdom that transcends worldly wisdom. This, even beyond the message itself, proved to be a great support to my mustard seed of faith. The encyclical bore the unmistakable fragrance of the divine presence.

In the last 20 years, Evangelium Vitae has lost none of its vitality and urgency. I would encourage you to read it, study it and pray with it.

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

Bishop Paul Sirba said March 30 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary that it may be one of the few times in his life he’ll have the privilege to celebrate two Chrism Masses in a year — the one he was in the midst of for the Diocese of Duluth and the one he had celebrated the previous week in the neighboring Diocese of Superior, Wis., where the faithful are awaiting a new bishop after Bishop Peter Christensen was assigned to the Diocese of Boise, Idaho.

“It was, like ours, a beautiful celebration,” he said, joking that he “felt quite at home” given that the reserved parking space, just like in Duluth, is next to the dumpster.

At the annual Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary in Duluth, Bishop Paul Sirba blesses one of the holy oils for use at parishes throughout the diocese. (Kyle Eller / The Northern Cross)

The annual Chrism Mass is one of the signature liturgies of Holy Week. At it, the diocesan bishop blesses the holy oils used in the sacraments throughout the year, and priests renew the promises of their ministry. The Chrism Mass in the Duluth Diocese was also attended by religious, deacons, seminarians, representatives from nearly all of the parishes of the diocese and catechumens and candidates who will soon be received into full communion with the Catholic Church, to whom Bishop Sirba said, simply, “welcome home.”

In Rome, the Chrism Mass is celebrated on Holy Thursday, but in many other parts of the world it is celebrated at another time due to the travel distances so that priests preparing for the Triduum in their parishes can also be present.

“This Chrism Mass is always a sign of our unity and our communion; it’s also a very, very beautiful liturgy,” Bishop Sirba said in his homily.

“Like the three oils that will be blessed, the oil of catechumens, the oil of the sick and the sacred Chrism, I’d like to offer you three points of reflection on joy,” he said, inspired by his reading and rereading of Pope Francis.

Joy leads others to Christ

First, the bishop spoke of joy itself, which he identified in the spiritual sense as “a fruit of the Holy Spirit” and therefore more than a feeling, which “flows from the great virtue of charity” and can’t be forced but can be nurtured. It accompanies the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, he said, and from living in a state of grace.

“Joy is the inner delight of knowing that we are loved by God,” he said, citing Pope Francis, a point that can be part of daily prayer and examinations of conscience.

He also said joy is important in a witness. “Joy has a quality that leads others to Christ,” he said, noting that he thinks that’s why Pope Francis keeps drawing attention to it.

His second point of reflection was joy as it relates to the New Evangelization. He noted ongoing work by the diocese at the annual Assembly and men’s and women’s conferences, as well as workshops with the Catherine of Sienna Institute, centered around “forming intentional disciples.”

Among the goals, he said, was to “give our Catholic people their birthright” and invite them to the joys of a deeper relationship with the Lord.

Third, he spoke of the joy of the sacraments. “Sacraments are personal encounters — the most personal encounters — for relationships we have this side of heaven with Jesus Christ,” he said.

“Joy comes from meeting Jesus,” he added.

The bishop expressed incredulity that a Catholic could miss weekly Mass and the personal encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, comparing it to the sight of people rushing out on a big shopping day like Black Friday to be part of the experience and walking out with just a pair of socks.

At the close of the Mass, representatives from each of the parishes processed forward to meet the bishop and then receive the oils, which are then taken back to the parishes and presented during the Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil.

— By Kyle Eller / The Northern Cross

In the purchase and subsequent consumption of what’s playfully dubbed “Irish Holy Water,” fans of Finnegans beer are feeding the hungry in Minnesota, which has included clients of Catholic Charities in the past.

Since its beginning 15 years ago, the Minneapolis-based beer company has centered its business model on the common good, contributing 100 percent of its profits to alleviate hunger.

