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Enjoy the July

edition of the West River Catholic

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Where are we going? What is the vision? How are we going to get there? These questions often surface as a company or institution looks toward the future. They are important questions upon which to reflect. Now that I have been here for almost four years and have some experience behind me, these have become important questions for me as the bishop of this diocese. But I also think they are important for all of us as the People of God in the Diocese of Rapid City.

Over twelve years ago, the Diocese of Rapid City went through a synod process that gave direction and a vision for the diocese. Since this process took place a number of years ago, I feel that perhaps it time again for the diocese to look at the future in a systematic way, but on a much smaller scale than a full-scale synod, which would take at least a couple of years.

The Diocese of Rapid City will begin a visioning process that will help set our course and priorities for the next five years. We will partner with Catholic Leadership Institute. Catholic Leadership Institute is a world-class pastoral leadership formation and consulting firm based in Philadelphia. In its 21st year of operation, CLI has reached national prominence, ministering with diocesan priests and lay leaders in over 70 dioceses in the United States. Recently, the priests of our diocese completed CLI’s Good Leaders Good Shepherds program, a year-long process in which priests are taught more efficient and effective ways to lead, inspire and motivate the people they serve. Catholic Leadership Institute also works directly with bishops and their teams to develop a tailored diocesan strategy.

The visioning process will begin in late May with a number of listening sessions across the Diocese over the course of the summer. Our plan is to have 12 listening sessions around the diocese broken down in the following way: one listening session in each deanery; one listening session on each Indian Reservation; one listening session among clergy; and one listening session with the Latino community. These sessions will be between 90 minutes to 2 hours in length.

The end result of this planning process is to create a mutually shared diocesan vision for the Diocese of Rapid City and clarify three five-year pastoral priorities with appropriate goals for each priority.

Who is invited to participate? It is our hope to receive input from as many people as possible throughout the diocese, offering multiple ways in which the laity can participate. It is my hope that the pastors and five to six members of parish leadership attend the listening sessions for their deanery or reservation. Parish leadership should include members of the parish pastoral councils, finance councils and other parish groups, as well as individual leaders who can provide vital input toward refining and shaping the priorities of the diocese as we move forward into the future. Everyone is invited to attend, but it will be most valuable to have a good representation of the leadership of each parish and its ministries.

We will also be creating an Envisioning Leadership Team later in the summer to review the input from the listening sessions and then create the overall vision, finalize priorities and goals, and determine how best to communicate the plan. It is my hope that this whole process will be completed by the end of 2015, at which time the

Mutually Shared Vision and Three Five-Year Pastoral Priorities would be shared with the people of the Diocese of Rapid City.

More communication will take place about this process through your pastors. I encourage you to be part of the process. Your input in laying out a direction and a vision is important. The dates, times and locations of the listening sessions are listed below. But above all, please keep this diocesan endeavor in your thoughts and prayers as we move forward into the future.

 

Diocese of Rapid City Visioning Listening Session Schedule 2016

The Diocese of Rapid City will begin a visioning process that will help set our course and priorities for the next five years.

 

Lower Brule Reservation, Tuesday, Aug. 18, St. Mary Church, Lower Brule, 6:30 p.m. CT

Pine Ridge Reservation, Sunday, August 16, Sacred Heart Church, Pine Ridge, 1-3 p.m. MT

Spanish-speaking Members of the Diocese, Sunday, Aug. 23, Blessed Sacrament Church, Rapid City, 2:45-4:45 p.m. MT

 

Happy Easter to all of you!

I hope and pray that the celebrations of Holy Week and Easter were inspiring and life-giving. We would be remiss though if we left this great celebration of resurrected life in the past as just another Sunday in the church year. The Easter season, this time of grace, spans fifty days, concluding on the great feast of Pentecost where we relive the outpouring of the promised Holy Spirit upon Mary and the apostles gathered in prayer in the Cenacle.

Throughout this Easter season each of us are invited to pray daily for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives enabling us to grow in our relationship with Christ and our dedication of our call to discipleship. We all need this whether we are the bishop, a priest, deacon, religious, or layperson.

