The Solemnity of St. Joseph

Today is the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the patron of the Universal Church, the patron of a happy death, and the patron of the Diocese of Sioux Falls. In order to celebrate this feast I thought I would share one of my favorite images of St. Joseph (above) as well as this written by the Servant of God, Pope John Paul II in his encyclical on St. Joseph entitled Redemptoris Custos:

If Elizabeth said of the Redeemer's Mother, "blessed is she who believed," in a certain sense this blessedness can be referred to Joseph as well, since he responded positively to the word of God when it was communicated to him at the decisive moment. While it is true that Joseph did not respond to the angel's "announcement" in the same way as Mary, he "did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took his wife." What he did is the clearest "obedience of faith" (cf. Rom 1:5; 16:26; 2 Cor 10:5-6).

One can say that what Joseph did united him in an altogether special way to the faith of Mary. He accepted as truth coming from God the very thing that she had already accepted at the Annunciation. The Council teaches: " "The obedience of faith' must be given to God as he reveals himself. By this obedience of faith man freely commits himself entirely to God, making 'the full submission of his intellect and will to God who reveals,' and willingly assenting to the revelation given by him." This statement, which touches the very essence of faith, is perfectly applicable to Joseph of Nazareth.

5. Therefore he became a unique guardian of the mystery "hidden for ages in God" (Eph 3:9), as did Mary, in that decisive moment which St. Paul calls "the fullness of time," when "God sent forth his Son, born of woman...to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Gal 4:4-5). In the words of the Council: "It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will (cf. Eph 1:9). His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and become sharers in the divine nature (cf. Eph 2:18; 2 Pt 1 4)"

Together with Mary, Joseph is the first guardian of this divine mystery. Together with Mary, and in relation to Mary, he shares in this final phase of God 's self-revelation in Christ, and he does so from the very beginning. Looking at the gospel texts of both Matthew and Luke, one can also say that Joseph is the first to share in the faith of the Mother of God, and that in doing so he supports his spouse in the faith of the divine annunciation. He is also the first to be placed by God on the path of Mary's "pilgrimage of faith." It is a path along which--especially at the time of Calvary and Pentecost--Mary will precede in a perfect way.

Where's Fr. Christensen? Part II

Another of the three parishes I have been taking care of for the past couple of weeks is St. Anthony's in Selby, SD. Selby has a population of 647. The Church has a beautiful statue of St. Anthony:



Here is a wide view of the Sanctuary:



And a little closer view:

Above the Altar is suspended a beautiful crucifix with Jesus vested as a priest, after all on the cross He was both Priest and Victim. Something that you liturgy nuts (myself included of course) will notice is that Jesus is wearing a Maniple:

There is also a lovely statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

St. Anthony's has a cabinet that has various liturgical items in it. Oh, if only some of them were still being used:

Next on our tour of the Catholic Churches of North Central South Dakota will be St. Joseph's in Eureka.

Where's Fr. Christensen?

For the past couple weeks I have been ministering to three small parishes in north central South Dakota; St. Michael's in Herreid, St. Anthony's in Selby, and St. Joseph's in Eureka. In the next three posts I will share some photos I have taken of the three parishes. I will begin with Herreid, population 360 (in 2008).

Here is a view of the Church (I posted this on facebook and someone accused me of straightening all the hymnals for the picture):

Here is a closer view of the Sanctuary. Notice the lovely altar cloth on the altar in the foreground. It matches both the tabernacle veil and the vestments:


Here is a closer view of the High Altar which, thank God, was not removed after the "changes" of the Second Vatican Council. Notice the veiled tabernacle, one of my favorite things:

Here is one of the side altars, this one is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

They even have some of the "old school" confessionals. In case you are wondering, yes, I use them.

So there you have it, a few pictures from where I have been the past couple of weeks. The next post will have pictures from St. Anthony's in Selby.

The Most Reverend Paul J. Swain's Chrism Mass Homily

Well, now that Easter Day has passed (althought liturgically it continues to live on through the octave), I have a little time to post some excerpts from an excellent homily given by Bishop Paul Swain of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, SD on the occasion of the Chrism Mass. My favorite parts are in bold.

