August 20, 2023

Our readings this weekend remind us that Jesus came to invite people of every land and nation to join Him in coming to know the Father and to enter the Kingdom of God. Isaiah foretells:  my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples and the responsorial Psalm rejoices that all the nations praise you!   St. Paul, while mourning that Israel has not accepted Christ, reminds us that Israel is still dear to God because the gifts and call of God are irrevocable.   St. Paul is also hopeful about how this mystery of unbelief has led to the reconciliation of the world.   Finally, the Canaanite woman shows great faith, even when it might appear that she is being rebuffed by Jesus!   Jesus heals her daughter and rejoices in her faith.

One of the great delights and gifts for me at St. Mary’s Cathedral is noticing the peoples from every land and nation that join together to worship and to receive the Eucharistic gift of Jesus throughout the week.   We are from many continents and individual nations.   I’d attempt to list them all, but I’d likely overlook some, so I shall not try!   We are part of a Catholic, that is universal, Church.   The one thing that matters is that each person is created, known, and loved by God.  This gives us equal dignity with a variety of gifts and cultural backgrounds.    Jesus, let all the nations praise you at St. Mary’s Cathedral!

Msgr. Joseph P. Goering

September 3, 2023

This Sunday’s responsorial psalm speaks movingly about our soul’s desire and need for God:   “O God, you are my God whom I seek; for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.”

God created us out of love and intends and desires that we find all of our heart’s desires in Him.    This is why the longing and hungering for God, even when it is uncomfortable, is a sweet desire.   We may experience life at times like the parched earth…and God’s love and grace are the rain that we need to flourish.

The gift of this desire can help move us to the more difficult challenges of being God’s adopted sons and daughters.   In the first reading, Jeremiah laments that although the desire to speak God’s word is like a fire burning in his heart, he has to speak difficult words that bring him “derision and reproach all the day.”   Meanwhile, St. Paul reminds us that following Christ sets us in conflict with a world not centered on Jesus:  “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”    Finally, Jesus tells his disciples that He must suffer on the Cross.   He then tells each of us that “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

Let us ask Jesus for the grace to experience the desire Him and a relationship with Our Father.   It is that desire, that return of love for love, that enables us to keep focused on God even when it leads to conflict, derision, or even death on a cross.

Msgr. Joseph P. Goering

September 5, 2023

Dear parishioners of St. Mary’s,

Today is the feast day of St. Teresa of Calcutta, who showed the value and dignity of every human life through her call to minister to Jesus in the poorest of the poor.   She is a great model of truly pouring out her life for Jesus in Himself and in the poorest of the poor.   St. Teresa, pray for us!

I have been blessed to work with the Missionaries of Charity throughout my priestly life…in no small part due to the fact that one of my own biological sisters is a Missionary of Charity.    I was able to visit Sr. Sylvia yesterday in Winnipeg, along with two other family members of St. Mary’s:  My own mom, Marita, and my sister, Jacinta.   So you see, again, vocations come from our families.

Here is what Mother Teresa says about the place of our families in learning to love:

The family is a special instrument in God’s hands, for it is chiefly through the family that God wants to tell us that we are created for greater things: to love and to be loved.  As our families are, so will our relations with our neighbors be, and so will our towns, cities, and our whole country appear.  If the family becomes a place of love and peace and holiness, then our nations and our world too will live in love, in peace and in unity with God and with each other.

Msgr. Joseph P. Goering

September 8, 2023

Happy Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

St. Andrew of Crete writes beautifully about today’s feast:  The present festival, the birth of the Mother of God, is the prelude, while the final act is the fore-ordained union of the Word with flesh.   Isn’t that a nice description of the wonder of this day?   St. Andrew also writes about how Mary was raised in her family to know and love God.  I think you’ll agree that this is a great description for parents and children (and all of our households) as they work together for holiness:  Today the Virgin is born, tended and formed and prepared for her role as Mother of God, who is the universal King of the ages.

Blessed Mother pray for us that we may be born, tended and formed and prepared for our roles in the Body of Christ!

Since we have a birthday, let us offer our Lady a birthday “cake” and get ready for the first weekend of caramel rolls!

Msgr. Joseph P. Goering

September 12, 2023

Our readings for the coming weekend set up a tremendous challenge to be dedicated to God and to be merciful as God is merciful.