The Lord has so much more for each of us, but we are limited by our own lack of desire for more. The Lord Jesus has already given the Spirit to us, but he is waiting for us to let him ignite the fire — which means we must want this fire to be ignited and pray each day that it is ignited. But it also takes letting go of what I want and seeking what the Lord wants for me.

“In effect, Jesus’ whole mission was aimed at giving the Spirit of God to men and baptizing them in the ‘bath’ of regeneration. This was realized through his glorification, that is, through his death and resurrection: Then the Spirit of God was poured out in a super-

abundant way, like a waterfall able to purify every heart, to extinguish the flames of evil and ignite the fire of divine love in the world.” (Benedict XVI, “Let Baptism of the Holy Spirit purify every heart,” L’Osservatore Romano, May 14, 2008)

What a great image Pope Benedict gave us — “like a waterfall able to purify every heart, to extinguish the flames of evil, and IGNITE the fire of divine love in the world.” Has this been your experience of the Holy Spirit in your life? I invite all of us to pray for this these remaining days of the Easter season. Jesus wants to lead us to drink from the “streams of living water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:10, 14; Jn 7:37-39).

The Holy Spirit renews all things in our lives and helps us to live in a different way. Pope Francis speaks of how we cannot be a part time Christian because it doesn’t work. We have to be “all in,” so to speak. Being a disciple of Jesus ultimately means, not doing things, but allowing oneself to be renewed daily by the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who opens our hearts to Jesus and prepares us for this renewed daily encounter which the Holy Father has spoken of so many times.

In a General Audience message, he shared: “This is the precious gift that the Holy Spirit places in our hearts: the very life of God, life as true sons, a relationship of confidence, freedom and trust in the love and mercy of God, which has as an effect, also a new gaze toward others, near and far, always seen as brothers and sisters in Jesus to be respected and loved. The Holy Spirit teaches us to look with the eyes of Christ, to live life as Christ lived it, to understand life as Christ understood it. That’s why the living water that is the Holy Spirit quenches the thirst of our lives, because it tells us that we are loved by God as children, that we can love God as His children, and by His grace we can live as children of God, like Jesus.” (May 26, 2013)

A renewed encounter with the Holy Spirit will not only bring new life to our lives, but also to our parishes and to our diocese. I am praying for this tremendous gift. Therefore, I am asking every person and every parish across our diocese to join with me in praying a “Novena to the Holy Spirit” in preparation for Pentecost. We all need a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives, our culture, our families, our parishes. An authentic and renewed conversion to our Lord Jesus Christ can only happen through the power of the Holy Spirit, that same Spirit that transformed the lives of those disciples in the upper room at Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit radically changed the early disciples from fearful, scared, lost men and women into courageous witnesses to Christ and enlightened heralds of his word. It was the Spirit who guided them along the difficult and new paths of mission, that same mission that has been given to every baptized person. We ask the Holy Spirit to bring about an amazing renewal among us.

Let us all join together for nine consecutive days beginning on Friday, May 15, for prayer and reflection on the gifts the Spirit brings, inviting the power of the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon each of us, our parishes, and our diocese. The “Novena to the Holy Spirit” will be provided by your parishes or can be found on this website: www.spiritans.com. Watch your parish bulletins for more details regarding how this will be celebrated in your particular parish.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love!

 

“Native students racially harassed, sprayed with beer at Rush game.” This was a headline in the Rapid City Journal back in January — a description of awful racism and a violation of human dignity. My heart goes out to those young people and the adults with them who experienced such behavior aimed at them because of the perpetrator’s ignorant objection to their ethnic background. The actions against these young people were despicable. No one should ever have to experience any form of racism or intolerance.

We can pick up a newspaper or turn on the news daily to find that others have also experienced some form of racism or discrimination, whether that be in South Dakota against the Native American population, across the nation in African-American communities or around the world. This serious violation of the dignity of a human person exists in every part of our world today. There can be no denying it.