Thank you for coming tonight. The Chrism Mass is a celebration of who we are as church. We are the local church of Sioux Falls, over 35,000 square miles, more than 125,000 Catholics, 150 parishes, 23 schools, with one Cathedral, the mother church, currently being preserved, restored and beautified as a beacon of hope for generations to come...

In a few minutes the priests gathered around the bishop will renew their ordination promises, as priests will do throughout the universal church in the days before Easter. Then the sacred oils of chrism, of catechumens and of the sick will be consecrated or blessed. They will then be dispersed throughout the diocese to be used for baptisms, confirmations, ordinations and the sacrament of the sick, a sign that we are one family with many homes. Chrism Mass focuses on the priesthood, as our readings relate. Yet we do so not in a way that suggests other vocations are lesser ones, only different and distinct. We celebrate married life, single life, religious life and the diaconate. We are one family, one body as St. Paul described the church. We need all of its parts to function in unity with one another if we are to continue the mission and ministry of Christ until he comes again.

Yet tonight we do honor priests and pray for an increase in their number. Without priests, there would be no Holy Eucharist. We especially want to acknowledge those priests who will be celebrating significant ordination anniversaries this year....Thank you for your combined 295 years of priestly service. You are inspirations to us. We also with grateful hearts remember those ordained who have died since our last Chrism Mass....

This Chrism Mass is especially meaningful as we celebrate the Year for Priests. When Pope Benedict XVI declared this special year he identified its purpose as “to encourage priests in … striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends.” In the context of the secularism of our day, the culture of death, the sinfulness and scandal that has infiltrated the Church, the lack of civility in public and personal affairs, and the uncertainty of the future, I believe that the need for good and holy priests is especially urgent in our day. A new evangelization is desperately needed. It is our sacred mission. The salvation of souls is at stake. Ours is a high calling and a difficult one. With this task before us, the difference between a priest filled with the Spirit and a dispirited priest is apparent to all.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan recounted this story: A priest in his home diocese of St. Louis in 1962 had the privilege of an audience with Pope John XXIII. There were about ten other priests present and he was last in line to greet the pontiff. Each of the priests before him introduced himself to the Pope, told him what he did as a priest, and then knelt to kiss the Pope’s ring. “I am a university president,” the first one reported. “Holy Father, I am chancellor of my diocese,” said the next. And so on. As Pope John came to the priest from St. Louis, the priest felt rather low, because he thought his priestly work was hardly as exalted as those nine before him. In almost a whisper, he said, “Holy Father, all I am is a parish priest.” Pope John genuflected before him, kissed his hands, and said, “That’s the greatest priestly work of all.” Indeed it is. How precious are the souls that are placed in our care. How fragile are we as we seek to serve them with humility and hope. But it is not on our shoulders alone. We are instruments of Christ, not miracle workers. Pope Benedict XVI told priests on his visit to Poland: “The faithful expect only one thing from priests: that they be specialists in promoting the encounter between man and God. The priest is not asked to be an expert in economics, construction, or politics. He is expected to be an expert in the spiritual life.” We cannot be so to others unless we are spiritually grounded ourselves. And we must accept the fact that are not called to be everything to everyone, though the unrealistic expectations of some on what we priests ought to do and how to do it is wearing. We are called to use the gifts we have to be men of the Holy Eucharist, men of and in Christ. Without spiritual grounding we cannot live up to such a high calling. There is a Trinity of spiritual nourishment that can help us toward spiritual perfection. They are prayer, study and sacrament. That means daily prayer that is more than routine and obligatory, spiritual reading and continuing theological reflection that informs and inspires, and regular reception of the sacraments ourselves while praying and administering them well for others not for ourselves. Without these three, which all come down to relating our lives totally to Christ, we can lose our spiritual strength and motivation.

We can be encouraged by those who went before, the known saints, and those unknown to others who have touched and shaped our lives. They faced tough challenges and persevered in faith. Today is the 30th anniversary of the death of Archbishop Oscar Romero, killed while celebrating Holy Mass in El Salvador. His life and martyrdom reminds us of our call to seek justice especially for the poor and vulnerable and to respect life in its fullest sense, at conception, at natural death, and all the years inbetween. Pope Benedict has asked us to reflect on St. John Vianney, patron of all priests. He does not expect us to become like this saint who was truly unique, but to rediscover in his priesthood the core of what priesthood ought to be about for us. I have placed here on the altar a relic of the inspirational St. John Vianney which was in the possession of one on our own inspirational priests, Msgr. John McEneaney.

