Posted by Kyle Eller
When the day’s emcee Father Ryan Moravitz asked the crowd at Built Upon a Rock Fest Sept. 17 if they wanted to do it again next year, there was no mistaking the answer in the big cheer that followed.
The gorgeous late summer Catholic rock concert drew more than ... Read More »
Posted by Kyle Eller
Racial disparities continue to persist in American life. As a response, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recently instituted a new initiative to fight racism in all its forms.
Though racism — irrational animus toward others based on their skin color, ethnicity, or race — is a sin within ... Read More »
Posted by Kyle Eller
“Deaths of despair.”
That’s the jarring term being used to describe a spike in deaths from opioid addiction, as well as from drug and alcohol addictions more generally and from suicide. This spike is showing up in Minnesota and elsewhere around the country. Kyle EllerMere Catholicism
According to a ... Read More »
Posted by Kyle Eller
“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his store room both the new and the old” (Matthew 13:52). Recently, the “store room” of the Diocese has been producing new and old blessings in abundance.
... Read More »
Posted by Kyle Eller
“I like the idea of having a child of a canonized saint here, and having people have as close as they can to a tangible experience of a saint,” said Father Richard Kunst.
His parish, St. John in Duluth, will be offering just that Oct. 30, when it hosts ... Read More »
Posted by Kyle Eller
Our schools should be places where children are trained to pursue the true, the good, and the beautiful — or, at the very least, equipped to honestly and rationally engage with objective reality. A school should be a place of education, not ideological instruction.
But a “transgender toolkit,” approved ... Read More »
Posted by Kyle Eller
Every August I look forward to the same bus ride: I get to chaperone middle schoolers from the east side of our diocese to Camp Survive.
I see this as a privilege, and I am left wondering why others are not vying for this job. Few situations place you ... Read More »
Posted by Kyle Eller
The energy was palpable. The welcome was hearty and sincere. The enthusiasm was contagious. Where else can you experience the fruits of the Holy Spirit in a forum with hundreds of young people, junior counselors, a prayer team, and some extraordinarily dedicated chaperones in a beautiful setting? Camp Survive ... Read More »
Posted by Kyle Eller
Question: I’m not sure what to do. I’ve been praying and I’ve been to confession (repeatedly), but I seem to commit the same sins. Even worse, I know that Jesus promised that we would receive a closeness to God when we call out for him, but I haven’t experienced that.
Answer: Thank you so much for writing. I think that your experience sounds a lot like most people in the church. Now, when I say that, I don’t mean “most people who don’t care about getting close to the Lord” in the church. What you described is what most people who are showing up and who long to be closely connected with God are experiencing every day. We want God so desperately, but we don’t seem to be able to experience his presence and his power. So what do we do? Father Michael SchmitzAsk Father ... Read More »
Posted by Kyle Eller
The Sacrament of Confirmation can be a very challenging and very rewarding sacrament. In my experience as a pastor, the most rewarding aspect of the sacrament comes through the RCIA process (Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults).
There can be any number of different scenarios as to why someone ... Read More »