Finnegans beer, brewed in Minneapolis, contributes 100 percent of its profits to alleviate hunger. Locals call the beer “Irish Holy Water.” (CNS photo/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)

Finnegans’ formula is simple: It starts with “good beer” found at local restaurants, bars and liquor stores, and puts that profit into the Finnegans Community Fund, which buys fresh produce from local farms. In turn, Finnegans donates the fresh produce to food shelves to be distributed to people in need. Paying for the produce at market-rate, Finnegans provides farmers with an income and people in need with healthy food.

“I know that in the last decade, we’ve seen the number of people going to food shelves double,” said Finnegans founder and CEO Jacquie Berglund. “The largest growing segments are military families and college students. We need to work harder and have our citizens meet their basic needs.”

Up until two years ago when Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis stopped operating food shelves, it had benefited from Finnegans’ outreach.

With the notion of “we’re here to serve others,” Berglund said the company is proof that a small group of committed people “can do anything.” In Finnegans’ case, the staff of five has created and run a social enterprise that is self-sustainable, Berglund said. Next to Newman’s Own brand, Finnegans is the second longest-running company in the country that has a 100 percent profit business model.

Because of government regulations, Finnegans is really two companies: the for-profit company that owns the brand and pays the bills, and the nonprofit company that donates all its proceeds — more than half a million dollars to anti-hunger efforts since its start in 2000.

“The most important thing to me is creating community wealth and giving it back,” Berglund told The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Finnegans also is celebrating one year of its Reverse Food Truck — which, rather than serve food, collects food and monetary donations — furthering its mission to “put hunger in the rearview.”

In addition to Minnesota, Finnegans partners with farmers and distributes in Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and soon, Iowa.

From the “holy water” reference to its haloed shamrock logo, Finnegans adopts from Catholic culture, thanks, in part, to Catholics behind its advertising.

The company’s philanthropic mission led Tom Moudry and his team at Martin Williams in Minneapolis to offer the advertising agency’s work pro bono.

“We have been able to find a very fun tone for the personality of the brand,” said Moudry, chief creative officer. “When you have an Irish amber beer, and you’re selling it in the Twin Cities, we’ve found there’s an opportunity for benevolence and leprechaun wit.”

Moudry, who is a parishioner of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, said the Catholic component of that wit comes out more the closer it gets to St. Patrick’s Day each year.

In advertising Finnegans’ Reverse Food Truck, Moudry, who has brothers and uncles who are priests, pointed to the slogans: “Just a food truck. Like Mother Teresa was just a really nice lady” and “Give us this day your daily bread ... or canned goods ... or instant mashed potatoes.”

“We’ve had a mission to take her (Berglund’s) mission of 100 percent giving to local working charities to another level,” Moudry said.

Berglund explained the paradox of the company. “We are a beer company — it’s fun and it’s social — so bringing that social piece, which can be a social evil, to make it into something good.”

Moudry said Berglund has been an inspiration to the Martin Williams staff not only through her service, but also by “using a beer brand in such a charming way that allows people to laugh and have fun. But the mission is not lost,” he said, adding that the agency only takes on pro bono work if they trust that the client is helping to make the world a better place.

Trygstad is assistant editor of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

— By Jessica Trygstad / Catholic News Service

Pope Francis is promulgating a special Holy Year on the virtue that ‘changes the world’

The joy of the Gospel of Easter fills our world. May the risen Lord make us living witnesses of his saving love! Happy Easter!

Pope Francis will formally announce the celebration of an “extraordinary Holy Year” on Divine Mercy Sunday. This “Jubilee of Mercy” will begin with the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8, and will conclude on Nov. 30, 2016, with the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

Bishop Paul Sirba Fiat Voluntas Tua

The Holy Father stated: “This is the time of mercy. It is important that the lay faithful live it and bring it into different social environments. Go forth!”

Holy Years are an ancient tradition. The Jewish people celebrated Jubilees every 50 years. It was a celebration meant to restore harmony among all the children of Israel. Jubilee years saw the forgiveness of debts, the extension of personal freedoms, new possibilities for families and protection for the weak.