St. John was sent to evangelize a remote village where faith was lacking. Benedictine Abbot Martin Marty, who became the first bishop of Sioux Falls, came from Europe to the Dakota Territory to Evangelize those here who did not know of Christ’s love and mercy. Others followed to our own day. You know their names. The need for such personal and sacrificial evangelization is as great if not greater today. What motivated and sustained them? Perhaps we ought to study and model those priests of the prairie in whose legacy we live.

The story is told of a worldly lawyer from Paris who went to Ars to see for himself this priest who was called a living saint. He came back to Paris and began attending Mass, going to confession and living the faith. He was asked “what did that priest say to you that convinced you to begin practicing the faith again.” The attorney replied, “Well, I really could not even understand him. He was not a good speaker and his accent was thick. It was not what he said that changed me. It was what I saw. What I saw was God in a man.” My brother priests, who do others see in us?

And we can be inspired by the Blessed Mother. Tonight is the Vigil of the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel came to the young Mary and told her God has called her to a special vocation, to be the Mother of God, and ultimately the mother of us all. She pondered as do we all, yet she responded with the humility to which we all are called, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you say,” as God wills. That in essence is what we will recommit to in our priestly promises of service.

A retreat master told the story of a priest in the early 1900s who was a circuit rider going on horseback from village to village to celebrate the sacraments, not unlike the early days of our diocese. After celebrating Holy Mass a lady said to him, “Father, have you heard about old man Jones. They say he is dying.” Immediately the priest was lead on horseback many miles to a dilapidated one-room cabin. Inside on a cot was an old, black man with hands calloused from hard work, now emaciated from cancer. He likely had been a slave or a child of slaves. When he saw the priest he exclaimed, “Father, I knew you would come.” The priest heard his confession, gave him Holy Communion, the sacrament of Extreme Unction as it was in those days. He said he heard the dark rasp of death from the man, so he knelt down by the bed, held the man’s hand and prayed the rosary. Suddenly the weak, cancer-ridden man sat up and pointed behind the priest and shouted: “I see the Blessed Mother and she’s smiling at you and me.” The priest turned toward where the man was looking but only saw the darkness. He turned back; the old man was dead. The priest recalled, “I stayed there, kneeling on the floor in darkness and I held that old man’s hands until they grew cold. And I cried, and I thanked God that I was a priest.”

I thank God that I am a priest. We thank God for you the priests of and in the Diocese of Sioux Falls, present and past. I am humbled and proud to be your bishop. May others see in each of us, God in a man.

FYI

Picture is of the restoration of St. Joseph Cathedral in Sioux falls in progress.

More pictures of the progress can be found at the St. Joseph Cathedral website.

This coming friday is the Solemnity of St. Joseph. Canon 1251 from the Code of Canon Law applies to this Solemnity:

"Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ."

I thought you might like to know.

Back in the Saddle

After an eventful break (more on those events in a moment) I am back in the academic saddle. I arrived back at the Liturgical Institute on Sunday night and classes began promptly on Monday morning. This quarter (yes, the dreaded quarter system!) I am taking three classes for a total of 12 credit hours. The classes, are as follows: History of Christian Thought II, Sacramental Thought and Practice in the 20th Century, and Sacramentals, Blessings and Devotions. Maybe in a subsequent post I will give a brief overview of what each of the classes will cover.

Also, Fr. S. (who writes a lovely blog) is visiting, which makes for alot of fun times and good food (yeah, just what I need - more food).

My time home was very eventful. There seem to be two higlights which overshadowed my entire time back home - one happy, and one very sad. The happy event was a visit to St. Joseph's Cathedral in Sioux Falls, SD. This would not have been so exciting were it not being restored. I climbed the scaffold all the way to the ceiling to see the work that the artisans are doing. It will be truly magnificent when it is finished. You can find more information, complete with drawings, photos, and videos here.

