Vatican City, Dec 12, 2019 / 04:42 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Thursday accepted the resignation of Bishop Paul Joseph Swain of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and appointed Minnesota priest Fr. Donald Edward DeGrood as his successor.
Bishop of Sioux Falls since 2006, Swain's resignation was accepted after he reached in 2018 the age of 75, the minimum age of retirement for diocesan bishops.
Bishop-elect DeGrood, 54, grew up outside Faribault, Minnesota, one of five boys in a farming family.
A priest of the Saint Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese, he has been pastor of Saint John the Baptist Parish in Savage, Minnesota since 2017.
On the Saint John's website it states that "life was great as a farm boy," and that DeGrood first felt called to the priesthood around age seven.
Saint John's serves more than 2,100 families, according to its website. The church also has a parrochial school with preschool through 8th-grade.
From 2013 to 2017, Bishop-elect DeGrood was the archdiocese' episcopal vicar for clergy.
DeGrood has been pastor of Saint John Parish in Savage, Minnesota since 2017. The parish serves more than 2,100 families, according to its website. The church also has a parrochial school with preschool through 8th-grade.
The bishop-elect is also the member of several diocesan committees and on the board of the Saint Paul Seminary.
He was a spiritual director at Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver from 2000 to 2004.
The Diocese of Sioux Falls is one of two dioceses in South Dakota. It covers the eastern part of the state and has over 120,000 Catholics.
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Cardinal Francis Arinze during the centenary celebrations of Bigard Memorial Major Seminary in Rome in November 2024. / Credit: Bigard Memorial Major Seminary
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Pope Francis waves to crowd gathered for the Angelus at St. Peter’s Square on March 13, 2022. / Vatican Media
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 13, 2022 / 07:37 am (CNA).
Noting that Luke’s Gospel reveals that Peter, James, and John had fallen asleep prior to Jesus’ Transfiguration, Pope Francis urged the faithful during his Angelus reflection Sunday to call on the Holy Spirit to awaken their desire to pray.
“The drowsiness of the three disciples appears to be a discordant note. The same apostles then fall asleep in Gethsemane too, during the anguished prayer of Jesus, who had asked them to keep watch (cf. Mk 14:37-41). This somnolence in such important moments is surprising,” the pope observed on March 13, the ninth anniversary of his pontificate, speaking to a large crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“However, if we read carefully, we see that Peter, John and James fall asleep before the Transfiguration begins, that is, while Jesus is in prayer. The same will happen in Gethsemane. This is evidently a prayer that continued for some time, in silence and concentration. We may think that at the beginning they too were praying, until tiredness prevailed,” he continued.
Pope Francis observed that as followers of Jesus, we are prone to the same weaknesses as the apostles, and often miss the opportunity to converse with God at important moments of our lives.
“Perhaps in the evening, when we would like to pray, to spend some time with Jesus after a day of rushing around and being busy. Or when it is time to exchange a few words with the family and we no longer have the strength. We would like to be more awake, attentive, participatory, not to miss precious opportunities, but we can’t, or we manage it somehow but poorly,” he said.
“The strong time of Lent is an opportunity in this regard,” Pope Francis continued. “It is a period in which God wants to awaken us from our inner lethargy, from this sleepiness that does not let the Spirit express itself. Because — let us bear this in mind — keeping the heart awake does not depend on us alone: It is a grace and must be requested.
“The three disciples of the Gospel show this: They were good, they had followed Jesus onto the mountain, but by their own strength they could not stay awake. This happens to us too.”
Crowds gather at St. Peter’s Square on March 13, 2022 for Pope Francis’ Angelus. Vatican Media
The good news is that the Holy Spirit desires to help us do what we cannot accomplish on our own.
“Like [the apostles], we too are in need of God’s light, that makes us see things in a different way: It attracts us, it reawakens us, it reignites our desire and strength to pray, to look within ourselves, and to dedicate time to others,” the pope said.
“We can overcome the tiredness of the body with the strength of the Spirit of God. And when we are unable to overcome this, we must say to the Holy Spirit: ‘Help us, come, come, Holy Spirit. Help me: I want to encounter Jesus, I want to be attentive, awake.’ Ask the Holy Spirit to bring us out of this slumber that prevents us from praying.”
In conclusion, Pope Francis posed a simple challenge.
“In this Lenten time, after the labors of each day, it will do us good not to switch off the light in the room without placing ourselves in the light of God. To pray a little before sleeping,” he urged.
“Let’s give the Lord the chance to surprise us and to reawaken our hearts. We can do this, for instance, by opening the Gospel and letting ourselves marvel at the Word of God, because the Scripture enlightens our steps and enflames the heart. Or we can look at the crucified Jesus and wonder at the boundless love of God, who never tires of us and has the power to transfigure our days, to give them a new meaning, a new, unexpected light,” he said.
“May the Virgin May help us to keep our heart awaken to welcome this time of grace that God offers to us.”
Pope Francis wants to take care of Spiritual matters like fasting and penance and prayer and maybe bring back fish on Friday, instead of talking about the weather, global warming, and all things secular. Would he please concentrate on the ball of the Spiritual Realm not on the ball of the football field. He is one great disappointment neither shepherd or Father is he. Wants to take a lead from Pope Benedict. Be as we did have in the past Popes who looked after the Spiritual needs.
Wishing Fr Donald Edward De Grood, strength and stamina. God bless.
Pope Francis wants to take care of Spiritual matters like fasting and penance and prayer and maybe bring back fish on Friday, instead of talking about the weather, global warming, and all things secular. Would he please concentrate on the ball of the Spiritual Realm not on the ball of the football field. He is one great disappointment neither shepherd or Father is he. Wants to take a lead from Pope Benedict. Be as we did have in the past Popes who looked after the Spiritual needs.