This Month’s Bishop’s Bulletin

Bishop DeGrood’s Column

God’s promptings in the silence of my heart

God’s promptings in the silence of my heart

Bishop DeGrood's Column, July 2020
30Jun 2020 by rkranz
In each of my assignments as pastor and now as your bishop, I have received a particular grace (spiritual insight from God) to provide a clear vision or focus for everyone to follow. The clear sense I got in prayer for our diocese is that God desires for everyone in our diocese to focus on lifelong missionary discipleship through God’s love. Our feature article this month is written by Fr. Scott Traynor who is working with the diocesan Discipleship and Evangelization Team so they all can support the missionary discipleship efforts of clergy, staff and parishioners in all our Catholic parishes, schools and other Catholic institutions. Here are some insights from Fr. Traynor and the team he is overseeing. The team has been engaged in fruitful efforts around the diocese…
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Fr. Mike Griffin’s Column

We are truly members of one human family

We are truly members of one human family

Fr. Mike Griffin's Column, July 2020
30Jun 2020 by rkranz
We are used to having alerts and warnings in our lives because we want to be informed and warned of impending danger. Once I slept through a tornado, and soon after bought a weather radio for my bedroom that definitely wakes me up if there is a storm or tornado warning in my area. The weather radios and warning apps, the security systems we put in, the alarms and the devices we use all serve a purpose, to keep ourselves, our families and property safe from harm. I suppose car alarms are meant to do the same. The intention is simple: someone tries to break into your car and the alarm goes off, which either alerts others to the crime, or drives the would-be thief away. That is the way…
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This Month’s Featured Story

Missionary Discipleship: God’s call for every Christian

Missionary Discipleship: God’s call for every Christian

Featured, July 2020
30Jun 2020 by rkranz
By Father Scott Traynor The Gospel according to Saint Matthew concludes with the disciples receiving the Great Commission from Jesus. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16–20) Each of us, by virtue of our baptism, has received this mission from Jesus. In our families, with our friends and co-workers, and in our communities, each of us is called by Jesus to be on mission to help others encounter…
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Local News

St. Wenceslaus Parish receives donation at the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association quadrennial convention

Local, March 2020
28Feb 2020 by rkranz
The First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association (FCSLA) awarded one million dollars in donations to qualified programs/projects which comply with keeping the vision of the Association. Donations were awarded during the 42nd Quadrennial Convention in October in Tampa, Florida. St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church of Tabor, South Dakota was the recipient of one of the donations given at the convention. Father Anthony Urban, center, pastor of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Tabor, receives the Donation check from FCSLA National Auditor Dennis L. Povondra on the right and FCSLA Branch W093 member Mark Povondra on the left. A donation was also received in 2015 and both donations were and will be used for upgrades and repairs to the Catholic school building and the Catholic church in Tabor. FCSLA with over 110,000 members in…
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Bishop Hoch Scholarships help make private college attainable

Local, March 2020
28Feb 2020 by rkranz
Private Catholic colleges offer great opportunities for their students. To make the tuition more affordable, the Diocese of Sioux Falls offers the Bishop Hoch Scholarship program, a $1,000 scholarship given to one student in each of its seven deaneries every year. The scholarships can be used to attend either Mount Marty College in Yankton or Presentation College in Aberdeen in the next academic year. The awards can be used by new students, current students and non-traditional students. Margaret Barnett, parishioner at St. John the Baptist in Wagner, was awarded one of the scholarships last year. She is majoring in biology at Mount Marty College in Yankton and says the scholarship has helped her focus on her studies instead of worrying about tuition all the time. She chose Mount Marty after…
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Lenten Retreat

February 2020, Local
19Feb 2020 by rkranz
A Lenten Retreat, “Renewing Our Baptism through the Lenten Scriptures” will be offered February 29, 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Benedictine Peace Center, Sacred Heart Monastery, in Yankton. Presentations by Sisters Doris Oberembt and Mary Jo Polak, times of silence and table discussion will help you enter more deeply into the Scriptures proclaimed at our Sunday liturgies. These Scriptures shape our Lenten journey so we can renew our baptismal commitment in the joy of Easter. To inquire about an appropriate donation or to register by February 26, call 605-668-6292 or email BenedictinePeaceCtr@ yanktonbenedictines.org.
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Celebrate Advent at Mount Marty’s free annual Vespers Concert

December 2019, Local
03Dec 2019 by rkranz
The Mount Marty College Music Department and Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery invite the community to their 37th annual Vespers concert on Saturday, December 7 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. The performances will take place in the Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel, located on the Mount Marty Campus in Yankton. Vespers is free and open to the public, and no tickets will be required for admittance. Vespers will feature Scripture reading and prayer in addition to songs and instrumental works of the Advent and Christmas season, including hymns and traditional English, Irish, and Polish carols. Pieces will be performed by the Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery Schola and Mount Marty College’s Concert Band, Chamber Singers, Choral Union, and pop a cappella ensemble, Smooth Benediction. Between performances, the Mount Marty Gregorian…
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Bulletin Extras

Pope Francis names Father Michel Mulloy of Diocese of Rapid City as bishop of Duluth

Bulletin Extras, June 2020
19Jun 2020 by rkranz
WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has appointed Father Michel Mulloy, a priest of the Diocese of Rapid City and current Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Rapid City as the Bishop of Duluth. The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on June 19, 2020 by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The Diocese of Duluth has been a vacant see since December 2019. Bishop-elect Mulloy was born on May 20, 1954 in Mobridge, South Dakota. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Humanities from St. Mary University in Winona, Minnesota. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Sioux Falls on June 8, 1979. After ordination, Father Mulloy was assigned to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the Diocese of Rapid City (1979-1981). He…
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Knights of Columbus founder Father Michael McGivney moves closer to sainthood

Bulletin Extras, May 2020
28May 2020 by rkranz
Father Michael J. McGivney in "Founding Vision" by Antonella Cappuccio. ROME – The Vatican announced May 27 that Pope Francis approved the promulgation of a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of the founder of the Knights of Columbus, Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney, a Connecticut priest who served his flock during the pandemic of 1890, before himself becoming ill and dying of pneumonia. The pope’s action means that Father McGivney can be declared “Blessed,” the step just prior to sainthood. An additional miracle attributed to Father McGivney’s intercession will be required for his canonization as a saint. McGivney is best known for founding the Knights of Columbus in 1882. Nearly a century before the Second Vatican Council, his prescient vision empowered the laity…
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Pope Francis names Father Peter Muhich of Diocese of Duluth as bishop of Rapid City

Bulletin Extras, May 2020
12May 2020 by rkranz
WASHINGTON—Pope Francis has named Father Peter M. Muhich, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth, as the Bishop of Rapid City. The appointment was publicized in Washington, D.C. on May 12, 2020, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The Diocese of Rapid City has been a vacant see since July 2019. Bishop-elect Muhich was born on May 13, 1961, and ordained to the priesthood on September 29, 1989, for the Diocese of Duluth. Father Muhich attended Eveleth High School in Eveleth, MN and University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, MN. He studied theology at American College of Louvain in Belgium. Father Muhich’s assignments in the Diocese of Duluth after ordination include: parochial vicar at St. Francis Parish in Brainerd (1989-1991); parochial vicar at St. Joseph,…
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Ordination Class of 2020 study provides hope for the state of vocations in the Church

Bulletin Extras
23Apr 2020 by rkranz
WASHINGTON – The release of the study of the Ordination Class of 2020 reveals a great sign of life and hope in the Church in the United States, despite the midst of uncertainty in the world brought by the coronavirus pandemic. At a moment when the faithful are prone to despair and struggle with the sadness of not having the sacraments available, and the public celebration of the Mass suspended, this profile of the 2020 Ordination Class is a ray of light. It is a tangible sign of God’s continued care for His Church. As a part of its mandate, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations sponsors an annual survey, in conjunction with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA),…
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President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops releases message for Holy Week 2020

April 2020, Bulletin Extras
06Apr 2020 by rkranz
WASHINGTON – Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued the following statement for Holy Week. Archbishop Gomez’s full statement follows: “Future generations will look back on this as the long Lent of 2020, a time when disease and death suddenly darkened the whole earth. As we enter into Holy Week, these most sacred days of the year, Catholics across the United States and the world are living under quarantine, our societies shut down by the coronavirus pandemic. “But we know that our Redeemer lives. Even in this extraordinary and challenging moment, we give thanks for what Jesus Christ has done for us by his life, death, and resurrection. Even now, we marvel at the beautiful mystery of our salvation,…
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