The dedication comes from St. Paul:  For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.  Do we understand our lives as totally encompassed by Christ, no matter what our age, abilities, or vocation?   It is good to recall that we are His, for this puts all the difficulties and joys in perspective.

The challenge for the weekend around mercy is tremendous!  I give you a new commandment, says the Lord; love one another as I have loved you.   As Jesus has loved…we are to love, and not less.   As Jesus has revealed mercy we are to be merciful, and not less.    We then hear the parable of the man who was forgiven a huge debt, and then went out and found his fellow servant and seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’

If that parable isn’t clear enough, Sirach has more than enough to ponder and apply to our relationships, our engagement in our parish or our politics, our social media postings, etc.  The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail.  Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.  Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD?    The whole reading is well worth taking to prayer and asking Jesus, “How may I choose this in my own thoughts, words, and actions towards others?”

Of course, we need the grace of God to be a remotely as loving and merciful as He is!  But imagine the difference we can make for those we come into contact with if we choose to be merciful…remembering how merciful God has been to us.

Msgr. Joseph P. Goering
 

September 29, 2023

Today is the feast of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.   St. Gregory the Great, when writing about them, reminds us that they receive their names from the missions that they undertake for God on our behalf.   So St. Michael (“who is like God”) acts powerfully.  St. Gabriel (“The strength of God”) brings the message to Mary that God will appear “as a humble man to quell the cosmic powers.”   St. Raphael (“God’s remedy”) comes to bring healing.   We might ask the archangels today to intercede so that we may act with power when needed, and be strengthened to fulfill our vocations and withstand evil, and receive God’s healing remedies (graces) into our lives.

The weekend readings remind us that even if we say “No” to God at first, when we repent and obey His will, God is ready to receive us in mercy and continue to walk with us.   This is great encouragement when we stumble and fall.   We are also challenged not to ‘rest on our laurels’ and past obedience to God.   Am I ready to do whatever He asks of me, today, even if that means suffering?   “Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.  Rather, he emptied himself…becoming obedient to the point of death…” (Cf: Philippians 2:5-8)

This coming Sunday is also Respect Life Sunday.   Bishop Folda has the Noon Mass, which will be followed by a Holy Hour for Life.  Please consider joining in this prayer and a little lunch afterward provided by our Knights of Columbus.

Msgr. Joseph P. Goering
 

October 4, 2023

Dear Cathedral parishioners:

Happy feast of St. Francis!   His example of voluntary poverty, in order to be more like Jesus, is a great witness for depending upon God for everything.   In addition, his rejoicing in how all of creation gives praise to God can inspire our own gratitude for God’s gift of creation and remind us of our need to be good stewards of God’s creation.

O yes, I suppose today is a good day to offer a prayer for Pope Francis on his “papal name’s day.”   St. Francis, please pray for our Pope Francis.

Our coming weekend readings use the image of Israel as the ‘vineyard of the Lord.’    Isaiah and Psalm sing about how Israel is God’s vineyard and how God cares for His vineyard.    Alas, Isaiah and Jesus in the Gospel also mourn that the vineyard does not always bear fruit in response to God’s care.

Now, we may not immediately connect with being a vineyard or having a vineyard, but many of us know the joys of a garden and how a garden bears fruit after a combination of care (planting, weeding, watering, gifts of God’s sunshine) and then can delight us with an abundant harvest.  

So when hearing the readings this weekend, be assured that God has labored to love you, to care for you, to pour out blessings upon you, precisely because He loves you.   He is also delighted to see each of us bear fruit.  

And, very importantly, it is not a ‘usefulness’ delight only.   He also delights in us the way we delight in our flower gardens.    We cannot eat them (darn!), but they are loved for their own sake.   God doesn’t love us just for our utility to Him.   He loves because He loves.

To help make this concrete…enjoy this photo of some parishioners' garden harvests, and let us ask the Lord to help us to bear similar fruit in our lives!

Msgr. Joseph P. Goering

November 19, 2023

During the month of November, let us continue to pray for the souls of all the faithful departed.   As we remember and grieve, we can be comforted by the fact that God the Father loves each of His children even more than we do.   Jesus has offered His life to save them, and the Holy Spirit is the Advocate pleading on their behalf.   So, in Christian hope, let us entrust our beloved dead to God.    Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

I have some great news and a bit of explanation regarding the recent note you received concerning the Adoration Chapel.

