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WOW! The Holy Spirit was really moving among the thousands of disciples who gathered for the Star of the North Eucharistic Congress, sponsored by the dioceses of Duluth and Crookston. It was an incredible experience of healing, hope and joy.

My loved one passed away, but I keep getting these “signs” that I see as being from them that let me know that they are OK. For example, I will see a cardinal (my dad always fed the cardinals outside his window) and I think that it is a sign from him. Is that okay for me to think? 

Spring is rapidly moving into summer. As I write this, we’re in the midst of what is arguably the best smelling week in Duluth, as the lilacs bloom for a brief time, perfuming the air. In just a matter of days, the trees around me went from being not quite leafed out to the profligate, almost claustrophobic abundance of the forest in full dress. (The lawn is growing fast too, and the mosquitoes have hatched.) 

A quote often attributed to the great 19th century English convert G.K. Chesterton says: “When people lose their faith in God, they do not then believe in nothing, they begin to believe in anything.” When people stop worshiping God, they don’t stop worshiping altogether, they find something else to worship. 

I am, admittedly, a political junkie. I have always liked politics and used to work in the field before I was a priest. Though the church is not a partisan institution, it has something to say about nearly all issues in the political arena. When it comes to the Catholic faith, religion and politics do intersect a lot. 

Soil erosion was the topic of the commencement address at my college graduation. The person giving the address was a prominent U.S. senator who was Catholic. Well over 2,000 graduates were in attendance who had chosen a private Catholic college to receive their education. 

After the Marian Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage started at the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Itasca State Park, it began winding its way into the Diocese of Duluth, making stops in Walker, Grand Rapids, Coleraine, and Duluth for holy hours, Masses, and Eucharistic Processions. 

Bishop Daniel Felton had a clear model to hold up for Deacon Gary Gibeau at his ordination Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary May 3: St. Joseph. 

“I think one of the best bits of spiritual advice I could give to everyone here is: Stay close to the fire,” Winona-Rochester Bishop Robert Barron told more than 3,000 Catholics gathered at the Sanford Center in Bemidji May 17. “… Stay close. Stay close to the light and to the fire.”