In our Catholic tradition we focus on our relationship with God and our neighbor by striving to deepen our faith and Christian witness. Charitable works and indulgenced prayers and acts will help us put our faith into action. The mercy we have received we are to give as a gift.

Since 1300, the Church has celebrated 26 ordinary Holy Years and just a few extraordinary Jubilees, most recently the 1983 Holy Year declared by St. John Paul II on the occasion of the 1950 years of Redemption. Most of us remember the Holy Year for the year 2000. Y2K didn’t faze it.

The theme for the Holy Year will be taken from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, “God is rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4). The timing of the opening corresponds to the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council in 1965.

‘The best thing we can feel’

Mercy is a theme close to our Holy Father’s heart, and to mine also, and no doubt to yours.

Pope Francis said in his Angelus address after his election: “Feeling mercy, that this word changes everything. This is the best thing we can feel: it changes the world. A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just. We need to understand properly this mercy of God, this merciful Father who is so patient” (Angelus, March 17, 2013).

I often repeat the definition of mercy used by our pope emeritus, Pope Benedict XVI, when he said: “Mercy is God’s love where we are hurting.”

We will have numerous opportunities to reflect on God’s mercy in the upcoming Holy Year. The Sunday readings for ordinary time will be taken from the Gospel of St. Luke. He has been called for centuries the “evangelist of mercy” because of the parables only recorded in his Gospel: the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son.

World Youth Day 2016 in Poland will take on addition significance during a Holy Year — if the land of the originator of World Youth Day, St. John Paul II, and the saint he canonized, St. Faustina, were not already enough! The Divine Mercy Shrine will be visited by millions of youth from around the world in 2016. Young people from the Diocese of Duluth should be quick to reserve a spot and contact our youth ministry office. We have 35 reserved places for you. I look forward to accompanying you.

Our Easter Season begins with a Jubilee announcement. Our God is a God of surprises. The Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the dead is the greatest unexpected rescue the world will ever know!

Bishop Paul D. Sirba is the ninth bishop of Duluth.

To enter Christ’s empty tomb like the disciples and see that he has risen, Christians today also must “bend down,” Pope Francis said in his Easter message.

“Love has triumphed over hatred. Life has conquered death. Light has dispelled the darkness,” he told tens of thousands of rain-drenched pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square April 5.

Pope Francis waves to the crowd during his Easter message and blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican April 5. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

Rain fell and fell hard throughout most of the outdoor Mass. While most people had umbrellas, their flimsy plastic ponchos were no match for the wind and downpour. The ciboria used to distribute Communion to the crowd were covered with plastic wrap, only partially pulled back when the faithful approached.

Still, they stayed for the Mass and for the pope’s solemn Easter blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world).

Pope Francis did not give a homily during the morning Mass, but his Easter message before the blessing picked up a theme he had begun at the Easter vigil the night before: The mystery of Easter cannot be understood — and the Christian faith cannot be lived fully — without humility.

“By his death and resurrection, Jesus shows everyone the way to life and happiness: this way is humility, which involves humiliation,” Pope Francis said. “This is the path which leads to glory. Only those who humble themselves can go toward the ‘things that are above,’ toward God.”

To enter into the mystery of God’s love, he said, “we need to ‘bend down,’ to abase ourselves. Only those who abase themselves understand the glorification of Jesus and are able to follow him on his way.”

Obviously, he said, that often involves being countercultural. Instead of putting ourselves first, he said, “Christians, by the grace of Christ, dead and risen, are the seeds of another humanity, in which we seek to live in service to one another, not to be arrogant, but rather respectful and ready to help.”

“This is not weakness, but true strength!” the pope said. “Those who bear within them God’s power, his love and his justice, do not need to employ violence; they speak and act with the power of truth, beauty and love.”

As is traditional for the “urbi et orbi” message, Pope Francis offered prayers for an end to war and violence in specific countries, mentioning by name Syria, Iraq, the Holy Land, Libya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Congo, Yemen and Ukraine.

