Letter from James
Two weeks ago, I traveled through the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys visiting CRL members up and down the state. Rain had fallen the night before I arrived, and the weather forecast for the week was more rain in the valleys and snow in the mountains. The Sierra Nevada mountains have over 10 feet of snow, or 228% of normal snow water equivalent. Of course, this is good news for farmers in California who have struggled through several drought years. But there are many people who have suffered as a result of too much snow at one time, and there are serious concerns about flooding in certain parts of the state. Even in Minnesota we are experiencing the 8th snowiest year on record as of March 12, 2023. Please keep farmers, ranchers and all who live in rural communities that may be suffering from the floods or snow damage.
One area I am trying to grow in this lenten season is prayer. My wife, Sally, gave me some prayer cards entitled, How to Pray the Surrender Novena by Cate Von Dohlen which can be found on the Hallow App. She writes, “The Surrender Novena comes from Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970), a Servant of God and candidate for beatification (to become a saint). Jesus revealed to Fr. Dolindo the words that make up this novena. Fr. Dolindo, who called himself ‘Mary’s little old man,’ suffered for much of his life, even living in paralysis for the last ten years before his death. He was also, at one time, the spiritual director and a friend of Padre Pio, who similarly found the love of Christ in his suffering.”
The prayer is transforming my Lenten experience. Each morning I read the words about surrendering all the burdens, concerns, responsibilities and worries to the Lord. It is simple yet a very profound prayer/novena. Let us keep each other in prayer this Lenten Season and remember that spring and hope are right around the corner. “O Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything.”
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James Ennis
Executive Director
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March Blessing
Our heavenly companion, sister, conspirito and inspiration. She breezes into woodlands, soars past mountaintops, sweeps over plains and deserts, and skims the oceans. She can come from any direction, sometimes gentle, sometimes harsh, and wanders to the ends of the earth fulfilling her sacred mission.
In appointed service, she swoops up fertile pollen and airy seed, she grandly ushers in misty clouds, and then deposits them all in fruitful wonder. She lavishes relief on the wise, but others she lashes for their foolishness.
In this blessing, find a breezy area and use a wind chime to draw attention to the wind. Face the wind and revel in its caress, using it to help you pray.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray: Lord of wind and spirit, your playful breath refreshes us, carrying away our many cares and lifting the burden of hectic schedules. Let us rejoice in its animation and experience the liveliness of your Spirit. Blow into our hearts with your life-giving Word. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Song of Praise: Verses from Psalm 104:1, 3-4, 29-30; Proverbs 30:4; Psalm 135:5, 7
Response: God has weighed out the wind, whose breath fills the world.
Bless the LORD, my soul!
LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You spread out the heavens like a tent;
setting the beams of your chambers upon the waters.
You make the clouds your chariot;
traveling on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers;
flaming fire, your ministers.
Response: God has weighed out the wind, whose breath fills the world.
When you hide your face, they panic.Take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.
Send forth your spirit, they are created and you renew the face of the earth.
Response: God has weighed out the wind, whose breath fills the world.
Who has gone up to heaven and come down again who has cupped the wind in the hollow of the hand? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak who has established all the ends of the earth?
Response: God has weighed out the wind, whose breath fills the world.
Closing Blessing
Loving God, as the winnowing wind blows through the grain and carries the chaff away, blow through our thoughts and sift out all that is unworthy. As an arid wind dries grain for the harvest, draw from us the greenness of our faith and make us ripe for nourishing others.
As moist wind blowing over parched earth conveys hope, breathe renewal into our wearied hearts. As the mighty wind pushed back the flood waters for Noah and created space for new life, sweep your spirit into our beings and recreate wholesomeness. Lord of all, bless the wind in its fertile vocation as it swirls through crops and hearts bearing gifts of both heaven and earth. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Magazine Membership Feature |
You won’t want to miss CRL’s latest edition of our quarterly magazine, Thriving in Rural Life: Helping Ministry Flourish.
The fall 2022 issue explores all the ways rural life is thriving and how CRL programs educate and inspire laypeople and clergy. You will also read about how a family took a leap of faith to move across the country in search of land and water to live out their farm dream.
If you missed our fall 2022 magazine you can still order it online today and gain complete access to articles and resources. To learn more and place your order, please visit https://catholicrurallife.org/magazine/
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Have you ordered CRL’s Cooking for Christ: Your Kitchen Prayer Book? Our newest edition makes the perfect addition to your collection. Please enjoy our St. Joseph's Cream Puffs Recipe! For more recipes and to place your order, click here.
