Denver Catholic

15 DENVER CATHOLIC | MARCH 14-20, 2015 Catholic RLCExperience.com W e had a phone call the other day from a reader who wanted to make a simple request. It's something he had been asking several years in a row, hoping that one day we would listen. March is the month of St. Joseph, he explained, not the month of St. Patrick. Could you please do a story on St. Joseph? Well, that's a good point. We don't do enough stories on St. Joseph. There are a couple reasons for this. First, while the solemnity of St. Joseph, the patron of the universal Church, is a major feast day, it tends to get overlooked in the wake of the rowdiness of St. Patrick's Day parades and green beer-fueled festivities. Another reason is that the Denver Catholic was actually born on March 17, 1900, with the cover printed in green ink in honor of St. Patrick. As a tribute to the saint under whose patronage we began this venture, we've published our mast- head in green every year for 115 years. During those 115 years, the Denver Catholic has built quite an interesting history with the help of St. Patrick. About two years after its launch, the name was changed to Denver Catholic Register, and in the 1920s the fl edgling newspaper began to take shape under the leadership of 22-year-old Mat- thew Smith, who was later ordained a priest while he continued to lead the newspaper. At its peak in the 1950s, the Regis- ter System of Newspapers published some 35 diocesan papers and the national edition, the National Catholic Register, boasting a combined weekly circulation of some 850,000. On Dec. 6, 1954,±Time±magazine featured Msgr. Smith in a story headlined "Catholic Press Lord." For about 60 years the diocesan news- paper was a communication tool to be reckoned with. A little-known chapter of the Register's history is the role it played in ending the Ku Klux Klan here in Colorado in the mid-1920s. It has left a legacy worthy of recognition, respect and honor. But for all its success in the fi rst half of the century, there is nothing that could have prepared it for the tectonic shift in mass communications that was to take place over the next half, and even less for the constant state of fl ux that is our current communications landscape. Just in the last 20 years, according to stats put together by TheWeek.com, Internet usage has gone from 25 mil- lion in 1994 to 2.9 billion in 2014. And not only are more of us on the Internet (84 percent of North Americans), we're addicted to it. The same study noted that 204 million emails are answered and $272,000 are spent every minute online. Approximately 62 percent of us look at our phones fi rst thing every morning, and the typical smartphone owner checks his device 150 times a day. To bring the stats closer to home, Nielsen reported earlier this year that people in Denver, more than anywhere else in the nation, use digital devices to stay current with local news. Also, smart- phone ownership in Denver has grown 14 percent in just the past year, with an even higher rate of growth among Hispanics. So, what does all this have to do with St. Joseph? Admittedly, not much. However, the attentive reader will notice that the cover story of this week's Denver Catholic is on St. Joseph. It's a small gesture to a great saint, but it also signals an attitude change. As the Denver Catholic turns 115, and as we pay tribute to our history and legacy, we also want to make a prom- ise: 2015 will be the year we transform our print-fi rst—and many times print- only—communications strategy, into an agile, fl exible, responsive, digital-fi rst communications hub that reaches people where they currently live, which is on their phones. St. Joseph, patron of workers, pray for us! A change of attitude Karna Swanson is the general manager of Denver Catholic, www.DenverCatholic.org. Manager's Column KARNA SWANSON We asked this question in the Feb. 28-March 6 issue of the Denver Cath- olic. Below is a response from a young mother, who wished to remain anony- mous, on how she shared the word of the Lord while experiencing the pain of miscarriage. Earlier this month, my husband and I were heartbroken to experi- ence an early miscarriage. It was the second time we were faced with this trag- edy, though thankfully we were blessed in between with the birth of our beautiful son, now 18 months. In these moments of immense sadness and pain, I threw myself into prayer, beg- ging Him to comfort me and to fi ll me with hope in the face of overwhelm- ing despair over death. He answered my prayer. Big time. I found myself journaling the words that I could hear Him whispering to my heart, words which brought such peace to my heart, it was nothing short of a miracle. Shortly after my prayer, my best childhood friend, who is early along in her own fi rst pregnancy, approached me. Her coworker had just miscar- ried, for the second time in a row. Meanwhile, she herself was spiraling into a fearful state, fearful for her own pregnancy after watching so many friends lose their babies. Although my friend's posture towards reli- gion has been somewhat cynical in recent years, I nevertheless felt called to share with her, and her coworker, the Lord's words to me, in hopes that He might speak to each of them, through me, His beautiful words of comfort and hope in the reality of heaven. An excerpt of His words is o" ered below: "I desire life. I mourn death. I see your loss and I see your family. There is purpose happening in this moment, in this pain, in this loss. You—your family—you have deep purpose. Your baby rests with me in heaven. They know joy. And love. They fi ght for you and for their family. She was not cre- ated in vain. Her life has purpose. She knows you, her mother. She is not gone, but gone before you. She is loved. She sees you. She loves you. She lives on." ANONYMOUS Lakewood We want to hear from you! How have you told others about God lately? Email us at DenverCatholic @archden.org and your response might be pub- lished in a future issue. LETTERS Send letters to DenverCatholic@archden.org, via www.DenverCatholic.org, or mail to Denver Catholic Letters, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210. Please include full name, city and phone number. Letters may be edited. Opinions are those of the author and not the Archdiocese of Denver. LETTERS How have you told others about God lately? St. Patrick, patron of the Denver Catholic; and St. Joseph, another special intercessor for the Denver Catholic. FILE PHOTOS BY JAMES BACA/DENVER CATHOLIC

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