In better news, the pope said, “in hope, we entrust to the merciful Lord the framework recently agreed to” in order to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The pope prayed that it would be “a definitive step toward a more secure and fraternal world.”

As he had at every Holy Week and Easter service, Pope Francis offered special prayers for persecuted Christians, asking that “Jesus, the victor over death,” would ease their suffering.

Pope Francis’ Easter celebrations began in the dark of a rainy night April 4 in the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica. Hot embers glowed until the Easter fire was lit and with it the paschal candle. As a deacon carried the candle into the church, Pope Francis followed with a large taper.

Although only the pope and the deacon had candles, the basilica was aglow with smartphone and tablet displays as people tried to get photos. However, as the pope neared the front of the basilica, the congregation — mostly nuns, priests, bishops, cardinals and ambassadors close to the altar — was more disciplined and the impact of scattered lit candles grew.

While the pope was busy with the Easter liturgies, he sent Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, out to the city’s train stations, shelters and streets with Easter cards for the homeless. He handed out about 300 envelopes, each of which included an undisclosed amount of money.

During the Easter vigil Mass, Pope Francis baptized, confirmed and gave first Communion to 10 people, who ranged in age from 13 to 66. Four were Italian, three were Albanian and one each came from Cambodia, Kenya and Portugal.

Pope Francis rubbed the chrism oil all over their foreheads and, during the confirmation rite, tenderly gave each one a kiss on the right cheek.

The youngest of the new Catholics — Champa Buceti, a 13-year-old Cambodian, and Francesco Comegna, a 28-year-old Italian — brought up the gifts at the offertory.

As with his “urbi et orbi” message, Pope Francis’ homily during the Easter vigil, which lasted just over two and a half hours, focused on the humility required of Christians.

The only way to enter into the Easter mystery, he said, is with humility, “to come down from the pedestal of our ‘I’ which is so proud, of our presumption; the humility not to take ourselves so seriously, recognizing who we really are: creatures with strengths and weaknesses, sinners in need of forgiveness.”

“It is good for us, on this vigil night, to reflect on the experience of the women” who went to Jesus’ tomb Easter morning to anoint his body, he said. Entering the tomb is to enter “into the mystery which God has accomplished with his vigil of love.”

“We cannot live Easter without entering into the mystery. It is not something intellectual, something we only know or read about,” he said. “It is more, much more!”

Entering the mystery means being able “to wonder, to contemplate; the ability to listen to the silence and to hear the tiny whisper amid great silence by which God speaks to us.”

To enter the tomb and enter the mystery takes courage, the pope said. It “demands that we not be afraid of reality, that we not be locked into ourselves, that we not flee from what we fail to understand, that we not close our eyes to problems or deny them, that we not dismiss our questions.”

Contributing to this story was Carol Glatz at the Vatican.

— By Cindy Wooden / Catholic News Service

During his weekly general audience Pope Francis spoke about the gift and call of the Christian family and urged attendees to pray for the intentions of the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the family.

“The church needs a prayer full of love for the family and for life,” the pope told pilgrims gathered in a drizzly St. Peter’s Square for his March 25 general audience.

“Because of this, I ask you to pray insistently for the next Synod of Bishops, on the family, so that the church is increasingly more committed and unified in her witness of the love and mercy of God with all families,” he said.

Francis emphasized that ahead of the October meeting, which will gather more than 200 bishops and representatives from all over the world, “we [the church] need prayers, not gossip,” and asked that “those also pray who feel alienated or are not accustomed to praying.”

The pope’s petition for prayer took place during his continued catechesis on the family -- a theme he announced last fall would be the subject of every general audience leading up to this year’s synod of bishops as a means of preparation.

After last year’s Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family, which explored the theme “the pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization,” set the groundwork, this year’s Ordinary Synod on the Family will wrap up the synodal discussion.