St. Joseph's Cream Puffs
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INGREDIENTS
Makes about 18 cream puffs
Dough
1 stick (1/4 pound) unsalted butter
1 cup water
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1⁄4 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp grated lemon rind
1 tsp grated orange rind
Filling
1 pound pot cheese or sieved cottage cheese
2 tbsp grated semisweet chocolate
1 tbsp grated fresh orange peel
3 tbsp whole milk
2 tsp almond extract
18 maraschino cherries
1⁄2 cup diced candied orange peel
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DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. To make the dough, cook the butter in the water in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the butter has melted, stir in the flour and salt, and continue beating until the dough forms a ball.
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the sugar and grated peels.
Drop table-spoonsful of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets at least 3 inches apart. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees, and continue baking for about 25 minutes longer or until puffs are light brown and firm. Remove from oven. Open puffs in the center to let steam escape. Cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, make the filling by mixing the cheese with the chocolate and fresh orange peel. Add the milk and almond extract. Chill until ready to use. Before serving, fill the puffs with the cheese filling and top with the cherries and candied orange peel.
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Recipe from CRL’s Cooking for Christ – Your Kitchen Prayerbook, (pg 94) |
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Through farming, the Thompsons have developed a lot of reliance on Divine Providence, trusting that God has a plan for them even when things are difficult. In fact, the Thompsons are able to still find joy in the rough moments, knowing that God uses them to draw the family closer to him. “Even though much of farming is picturesque,” Shannon said, “the hard days that include loss are a good reminder of our own mortality and need for constant conversion to God.”
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Their business model means they have more control over every step of raising and selling their meat, from the pasture until it reaches the customer. The Thompsons also enjoy being able to connect with their customers on a personal level. “It’s a way for us to enjoy the fruits of our labors by having a relationship with our customers,” Shannon said. “There’s nothing like having a hard day of farm work and getting a picture texted from a customer [saying], ‘I made your roast tonight and it was the best roast we’ve ever had!’ It’s so fulfilling to see how our work is doing something as necessary as feeding people delicious, nutritious food.”
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Our team here at Catholic Rural Life has grown! We welcome Kate Gapp from Hastings, Minnesota, as our new Director of Development. “I respect and admire the work ethic of farmers. And I like to know where my food comes from!” Kate shares. She previously worked as a fundraising consultant for Catholic parishes and schools all around the United States and is bringing her development and campaign expertise to CRL.
One of Kate’s favorite prayers is the Suscipe of St. Ignatius. “It’s a daily reminder to me that God's thoughts are not my thoughts, and his ways are above my ways. ‘All I have and call my own’ is actually not my own but a gift from God, and I try to live cherishing those gifts, but not possessing.”
Some fun facts about Kate: she loves her new standing desk, biking to work in the summer, Trader Joe's, and CrossFit! Kate looks forward to getting to know you all more.
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Our team is also welcoming Emily Popp as our new Communication Intern. She is a recent grad from the University of Minnesota and grew up on a small dairy farm in central Minnesota.
“At a young age I learned a lot about life with all the calves and cats being born. This taught me to appreciate God’s creation and the time we have on this earth. I not only experienced this with animals, but also when patiently waiting for the crops to grow knowing at any point during the season it could all be taken away. This is a great conscience check because it forces any farmer to do what we are all called to do: rely solely on Him.” Some fun facts about Emily: She loves almost any outdoor activity such as downhill skiing, ice skating, canoeing, camping, biking, hiking, and bonfires with friends. She also loves traveling and board games.
“I look forward to serving a community of people I have always cared so much about: Catholics and farmers.”
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Welcome to the New Bishop of St. Cloud |
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Catholic Rural Life welcomes Bishop Patrick Neary who was ordained and installed February 14th as the new bishop in the Diocese of St. Cloud. Welcome to Minnesota!
CRL would also like to thank Bishop Donald Kettler for his faithful years of service and outreach supporting the Catholic rural communities of central Minnesota. May God bless you in your retirement.
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Thriving in Rural Ministry |
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Pastors who cover one or multiple parishes over a long distance can feel isolated and emotionally stretched. CRL works to create a network of support for pastors who serve rural communities to encourage and help one another fulfill the vocation of rural ministry.