Yes, we have come a long way since the days of slavery and the civil rights movement. Progress has been made, but as we have seen, there are still many reminders that our communities have much healing yet to do. There is still a long way to go in eradicating this sin: “a sin that divides the human family, blots out the image of God among specific members of that family, and violates the fundamental human dignity of those called to be children of the same Father.” (Brothers and Sisters to Us: U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Racism, 1979)

I recently read an article written in 1977 by Bishop James A. Griffin entitled, Racism: A Tarnished Reflection of Ourselves. An interesting title – A Tarnished Reflection of Ourselves. Our true selves are hidden when hardened hearts are absent of God’s love, and we are not aware of our true identity in Christ. Racism or any other form of hatred is indeed a reflection of what lies in the human heart. Murder, hatred, malice, envy and pride, among other motivations for evil, have their source in the human heart. This is precisely why Jesus calls us to conversion, regardless of how holy or righteous we may think we are. The heart must be continually purified so that it is no longer controlled by fear or the spirit of domination, but by openness to others, regardless of their race, color, social conditions, language or religion.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we read: “The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it: Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God’s design” (CCC, #1935). We must never do anything, as individuals or a society, that is incompatible with the love of God and neighbor. The teaching of Jesus Christ, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lk 10:25-37), is intended to be inclusive, extending even to those whom we may reject because of their ethnic or racial differences or their nationality.

Our faith teaches us that every human person is created in God’s image and likeness. It is from God that we have received the inherent dignity that is ours — the dignity which no one can take from us. The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace wrote, “Christians in particular have the responsibility to offer a teaching that stresses the dignity of every human being and the unity of the human race. If war or other terrible circumstances make others the enemy, the first and most radical Christian commandment is to love that enemy and to respond to evil with good. (The Church and Racism: Towards a More Fraternal Society, 2001, September 2001)

As Catholics and responsible members of our society, we are obligated to do our part to eradicate racism in all its forms. But if we are to remove the sin and crime of racism from our communities, we must begin with the self. All social sin begins in the choices of individuals to be unjust and is sustained by our blindness to those choices. Whatever lies in the depth of our hearts will eventually appear in those choices, for good or evil. As St. John says, “If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1John 1:8). We can say the same thing about prejudices. They are a part of all of us, though we may never have faced them honestly.

Yes, it may seem that the world is still far away from eradicating racism. Yes, it remains in need of healing. Now is a perfect time for some soul searching regarding our own prejudices and biases. Perhaps in prayer, we ask Jesus to help us to see the “tarnished reflection of ourselves” so that healing may take place in us first. But he also wants to reveal our true reflection, so that we can see who we really are — someone precious, someone beautiful, someone for whom he was willing to die. If we do not see the true dignity in ourselves, it will always be difficult to see the true dignity in others.

We all know that it is complicated issue. But for true peace among all people to become reality, as challenging as is may be, in order for forgiveness and reconciliation to take place, the evil which has been done must first be acknowledged and, as far as possible, corrected.

A respect for truth is necessary. “Lying, untrustworthiness, corruption, and ideological or political manipulation make it impossible to restore peaceful social relations. Hence the importance of procedures which allow truth to be established. Such procedures are necessary but delicate, for the search for truth risks becoming a thirst for vengeance.

“To the requirement of truth there must be added a second: justice. For ‘forgiveness neither eliminates or lessens the need for the reparation which justice requires, but seeks to reintegrate individuals and groups into society, and States into the community of Nations.’ Such justice must respect the fundamental dignity of the human person at all times.” (The Church and Racism: Towards a More Fraternal Society, 2001, September 2001, n.11)

Reconciliation is also demanded. “No process of peace can ever begin unless an attitude of sincere forgiveness takes root in human hearts. When such forgiveness is lacking, wounds continue to fester, fueling in the younger generation endless resentment, producing a desire for revenge and causing fresh destruction.” (John Paul II, Message for World Day of Peace 1997, n.1)

Regardless of the challenges, the church must continue to proclaim the way of pardon because of her unshakeable confidence in the infinite forgiveness of God. Eliminating racism off the face of the earth may seem impossible for any one of us or even for the whole church. Therefore we place our trust and hope in the Lord. We pray for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us, the world and all societies, so that the fruits of the Spirit — joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness — may break down evil and violence, destroying the walls of selfishness, intolerance and hatred, thus building a world we have never seen before — the true Kingdom of God.