The sad event was the death of a very dear friend in a horrible car accident. Jerry was 34 years old and would have been married 4 years only a few days after he died. He had a beautiful wife and two small children. Jerry was a very faithful, prayerful and virtuous man who will be missed by many, many people. I concelebrated his funeral along with five other priests. The Church, chapel, and part of the gym were packed for the funeral (nearly 700 people), which is a testament to the people he had influenced during his short life on earth. May he rest in peace.

But now, I am back, saddling up the old academic horse for round two in an eight round adventure.

What I Am Doing

Well folks, it's been awhile, and some of you might be wondering where I have been and what I have been doing, so it's time for a little update.

As of July 1 my assignment has changed from being pastor of one parish, pastoral administrator of another, and associate vocation director to further studies in the area of liturgy. In the fall I will begin studies toward an STL (Sacred Theology License) at the Liturgical Institute in Mundelein, IL. It was a great surprise (that's an understatement) and a great honor to be asked by my Bishop to do this. In the meantime - right now - I am in residence at my home parish, St. Lawrence, and providing weekend coverage for a number of small parishes. Below is a picture of my home parish church and school/parish center, which by the way, was just recently paid off. This makes the pastor very happy.

During these months between my last assignment and my next I am doing my best to prepare myself by studying my Latin and Italian. Why Italian? Well, I need to be able to read another modern language, so I decided Italian would be fun. So pray to St. Benedict, St. John Vianney, and St. Joseph of Cupertino that my Latin and Italian studies will go well.

So, as I resuscitate this blog, any ideas on what I might write about? Shall we do an "Ask Fr. Christensen" sort of thing where you can e-mail me your questions? Or shall we do something else? Please let me know what you thing. You can post it either in the comments or you can e-mail me at padredana at gmail dot com.

From The Bishop of Sioux Falls

Statement on Elections
Most Reverend Paul J. Swain
Bishop of Sioux Falls
October 31, 2008

As we approach the elections, I urge all Catholics to exercise their right to vote. We are called as good citizens to do so, and to do so with informed consciences grounded in the teachings of Christ.

Respect for the sanctity of life from conception to natural death ought to guide our decisions every day including Election Day. While it is true that there are a variety of important issues affecting the quality of life in the years after birth and before death, they are meaningless if there is no life to begin with. Without life there are no other issues. This is the stark reality we as faithful Catholics should bring to our election decisions concerning candidates and referenda. When we do so, we do not stop caring about other issues which also reflect our respect for life or working to address them. We simply acknowledge God as the giver of life.

That is why I encourage a Yes vote on Initiated Measure 11. Even though it is not the fullness of Catholic teaching, it will prohibit almost all abortions. Those who oppose Initiated Measure 11 have used a variety of tactics to distract voters from the core issue: Do we wish to change state law from allowing abortion on demand. My answer is yes.

Know of my prayers for you as you exercise this precious and serious duty. Together let use pray for our country that the common good be our common goal.

For more detailed statements on these issues, please reference the diocesan website.

St. Mary's Catholic Church Blog

The Pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Salem, SD has of late been posting on the parish blog. He is doing marvelous work at this parish, particularly in the area of the Sacred Liturgy. In fact, they are in the midst of a Church restoration project which is magnificent. Check out St. Mary's Catholic Church blog for pictures and more information. Here are a few pictures just to wet your whistle:

Before

After

Parish Assignments

Tis the season for new parish assignments. I have recieved a new addition to my current assignment. In addition to my current assignments as Pastor of St. Rose of Lima in Garretson, Associate Director of Vocations, and Chaplain to St. Margaret's Fellowship Homeschool Association, Bishop Paul J. Swain has appointed me as Administrator of St. Joseph the Workman parish in Huntimer.

Please pray for me, and the parishioners of St. Joseph the Workman and St. Rose of Lima, as I take on this new assignment.

South Dakota Parish Featured on Liturgical Blog

The New Liturgical Movement, a wonderful blog about liturgical matters, recently feature photos and other information about St. Mary's Church in Salem, SD. It's a post worth taking a look at so click here to see it. Here is a before picture to wet your whistle: