Category Archives for "Community Contributors"

Current and retired health care professionals from around the diocese gathered Nov. 4 in the Sacred Heart Chapel of St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph for a special “White Coat” Mass in recognition of their dedicated work. The Mass, which takes its name from the white coat most commonly worn by those in the medical […]

Recently I was invited to attend a meeting of dialogue for people of different political persuasions for the purpose of understanding and finding areas of common ground. I did not respond immediately, only to receive a follow-up email saying they were still looking for participants, but they had enough people who considered themselves “blue” (liberal) […]

What I really want, dear reader, is to encourage you to watch the film, Romero, starring Raul Julia as Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, who is to be canonized this weekend in Rome! Paulist priest, Bud Kieser, the indomitable producer of the film faced equally indomitable conditions as he searched for information and a […]

The last five months have been a whirlwind, lots of moving. Moving from Kent to St. Cloud. Moving from parish ministry to diocesan ministry. Moving from pastoral associate to associate director of lay leadership formation. Moving from a well-established position to a brand-new position that I had no idea where it was heading. Moving. It […]

“Mission”… In general, one may define the word mission as a task or goal in life that is driven with conviction.  How many times have you heard people talk about “being on a mission!”?  I can get behind that, but there is also so much more!!  What mission does God call us on?  Aren’t we […]

Have you ever been surprised? I have…sometimes by joy, sometimes by grief. Among life’s unexpected happenings, being surprised by God has opened me to experiences and perspectives I could have never even imagined. Here are a few musings from my journey of discernment, seeking peace and purpose in my life. Born in Forest Lake, Minnesota, […]

This story is written by guest blogger Tom Hintgen, eighth grade student of Sister Adela at OLV in 1961-62. Former Our Lady of Victory School Principal Sister Adela Gross, known in Fergus Falls as Sister Mary Peter in the 1960s, has fond memories of her service to others. She is 87 and resides at the […]

Steubenville.. How is one to explain the experiences had there? I know for most everyone who has ever been to a Steubenville youth conference, they would explain it to be life-changing. No matter where you are at in life, during this conference you will learn more about your Faith, how to defend it, and you […]

For this blog post, I am going to focus on these two lines from the Gospel of Mark (3:20, 22): “Jesus came HOME with his disciples…. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to seize him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’” So, the event of coming back home for […]

Guest blogger Yvette Piggush shares reflections about her recent trip to Lourdes, France. This is the final in a series. Souvenir shops in Lourdes sell many kinds of water bottles: gallon jugs, plastic bottles shaped like Mary with a screw-off crown, spray bottles, and tiny, jewel-like glass bottles. I had only seen water from Lourdes […]