CRL’s Thriving in Rural Ministry retreat and follow-up program provides spiritual refreshment, rural insights, support, leadership development, an expanded understanding of integral ecology, and fraternity with other priests serving rural communities. CRL aims to renew rural pastors to help revitalize the communities they serve.
Each retreat includes:
- Individual and communal prayer
- Best practices shared among other priests serving in rural ministry
- Presentations and workshops on known rural challenges and key priestly responsibilities
- Pre-retreat self-assessment tool
- Individual leadership development
- Fraternity with other priests serving rural communities
- Celebration of the sacraments
Retreats are 4 nights/5 days and 15-24 priests attend. Participants have different tenures and represent various age groups and dioceses across the globe. Each cohort is invited to meet quarterly (via video conference) to discuss specific issues particular to rural ministry.
Upcoming Retreat Dates:
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June 12-16th, 2023 at Mount Angel Abbey in Saint Benedict, OR
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October 9-13th, 2023 at Saint Benedict’s Abbey in Benet Lake, WI
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June 17-21st, 2024 at Mount Angel Abbey in Saint Benedict, OR
To register and learn more about the upcoming retreats click the button, below.
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Green Bay Rural Life Scholarship |
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Don’t wait to apply for the Green Bay Rural Life Scholarship, open until March 31st. The $500 Scholarship, offered by the Rural Life Committee of the Diocese of Green Bay, will provide financial aid for an aspiring student interested in serving the agricultural community in their chosen profession. To qualify for this scholarship, the applicant must meet the following requirements:
- Pursuing post-secondary education that results in serving agriculture and/or rural life in their chosen profession
- Be an active member in their parish community within the Diocese of Green Bay
- Exhibit leadership qualities
- Receive recommendation from pastor, pastoral leader, or religious education coordinator
- Preference will be given to high school seniors
To submit an application, either email materials to pweiss@gbdioc.org or mail to Diocese of Green Bay Attn. Rural Life 1825 Riverside Dr. P.O. Box 23825 Green Bay, WI 54305-3825
The deadline to submit applications is March 31st, 2023.
For questions on how to apply, please contact Peter Weiss at (920) 272-8321 or pweiss@gbdioc.org
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North Central Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Grant |
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NCR-SARE Professional Development Grant Program supports state professional development programs and competitive grants for training agricultural professionals
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proposals are due at 4pm central time on April 6, 2023
- Professional Development Program awards up to $120,000
Since 1988, the SARE program has helped advance farming systems that are economically viable, environmentally sound, and good for communities through a nationwide research and education grants program. The program, part of USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, funds projects and conducts outreach designed to improve agricultural systems.
Questions should be addressed to PDP Regional Coordinator Dr. Rob Myers at 573-882-1547 or myersrob@missouri.edu.
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Blessing of the Seed and Soil Celebration – Davenport, IA |
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The Diocese of Davenport welcomes all who are interested to a Blessing of Seed and Soil celebration. Fr. Dan Dorau will say mass on April 16th, 2023 at 4 PM at the Pieper farm near Houghton, Iowa.The event is being hosted by St. James the Less and St. John’s parishes.
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Rural Life Mass – Gagetown, MI |
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The Diocese of Saginaw will be hosting a Rural Life Mass on May 20th at the Thumb Octagon Barn in Gagetown, MI. The time is still yet to be determined.
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Members of the Catholic Rural Life community are helping to build the Church, a community of Catholics, in rural America. Our members live in rural and urban alike, in 43 states across America. When you join CRL, your donation and participation help support our work in serving parishes, pastors, farmers, rural businesses, and families.
The benefits of membership include:
- Connection to a network of CRL members nationally praying and advocating for rural Catholics.
- A one-year subscription to our quarterly Catholic Rural Life magazine. This includes a hard copy mailed to you as well as digital access to the most current issues.
- CRL members gain exclusive access to resources that are not available to the general public on our website including:
- Vocation of the Agricultural Leader
- Printable Monthly Blessings
- Video Webinars
Most importantly, our members know they are helping to promote Catholic life in rural America by supporting priests who serve rural communities, equipping strong local CRL Chapters, advocating on behalf of family farms, and strengthening and celebrating lay leadership.
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2115 Summit Avenue
UST Mail Number 4080
St. Paul, MN 55105
(651) 444-8714
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