 

As (Jesus) drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Lk 19:41-42).

These words make very real the heart of the season we are now entering. The words of Jesus can be very poignant as we pause for a moment and take in a glimpse of the world around us. What does Jesus see that would make him weep today? To name a few — a nation and culture which rejects God; violence of all kinds, often times in the name of religion; the great diminishment of the value of human life; the degradation of marriage in the culture

attempting to redefine it; a contraceptive culture; the great decline of traditional moral values; the millions of people who have rejected or walked away from the Catholic faith; and in so many ways, an indifference to religion and faith altogether. The list can go on. Ultimately Jesus weeps because, like during his time two thousand years ago, people of today have given up seeking a life of holiness.

Jesus wept over the tragedy of a lost opportunity. The people of the holy city of Jerusalem missed the opportunity to be saved because of their foolish decisions and their indifference. Their Savior came to their city, but they would not believe him nor accept him and all he was offering them. Today the time in history may be different, but is the attitude any different?

This is why each year the church, in this season of Lent, offers her people the opportunity to return to the Lord with our whole heart in a very intentional and deliberate way. This “Season of Grace” speaks to how much God favors us among all his creatures. As throughout all of human history, God tenderly seeks us out, invites us and gently admonishes us, all the while patiently awaiting our return to him wholeheartedly. He continually invites us into a close friendship — one like no other. In fact, Jesus literally “thirsts” for us.

This was the message given to Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The meaning of the words which Jesus spoke from the cross, “I thirst,” was revealed to Mother Teresa in September 1946, a message which was meant to be shared with the world. In a book written by Fr. Joseph Langford, M.C, he says, “Mother Teresa’s understanding of the thirst of God was entirely simple, yet, deep, powerful, and engaging. She learned that God not only accepts us with all our misery, but that he longs for us, thirsts for us, with all the intensity of his divine heart, no matter who we are or what we have done,” (“Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire” pg. 51)

For Mother Teresa, God’s thirst for us signifies a deep, intense desire for us. Since God lacks nothing, his “divine thirst points to the mystery of God’s freely chosen longing for man. Simply put, though nothing in God needs us, everything in God wants us — deeply and intensely, as he shows throughout Scripture.” (“Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire” pg. 51)

As we begin the season of Lent, perhaps it can be a time for all of us to reflect upon how much God desires us. Many do not know of God’s desire, of Jesus’ thirst. Jesus spoke to Mother Teresa in 1947, “They do not know Me — so they don’t want Me,” Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., (“Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light,” pg. 77) This could easily be said of people in today’s times.

In Mother Teresa’s “Varanasi Letter,”she wrote, “Not only He loves you, even more — He longs for you. He misses you when you don’t come close. He thirsts for you. He loves you always, even when you don’t feel worthy. Even if you are not accepted by others, even by yourself sometimes — He is the one who always accepts you.” (“Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire” pg. 55)

This perhaps can be the message of Lent to be shared with others. Talk about Good News! Mother Teresa shared, “My children, you don’t have to be different for Jesus to love you. Only believe — You are precious to Him. Bring all you are suffering to His feet — only open your heart to be loved by Him as you are, He will do the rest.” (“Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire,” pg. 55)

Blessed Mother Teresa, through her life and writings, invites all of us to believe in a God who never tires of seeking us out and forgiving us. If Lent is the “Season of Grace,” what better message can we reflect upon? What better message could be shared with others who have chosen to not be a part of our Catholic faith community?

During this season of Lent, I challenge the whole Catholic community to invite someone they know back to the place where Jesus is most present, the Eucharist. Jesus is weeping over the loss of their presence among us, and is waiting with open arms and a desire to love them. Yes, he thirsts for them in the same way he thirsts for us. Please share this Good News with as many as you can! It may change their life and yours! May you have a blessed Lenten season!