Coal Country

    Catholic Churches 

Pray with the Holy Father on March 27

March 26, 2020
 

You are invited to participate in the special prayer of the Holy Father taking place in Saint Peter's Square this FRIDAY, MARCH 27,2020.

During the Statio Orbis, which will be broadcast by Mondovision and streamed on the website of Vatican News (WWW.VATICANNEWS.VA) at 6pm in Rome/12 NOON (CDT), the Holy Father will grant to all participants the Plenary Indulgence before imparting the Urbi et Orbi blessing.

This special Urbi et Orbi blessing will be tape-delay broadcast on EWTN. Check your local listings for times.

READ more about plenary indulgences in this STORY from Catholic News Service.

Diocesan Reponse to COVID-19 Outbreak

March 18, 2020


  Important Message from Bishop Kagan
 

• March 18, 2020

  To the Catholic Faithful of the Diocese of Bismarck,
 
The most serious health crisis we are now experiencing, the COVID-19 virus has required unprecedented measures be taken by our national, state and local governments and, as devout Catholics and responsible citizens, we all have a share in this responsibility not to spread this virus, but to do all we can reasonably do to stop its spread and to pray and work for its end.  As Catholics this is our moral responsibility in justice and in charity.
 
Thus, after long hours of prayer and consultation, I must make the hard decision to cancel all public celebrations of the Mass, the sacraments and devotions until further notice that it is safe for us to gather again for public worship.  This is a great sorrow for me as your Bishop but, in justice and charity to you and to all in our diocese, I make this decision.
 
Thus, the following directives are to be observed in the Diocese of Bismarck and may not be changed or modified by anyone but the Diocesan Bishop:
 
Effective Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. and until further notice, all daily and Sunday Masses are cancelled in the Diocese of Bismarck.  This applies to all parishes, oratories, and chapels used for public worship.  The Catholic faithful within the territory of the Diocese of Bismarck are dispensed from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days.
 
Confirmation - As a result, all of the scheduled celebrations of the sacrament of confirmation between Sunday, March 22, 2020 through Sunday, May 17, 2020, are cancelled and will be rescheduled for the fall between September and December 2020.
 
Communal Penance Services - All Communal Penance Services are cancelled. All parish priests are to keep the regular schedule of confessions in their parishes but both priest and penitent are to use a screen for the celebration of the sacrament until further notice.
 
Weddings - All weddings already scheduled may take place but are to be limited to the bride and groom, the two witnesses, the parents of the bride and groom and the priest or deacon who is to witness the marriage.  The Church’s Rite of Matrimony Within or Outside of Mass may be used.
 
Funerals - All funerals are to be private not public, that is to say, for the immediate family only and for the priest or deacon who is the celebrant.  The Rite of Christian Funerals Within or Outside of Mass may be used.  There is to be no wake and/or vigil observed the day before or day of the funeral. No luncheon or dinner is permitted in the church hall after the funeral.
 
Baptism - Infant baptism may be administered but may have only 10 persons including the priest or deacon present.  All RCIA classes are cancelled. The sacramental initiation of adults by a Profession of Faith or by baptism may take place at the discretion of the priest but must be done individually and with no more than 10 persons present.
 
Religious Education - All parish religious education classes are cancelled until further notice.  Our Catholics schools are following the directives of the State and will remain closed until such time as it is deemed safe to reopen.  Parents are asked to follow the directions given by their local Catholic schools.
 
Televised/Livestream Mass - All pastors of parishes with the capability to livestream are to offer one daily and one Sunday Mass without a congregation or other ministers present and have that available for their parishioners on the parish website.  If any parish does not have this capability, the parishioners may go to the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit website and view daily and Sunday Mass from there (as available). As always, the televised Mass is available on the FOX TV affiliate in your viewing area on Sundays at 10 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. Please check the diocesan website and social media for updates and more details about livestream Masses.
 
Chrism Mass - The Mass of Chrism will be celebrated without a congregation present on Monday, April 6, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. CDT from the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit and this will be able to be viewed on the diocesan website.  In order to protect our priests, there will be no general concelebration of this Mass, but our priests are asked to participate in the Renewal of their Ordination Promises via live stream.
 
Priests will be expected to offer Holy Mass privately every day if possible and to be available to provide the anointing of the sick and viaticum to all the Catholic faithful.  Please call your parish office with any special sacramental and spiritual need.  Each Parish is to keep its Church open during the day for the benefit of those who wish to pray in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
 
What all of us must do in these days is not lose hope in the merciful goodness of Almighty God. Even though we will not be physically close to one another at this time, by our fervent and humble prayer for each other and all who are ill and affected, we remain united in the powerful Communion of Saints.  Let us continue to beg Our Mother of Perpetual Help and Saint Joseph, Guardian of the Holy Family and Patron of the Universal Church, to assist us in our time of need by their powerful intercession.
 
I offer to all of you my daily prayers and my blessing.  Let us accompany one another and everyone on this holy journey of healing and purification.
 
                                                              
The Most Reverend David D. Kagan
Bishop of Bismarck
 
Mr. Dale Eberle
Chancellor                       
 

The link below will take you to text of this message on the Diocesan website.

Important Message from Bishop Kagen

Lenten Regulations

February 22, 2020

Rules for Fasting and Abstinence during Lent –

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 26, 2020.

Ash Wednesday services will be held at 9:00 am at the Knife River Care Center, 5:00 pm at St. Martin and 6:30 pm at St. Joseph.

During the season of Lent, Catholics are called to take part in certain days of fasting and abstinence. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are the two days of both fasting and abstinence. In addition, all Fridays during Lent are days of abstinence. *

- Fasting: The norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 60. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal. Two smaller meals may also be taken, but not equal to a full meal.

- Abstinence: The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Catholic Church from age 14 onward.

*Exceptions to these guidelines include those who are physically and mentally ill (including chronic illnesses like diabetes) as well as pregnant and nursing mothers. The Church teaches that common sense should prevail so that a person does not further jeopardize his or her health because of fasting requirements.

No Greater Love

January 5, 2020

Deacon Dan will be starting a new study for Lent called No Greater Love. It is 5 weeks long and is coming to us from Ascension Press. Anyone from Beulah or Hazen is welcome to attend. We will be meeting at 9:00am on Friday mornings after the regular 8:30am Mass. Please look under the Faith Formation tab for all the details and the registration form

 

Catholic for a Reason

December 12, 2019

Fr Grafsgaard will be offering a new adult study starting in January.

This 9- week class will begin on January 2, 2020 and conclude March 26, 2020. All the information and an online registration form can be found under the Faith Formation tab at the top of the page.

Women's Bible Study August 29, 2019

A new bible study for women called "Walking With a Purpose" will begin on Tuesday evening, October 1, 2019 at St. Joseph's in the parish hall. You will find a registration form for this class under the News and Events tab above.

Please watch this video to learn more about the program.  Walking With A Purpose

Going on Vacation?

May 29, 2019

A link to Catholic mass times has been added on our Mass Times page. Check it out before you travel.

New Cemetery Policies

May 19, 2019

New cemetery policies have been published for each of our cemeteries. Please check the News/Events page for information.

The Pennsylvania Sex Abuse Scandal

August 24, 2018

Please use the link below to access the video by Fr. Mike Schmitz which Fr. Phillips mentioned during his homily this weekend. It is about 16 minutes long.