Set to take place Oct. 4-25, this year’s ordinary synod will reflect on the theme “Jesus Christ reveals the mystery and vocation of the family.” The conclusions of the gathering will be used by Pope Francis to draft his first Post-Synodal Exhortation, which can be expected in 2016.

In his audience address, Pope Francis noted how the day marked the feast of the Annunciation, which commemorates the Archangel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would be the Mother of God.

The solemnity, he said, “invites us, in the context of the church’s preparation for the forthcoming Synod on the Family, to consider the relationship between the Incarnation and the mission of the family.”

With Gabriel’s announcement, “the Lord illuminates and strengthens the faith of Mary, as her husband Joseph will do later, so that Jesus is born and welcomed into the warmth of a family,” the pope explained.

He also pointed out how March 25 celebrates the Day for Life and the 20th anniversary of John Paul II’s encyclical “Evangelium Vitae,” which the saint authored in 1995 emphasizing the sacredness and value of human life.

The family plays a central role in the encyclical, Francis said, noting that from the beginning of time God blessed man and woman and entrusted them with the task of procreating and forming “a community of love to transmit life.”

In the sacrament of marriage, Christian spouses commit themselves with this task for life, the pope said, noting that it is the responsibility of the church to accompany and support families, especially those most in need.

When a couple is married, he said, “the church, for her part, is obliged not to abandon the new family, not even when it moves away or falls into sin, always calling it to conversion and reconciliation in the Lord.”

However, in order to carry out this mission, the church needs loving prayers in support of both life and the family, Pope Francis noted, particularly for the Synod of Bishops on the Family.

“I ask you to continue praying for the Synod, so that it will reflect the compassion of the Good Shepherd for his flock and help the church to be ever more committed and clear in her witness to the truth of God’s merciful love for all families,” he said.

Francis closed his speech with this appeal for prayer and went on to greet groups of pilgrims present from various countries around the world.

Among those in attendance at the pope’s audience was Mike Haines, the brother of British aid-worker David Haines, who was murdered by ISIS after being kidnapped while working near the Syrian border with Turkey in 2013.

In a news conference ahead of Wednesday’s audience, British Ambassador to the Holy See Nigel Baker said that Mike Haines “will be bringing to the Vatican his message of interreligious understanding.”

“Pope Francis has called for a common commitment to end fighting, hatred and violence. Mike Haines is living that commitment in an extraordinary way.”

Haines was accompanied to the papal audience by Imam Shahnawaz Haque, from East London.

Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi, Pakistan, was also present during the audience, and exchanged a long handshake and several words with the pope after the event was over.

Numerous attacks against Christians have taken place in Pakistan in recent months, the most recent being a suicide bombing on two Christian churches March 15.

— Elise Harris / Catholic News Agency / EWTN News

When I go to Rome, my favorite place to say Mass is over the tomb of St. John Paul the Great in St. Peter’s Basilica. Being inspired by him and having had the opportunity to meet him make that altar particularly important to me.

In my years of priesthood I have been blessed to celebrate Mass in many important holy places. I have said Mass near the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul and in the room where St. Catherine of Sienna died. I have prayed Mass at the tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem, near the cave where he was born in Bethlehem, not to mention in Fatima, Portugal, Lourdes, France and at St. John’s in Duluth!

Father Richard Kunst Apologetics

But no experience of saying Mass in a holy place has quite matched the experience I had of celebrating the Sacred Mysteries in the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth in Israel.

Nazareth, the town where Jesus spent most of his earthly life, was so insignificant that it is not even mentioned in the Old Testament. In fact Scripture scholars say that during the time of Jesus it had a population of only 180 to 220 people, all from the same tribe. The Church of the Annunciation, which is built over the site of ancient Nazareth, actually covers the entire area of the town from the time of Jesus.

Today things are a little different in Nazareth. It is one of the largest towns in northern Israel at over 80,000 inhabitants. Sixty-nine percent of them are Muslim; 30 percent are Christian.

