Practicing Catholic Show

Well praise God: after three years of tireless work at the hands of many volunteers, employees of the Archdiocesan Catholic Center, and of course our bishops, the culmination of the Synod is here! Archbishop Hebda’s Synod pastoral letter has been released this weekend of the Solemnity of Christ the King – find it at archspm.org/synodletter and listen as our shepherd discusses what you’ll find there.

This past weekend, Father Tom Margevicius was back for our November Mass Class! He answers a couple of your questions and takes a look at the Concluding Rite. Be sure to catch up on past ‘Mass Classes’ by visiting practicingcatholicshow.com. 

 Right on the heels of National Vocation Awareness Week, we thought it’d be helpful to take a look at the different types of orders around the Archdiocese - including secular institutes. Ever heard of those? What are the differences between a secular institute and a religious order?   

We’ll get some answers today from Natasha Sager, member of the Caritas-Christi Secular Institute; and Jane Lynch, professed member of the Secular Institute of the Missionaries of the Kingship of Christ. 

 Right now, we’re continuing our look at vocations during this National Vocation Awareness Week by gaining some insights into the priesthood with an experienced priest of the Archdiocese. What exactly is spiritual fatherhood, and what does that practically look like as a priest? Fr. Skluzacek of the St. Paul Seminary fills us in. 

Did you know that National Religious Vocations Week is happening Nov. 6-12? We’ve all experienced the fruits of our Archdiocesan men responding to the call to priesthood and now’s our turn to pray for them and an increase in future vocations.  

Joining us today is the mother of a well-known priest (and now-Bishop), Mrs. Judy Cozzens. Judy is the former president of the U.S. Council of Serra International, a group of Catholic lay men and women who vigorously respond to the call to promote and support vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. 

How have you been preparing for voting season? We tend to hear about “faithful citizenship” and “forming our consciences” ahead of election day, but it can maybe seem a bit vague or unclear on what exactly that means.  

If it’s been a while since you’ve brushed up on the basics of voting, Jason Adkins of the Minnesota Catholic Conference will be joining us today to provide a run-down on registering to vote, informing our decisions, and how to find more information about how the Catholic Conference can help. 

This weekend we chatted about discerning our spiritual gifts! For those who are unfamiliar, in addition to Patrick’s role as your devoted show host, he serves as Called & Gifted coordinator within the Archdiocese.  

We’ll jump into what Called & Gifted is, and how you can get involved as we’re joined today by Christina Krutza, fellow Called & Gifted presenter for the Siena Institute, and Adult Ministry Associate at the Church of St. Vincent DePaul in Brooklyn Park. 

First up, our Director of Communications for the Archdiocese, Tom Halden, sat down with our chief shepherd, Archbishop Hebda for his October interview, centered around...you guessed it! Synod implementation. But this time, with a pilgrimage report thrown in for good measure! Let’s listen. 

Maybe your family has a plan for if, God-forbid, you were to experience a devastating natural disaster – where are the family photos? What articles and heirlooms are worth extra precautionary care?  

With October being National Archives month, Allison Spies has agreed to chat with us about the behind-the-scenes efforts that happen in the event of natural disasters – particularly in relation to the important articles and items of our Archdiocesan history. 

You’ve likely been hearing the buzz about the Archbishop’s upcoming pastoral letter being released on the Feast of Christ the King: it’ll be the culmination of three years of the Synod process and thorough input from the faithful around the archdiocese. But believe it or not, the Synod doesn’t stop there – it'll now be time to put the pastoral letter into action.  

Helping our parishes do that will be the newly-created Office of Synod Evangelization headed by Deacon Joe Michalak. He joined us this weekend to introduce this new office and the ways you’ll be experiencing the pastoral letter within your own parish.