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Minnesota bishop gives young adults advice in virtual chat

Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens of Minneapolis-St. Paul offered tips on prayer and coping with stay-at-home orders

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Relaxed and visiting for more than an hour from his residence, Auxiliary Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of St. Paul and Minneapolis fielded about 20 questions in a livestreamed chat called “Quarantine with Cozzens: Conversation for Young Adults.”

Vincenzo Randazzo, evangelization manager for the archdiocese’s Office of Marriage, Family and Life, served as moderator to the April 23 chat. He read the questions and chatted with the bishop as they explored topics presented by participants while maintaining a casual, friendly atmosphere.

Both appeared from their respective homes on a split screen, Bishop Cozzens in Hopkins, Minnesota, and Randazzo in St. Paul.

As Bishop Cozzens sipped a beer, he addressed wide-ranging questions, offering his perspective, sprinkled with humor, often with personal stories to help people understand.

Questions ranged from what to say to someone who lost a job, to how to handle sadness following Easter when the feeling should be joyous, to advice on finding a spiritual mentor and what it feels like to celebrate Mass in an empty church. At one point, Randazzo asked him how often someone should pray.

“I was just thinking about this today,” Bishop Cozzens said. “This quarantine is long enough to form a good habit. They say it takes 30 days to form a habit. You got this.”

He advised setting aside time every day to focus on God alone and what he calls “mental prayer.” Speak to God from your heart and listen to His word.

“I think everybody should be able to do that for at least 15 minutes a day, if not a half-hour,” he said. “Certainly, prayer before a meal, a Rosary at some point … read from a spiritual book, pray together with your household.”

For parents with young children, the bishop said with a laugh: “It’s survival of the fittest. I’ve seen it.”

Before the first question was presented, Randazzo asked Bishop Cozzens if the Church had ever before seen something like the current pandemic. The bishop thought the closest example would be the plagues of the Middle Ages and the 16th century.

With some parallels to today, he described the work of St. Charles Borromeo in Milan, who closed churches for two years in the 1500s to prevent spread of disease and celebrated Mass in the street with people watching from their apartment windows. Bishop Cozzens also mentioned how St. Charles heroically brought sacraments to individuals who were dying.

Promoted on Facebook in an effort that drew more than 100 questions, and streamed on Facebook Live, the event also is available on the archdiocese’s Facebook page and its website.

“Doing a long-form conversation on Facebook Live is a great way to use new media to reach out to Catholics and even others … in a way that is familiar and with low commitment,” Randazzo said. “The comments we received were so positive.”


Bishops to consecrate U.S., Canada to Mary on May 1

WASHINGTON — Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has announced the U.S. bishops will join the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops May 1 in consecrating the two nations to the care of the Blessed Mother under the title “Mary, Mother of the Church.”

“This will give the Church the occasion to pray for Our Lady’s continued protection of the vulnerable, healing of the unwell and wisdom for those who work to cure this terrible virus,” said Archbishop Gomez in a letter to the U.S. bishops. Each year, the Church seeks the special intercession of the Mother of God during the month of May.

“This year, we seek the assistance of Our Lady all the more earnestly as we face together the effects of the global pandemic,” he said.

This consecration reaffirms the bishops’ previous consecrations of the United States to Mary. In 1792, the first bishop of the United States, Bishop John Carroll, consecrated the nation to Mary under the title Immaculate Conception, and in 1846, the bishops unanimously chose Mary under that title as the patroness of the nation. In 1959, Cardinal Patrick O’Boyle of Washington again consecrated the United States to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This was the year when construction of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington was completed. This was renewed by the U.S. bishops Nov. 11, 2006.

Archbishop Gomez will lead the prayer of reconsecration May 1 at 2 p.m. (St. Louis time).

— Catholic News Service

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