Like many expansive churches, the Church of the Annunciation has many altars on its three different levels, but it is the one in the crypt that is most important. In the lowest level of the church is a simple altar placed in the midst of an archaeological site. Surrounded by ancient, excavated walls that are 2,000 years old, the altar stands at the very site of the Annunciation, standing in the exact location where God leaped down from heaven to earth, the very site of the Incarnation.

Missing an opportunity?

Year in and year out, my weekday Mass crowd hears me say the same thing every March 25th: If I were pope for a day I would make the feast of the Annunciation a holy day of obligation, because it is the precise moment God became man. Unfortunately, this most important commemoration of our faith tends to get lost because of its close proximity to Holy Week. In fact it often falls right on Good Friday, which is actually poetic, since Jesus came to earth to suffer and die for us.

Second only to the crucifixion, the Annunciation is portrayed more in art than any other historical event in human history, and for good reason. It is the most important historical event in human history. The very moment Mary responded to the angel, “Let it be done to me according to thy word.” Jesus Christ was conceived in her womb.

This is where Mary receives the title “Ark of the Covenant,” since in the Old Testament the Ark of the Covenant was thought to be the very presence of God on Earth. Now Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant, because though the Old Testament version of the ark was lost 600 years prior to Jesus, now God becomes present in a much more wonderful way, not in a fancy gold box but in the human womb of a virgin.

I love reading the Annunciation passage in the Bible (Luke 1:26-39), but it is the last line of the story which sends a shiver down my spine when reading it.

After Mary agrees to this daunting privilege, the text says, “And the angel departed from her.” There is no sadness in the angel’s departure, because now heaven is present in the person of Jesus Christ — God the Son in her very self. She indeed is the new Ark of the Covenant.

This is our Christian faith. This is the faith that we hold to be true as inspired by God in this beautiful and most solemn feast day that we will celebrate this month.

Here also lies one of the more compelling arguments against the atrocity of abortion. The Christian faith has always made the clear profession that Christ’s life on earth began at the moment Mary agreed to receive him. The precise moment of his conception in the womb was the precise moment of the Incarnation. It is a no-brainer to see how this affirms our Catholic understanding of human life’s beginning as well: at the moment of conception.

How can one argue against that? The Annunciation is not only the moment of the Incarnation, it is also the clearest case for human life.

May our faith be that of the Virgin Mary’s in accepting God’s divine will in our lives, accepting God’s will above our own.

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

At the end of Pope Francis’ spontaneity-filled meeting with priests, seminarians and religious in the cathedral of Naples, the vial of dried blood of the city’s patron saint appeared to miraculously liquefy.

After Pope Francis blessed the congregation with the reliquary holding the vial, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples announced, “As a sign that St. Januarius loves the pope, who is Neapolitan like us, the blood is already half liquefied.”

Pope Francis kisses a reliquary containing what is believed to be the blood of St. Januarius during a meeting with religious at the cathedral in Naples, Italy, March 21. The dried blood of the saint is said to liquefy several times a year. After the pope handled the relic, the blood apparently liquefied. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

The thousands of people present in the cathedral applauded, but the pope insisted on taking the microphone. “The bishop said the blood is half liquefied,” he said. “It means the saint loves us halfway; we must all convert a bit more, so that he would love us more.”

The blood of the fourth-century martyr is Naples’ most precious relic. The townspeople gauge the saints’ pleasure with them by awaiting the blood’s liquefaction three times a year: in the spring during celebrations of the feast of the transfer of the saint’s relics to Naples; Sept. 19, his feast day; and Dec. 16, the local feast commemorating the averting of a threatened eruption of Mount Vesuvius through the intervention of the saint.

When Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2007 and the blood did not liquefy, Msgr. Vincenzo de Gregorio, custodian of the relic, told reporters the miracle had never occurred when a pope visited on a day other than the feast day.

Entering the cathedral, Pope Francis’ white cassock and his arms were yanked repeatedly by priests, seminarians and nuns wanting to touch him or attract his attention.

