Denver Catholic

2 I CATHOLIC LIFE MAY 21, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER ARCHBISHOP'S COLUMN MOST REV. SAMUEL J. AQUILA If you really want to be satisfi ed in life, ask God, "What are you calling me to do?" We often talk about "vocations" in the Catholic Church, so this week I would like to spend time explaining what they are and why they are so important. The word "vocation" comes from the Latin word vocatio, which means "summons." This past weekend I had the joy of ordaining four men who heard God summoning them to the priesthood when they prayerfully listened for his call in their hearts. My own heart was fl ooded with the joy of Jesus Christ to see men respond to the call to give up everything and follow him, to serve the faith- ful of northern Colorado. Every one of us has a primary vocation that defi nes our state in life. Some people are called to marriage, some men are chosen for holy orders, and some people are chosen for religious life or the single life. The Father has a defi nite vocation and particular plan for every human being that brings happiness and fulfi llment. Every human being, whether they are aware of it or not, is made for God. Father Joseph Doman, one of the four men I ordained a priest this past Saturday, described his decision to answer God's call as "freeing." There is "a tremendous freedom and joy that comes from giving your life away irrevocably, from not having any more options," he said. "Giving your life away irrevocably seems to be the opposite of freedom: being chained to one something until death. But the re- ality is that this gift of self is the fulfi llment of freedom. I've never felt more free in my life." It is beautiful to see how people fl ourish when they respond to God's call with generosity! In his message for this year's World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Francis invites all of us "to listen to the voice of Christ that rings out in the Church and to understand what their own voca- tion is." We are made to give ourselves totally to God, and if we listen for his voice in the quiet of our hearts he shows us how we will fi nd the greatest fulfi llment. Over the last several months I have also celebrated the wed- dings of friends who have heard God inviting them to marriage. As a bishop, one of the things that brings me great joy is to cele- brate the weddings of couples who are drawn to marriage not just because they love their future spouse but because they are also eager to respond to God's call. A question I always ask a couple prior to their marriage is, "Is it the Father's will that you marry Tom or Ann?" It is a question that sometimes catches people off-guard, yet it is an essential ques- tion for a person of faith, for it reveals the Father's providential love in bringing a man and woman together in his divine plan for their life, just as he brought Adam and Eve together, and Mary and Joseph together. If I only spoke of the joys of living out God's vocation, though, I would not be telling the whole story. The kind of love that follow- ing Christ requires, no matter your vocation, is sacrifi cial. Every state of life follows the way of the Cross and Resurrection. There will be times of trial and tribulation and there will be times of great joy just as there was in Jesus' life. One has only to look at the lives of the saints to see the truth in the sacrifi cial nature of love. Many people experience a "honeymoon period" when they fi rst resolve to answer the Lord's call, but he loves us too much not to God's vocation will bring happiness DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE: 303-722-4687 OR CIRCULATION@ARCHDEN.ORG Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 Denver Catholic Register (USPS 557-020) is published weekly except the last week of December and the fi rst week of January, and in June, July and August when it goes bi-weekly. The Register is printed by Signature Offset in Denver. Periodical postage paid in Denver, CO. Subscriptions: $35 a year in Colorado; $42 per year out of state. Foreign countries: $42 surface, all countries, 6-8 weeks for delivery; $135 air, all other countries (average). Mexico, $48 air; Canada, $55 air. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Denver Catholic Register, Circulation Dept., 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 or e-mail circulation@archden.org. Editorial: 303-715-3215 or editor@archden.org Advertising: 303-715-3253 or dcrads@archden.org Circulation: 303-715-3211 or circulation@archden.org Online: www.DenverCatholicRegister.org General Manager Karna Swanson Editor Roxanne King Business Manager Michael O'Neill For details and to order tickets, contact your home parish. Tickets for this event are not available for purchase at Water World. Advance Discount Tickets Available for $ 27.50 Catholic Youth Day Wednesday, July 9 WaterWorldColorado.com Supreme Court gives OK for prayer at council meetings BY NISSA LAPOINT A legal battle over the consti- tutionality of state-proclaimed days of prayer advanced this month when attorneys argued in court against an atheist group's attack on the "Colorado Day of Prayer." Attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom—a legal ministry dedicated to religious freedom—defended Gov. John Hickenlooper's proclaimed day of prayer saying it's a historic right to issue honorary prayer proclamations. The arguments were present- ed before a court in La Junta on May 1, coincidentally the pro- claimed National Day of Prayer by Congress and Colorado Day of Prayer by the governor. Hickenlooper and Colorado Attorney General John Suthers enlisted the Alliance to fi ght a state appellate court's original ruling in favor of the atheist Freedom From Religion Foun- dation's claim that the state day of prayer represents a govern- ment endorsement of religion. In a statement, Suthers not- ed the president and governors in 50 states have issued annual proclamations supporting the National Day of Prayer, which was established by Congress in 1952. The National Day of Prayer Task Force runs the annual day from its offi ces in Colorado Springs. "By acknowledging various events, anniversaries and civic accomplishments, the gover- nor is by no means 'endors- ing' or 'favoring' every one of the individuals recognized or the causes that the request- ing groups support," Suthers argued in a 24-page fi ling in 2012. "Rather, honorary proc- lamations simply acknowledge the activities of individual and civic groups." The Freedom From Reli- gion Foundation also fi led suit against former Gov. Bill Ritter in 2008 and a ruling in favor of the prayer day was overturned by the state's three-judge court of appeals in May 2012. Hick- enlooper and Suthers chal- lenged the ruling and brought the case to the Colorado Su- preme Court. Prayer in the Square The question over prayer in public also reached the U.S. Supreme Court this month. By a 5-4 decision, the jus- tices ruled in favor of allow- ing city governments to begin meetings with prayer, even if it favors a certain religion. On May 5, the court ruled legislative bodies such as city councils may continue to hold prayer during sessions. The court decided on the case af- ter an upstate New York town council was sued for not reach- ing out to a more diverse group of prayer-givers. A U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the town's practice of prayer at the start of sessions, while ruled constitutional for state legislatures by the Su- preme Court some 30 years ago, was an endorsement of prayer because the town rare- ly included invocations from non-Christians. When the case reached the Supreme Court, the majority of the justices found common ground with the dissenting jus- tices on the accommodation of religion in civic life, saying that the public square "need not become a religion-free zone." But the four dissenting jus- tices argued the town could have remedied its prob- lems by fi nding more diverse prayer-givers. Nissa LaPoint: 303-715-3138; nissa.lapoint@archden.org; www. twitter.com/DCRegisterNissa State wrangles over day of prayer in courts DCR FILE PHOTO BY JAMES BACA THE COLORADO state Capitol See Aquila, Page 6

• Cover