The great news is that a generous donor has offered to match all gifts, dollar for dollar, up to $30,000.  So, this will make it much easier us to reach our target of $60,000.   May God bless all the generosity that has been and will be shown in this effort.

I realize that “another” campaign in the midst of our major campaign for the ceiling might raise the question:  Why?   

Here is why I chose to do this.  

First, like the ceiling project in the Cathedral, some repairs are necessary in front of the Adoration chapel.   It is better to plan and execute them now rather than wait for the sidewalks to deteriorate too much further.

Second, the Adoration chapel enjoys support from the Cathedral, but also from parishioners from many other parishes in the area and in the Fargo Diocese.   While those parishioners might not want to join our specific Cathedral campaign, we want to invite them to help with this!   The #iGiveCatholic day will invite a wider group of the faithful to participate.  

Third, the #iGiveCatholic campaign was being organized and funded by the Diocese of Fargo for the first time this year, so that all that any participating parish or entity needed to do was say, “Yes” and provide a project to participate.    Ideally, this targeted day of giving will be a fruitful source of donations for this immediate project and for future parish needs.   The date was fixed for November 28, 2023…or we would have to wait for another year.   

It seemed best to offer the opportunity for people to give to a project that we need to do no matter what, even if the timing with our more central campaign was not ideal.  

I hope this effort is not seen as a burden, but an opportunity.    I am grateful for all of the sacrifices you make for your Cathedral and for our Adoration Chapel.   I’ll be sure to make my own gift for this project, just as I have for our Cathedral campaign.  

May God bless and guide all that we do.   May our Adoration chapel continue to be a place where we can encounter the love, peace, and mercy of Jesus.

Msgr. Joseph P. Goering
 

Donate to this project by going online or contacting the parish office,
now through November 28 only.
https://fargo.igivecatholic.org/organizations/st-mary-s-cathedral
701-235-4289

2/8/24

Dear St. Mary's parishioners,

This message is a repeat of what I announced at Mass this weekend, in case you missed it or wished to read the details.    Again, the short form is this:
Thank you!

We need every one of you!   [full text below]

Just last week the Cathedral completed sending out year-end reports which document your financial support of your parish.   Thank you all once again for the ways that you make it possible for us to worship the Lord with beauty, to educate our families, and to live the Gospel in our communities and families.   I know that you give financially as well as with your time and various talents.   Your gifts in response to God’s blessings are most appreciated.   Thank you!

Every year I am encouraged by the sacrificial gifts that I see our families make to the parish.   I am encouraged by those who have given faithfully for many years, and I am encouraged by those who are now, in their own time, taking up this responsibility as they begin their adult lives, families and careers.   All of your generosity and trust in God is wonderful.   Thank you!

We have a triple challenge before us as we give back to God through our tithing to the parish, the parish building project, and to our coming support of the Diocese through God’s Gift Appeal.   I am confident we will accomplish all of our goals, but we will only do so if every one of us does our own part in these efforts.    So along with the gratitude, here is our challenge:

We have 451 individuals or households “on the books” at St. Mary’s Cathedral.
For parish support (regular offertory and the capital campaign combined), we have records of 310 individuals or households who donated $50 or more in 2023.   This means that possibly 141 may have given less than $50/year or less than a dollar a week.   If so, we can do better as a parish family on our tithing.

For our capital campaign, we have 131 pledges.   The good news is that we are around half way to our goal.   We also have room to grow here, for 320 individuals or households have not yet committed to supporting our building project.  I wish to encourage everyone to make some contribution to our campaign.

Next weekend, we will start the God’s Gift appeal, which provides for needed ministry for the entire diocese and which benefits every parish, including our own.
The bottom line, with all these projects, is that we are grateful for the support already given, and we also need to remember that every single member of the Cathedral has something to give to make our efforts a success.

I realize that some may give to the offertory anonymously, and that can make the participation numbers look a bit lower than they actually are.   I know that some are limited in their ability to give.   God knows your situations and your hearts, and I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about that!

I am confident that our parish will meet its financial challenges, and I simply wish to let you all know:   We need you!   If you have an ability to support the parish, please choose that good and entrust your gift to God.

Thank you again for your generous support of St. Mary’s Cathedral.