Calmed reigned briefly after the pope reached the altar, but then Cardinal Sepe told the pope that, in accordance with canon law, he had given formal permission for the nuns in Naples’ seven cloistered convents to go out for the day.

The nuns, who had been seated in the sanctuary, broke free, running to the pope, surrounding him, hugging him, kissing his ring and piling gifts on his lap.

“Sisters, sisters, not now, later!” the cardinal shouted over the microphone to no avail. “Look what I have done,” he said, exasperated. “And these are the cloistered ones, imagine what the non-cloistered ones are like! Ay. They’re going to eat him alive.”

When order was restored, Pope Francis stood with several sheets of paper and told the congregation, “I prepared a speech, but speeches are boring.” So, he put the papers aside, sat down and began talking about how Jesus must be at the center of a consecrated person’s life, about life in community, about poverty and mercy.

“The center of your life must be Jesus,” he said. Too often, people — including priests and religious — have a difficulty with a superior or a confrere and that problem becomes the real center of their lives, robbing them and their witness of joy.

Addressing seminarians, he said, “if you do not have Jesus at the center, delay your ordination. If you are not sure Jesus is the center of your life, wait a while in order to be sure.”

Money definitely cannot be the center of the life of a priest or nun, he said. Even a diocesan priest, who does not take vows of poverty, must make sure “his heart is not there” in money.

The pope told the story of a religious woman he knew in Argentina who was so concerned about raising money for her school that she subconsciously preferred the company of people with money. One day, in the faculty room, she fainted. In the teachers’ attempt to revive her, the pope said, one suggested putting “a 100 peso note” under her nose to revive her, “but the poor woman was already dead and this was the last word said about her when no one knew if she had died or not.”

— By Cindy Wooden / Catholic News Service

Pope Francis has approved a miracle so that, for the first time, a married couple can be canonized together. The canonization ceremony for Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, is likely to take place during the world Synod of Bishops on the family in October.

Pope Francis signed the decree March 18, the Vatican said, although it provided no details about the miraculous cure said to have taken place through the couple’s intercession.

Blessed Louis and Marie Zelie Guerin Martin, the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, are pictured in a combination photo created from images provided by the Sanctuary of Lisieux in France. Pope Francis is expected to canonize the couple during the world Synod of Bishops on the family in October. (CNS photo/courtesy of Sanctuary of Lisieux)

However, the promoters of the sainthood cause said the miracle being studied involves a little girl in the Archdiocese of Valencia, Spain. Born prematurely and with multiple life-threatening complications, Carmen suffered a major brain hemorrhage, which could have caused irreversible damage. Her parents prayed for the Martins’ intercession. The little girl survived and is healthy.

Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, had said in late February that “thanks be to God, in October two spouses, parents of Saint Therese of Lisieux, will be canonized.”

Blessed Louis and Marie Zelie Guerin Martin were married in 1858. The couple had nine children, but four of them died in infancy. The five who survived — including St. Therese — all entered religious life. Zelie Martin died of cancer in 1877, at the age of 45; her husband died when he was 70 in 1894.

The couple was beatified in 2008. They are believed to be the first parents of a saint to be beatified, highlighting the important role parents play in their children’s human and spiritual upbringing.

The next step toward canonization is for the pope to hold a consistory with cardinals present in Rome to announce the decision to proceed with the ceremony during the world Synod of Bishops on the family Oct. 4-25. A Vatican official said that meeting probably would be in June.

Before opening the October 2014 meeting of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family, Pope Francis venerated the relics of St. Therese, her parents and another couple, Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi; the relics were brought to Rome specifically for prayers during the bishops’ discussions about family life.

— By Cindy Wooden / Catholic News Service

Are you looking for an internship this summer? Do you know someone who is? The Diocese of Duluth is looking for an intern for the Summer of 2015. If you are Catholic, interested in Catholic social teaching, and able to attend a mandatory training from May 27-29, consider applying! Please share this information with others!

For more information, visit the social apostolate page at our website.