{"id":14718,"date":"2026-03-26T14:45:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T18:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.archspm.org\/?page_id=14718"},"modified":"2026-03-26T15:52:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T19:52:05","slug":"pastoral-letter-only-one-thing-is-necessary-duplicate","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.archspm.org\/es\/pastoral-letter-only-one-thing-is-necessary-duplicate\/","title":{"rendered":"Carta pastoral: Solo una cosa es necesaria (DUPLICADO)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Only One Thing is Necessary<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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How Catholic Families Can Strive to be United in This Life and the Next<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Pastoral Letter to the Families of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Only One Thing is Necessary (PDF)<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Una Sola Cosa es Necesaria<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Listen now (podcast)<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Discussion questions<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Family guide<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Index<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Preface<\/a><\/p>

Section I: Our Urgent Challenge and the Narrow Path<\/a><\/p>

Section II: What is Required to Accomplish the Task?<\/a><\/p>

Section III: Sacramental Marriage: The Essential Foundation for a Family of Disciples<\/a><\/p>

Section IV: \u201cThe Family of Families\u201d \u2014 The Church Supporting Families on Their Journey to Heaven<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Section V: \u201cFamily, Become What You Are!\u201d<\/a><\/p>

Section VI: How Does the Catholic Community Support You in Your Vocation?<\/a><\/p>

Section VII: How Can You Pass on the Faith to Your Children?<\/a><\/p>

Section VIII: What\u2019s Next for Our Catholic Families in the Archdiocese?<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Preface<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Church recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the canonization of Marie Az\u00e9lie (Z\u00e9lie) and Louis Martin, the parents of the Little Flower, Saint Therese of Lisieux. Canonized in Rome on October 18, 2015, the saintly couple were held up to the Church universal as role models for holiness in married life. They were the first married couple to be canonized together<\/em>.<\/p>

Throughout the process that led to their beatification and canonization, it was the ordinariness of their life that was celebrated. Pope Leo XIV recently spoke of these 19th century parents, a watchmaker and a lacemaker, as part of what Pope Francis had called an immense crowd of \u201csaints next door\u201d\u2014 saints who are relatable because they live their holiness amid the ups and downs of everyday life.1<\/sup> <\/em>Their lives were never free of sickness and hardship. Z\u00e9lie gave birth nine times, but the Martins lost four of those children, a great suffering for the couple. They poured out their love for the five surviving children and desired to present to them a witness of holiness. Z\u00e9lie died at a young age, leaving Louis to raise their daughters. Louis himself would confront ill health and spent years in a state hospital suffering from a type of dementia. Amazingly, all five of the daughters entered religious life.<\/p>

Pope Leo has rightly noted that the seemingly \u201cordinary\u201d life of Z\u00e9lie and Louis \u201cwas inhabited by a presence of God that was, to say the least, \u2018extraordinary\u2019 and was its absolute center.\u201d2<\/sup> <\/em>He noted that they bore witness \u201cto the ineffable happiness and profound joy that God grants both here on earth and for eternity, to those who commit themselves to [the] path of fidelity and fruitfulness.\u201d3<\/sup><\/em><\/p>

I will always have fond memories of the 2023 procession from our State Capitol to the Cathedral of Saint Paul with the relics of Saints Louis and Z\u00e9lie and their daughter Saint Therese, and I have been constant in my prayers that they would intercede for the families of this Archdiocese. I share Pope Leo\u2019s prayer that families, \u201cso dear to God\u2019s heart, but also sometimes so fragile and tested, may find in them, in all circumstances, the support and graces necessary to continue on their journey.\u201d4<\/sup><\/em><\/p>

I have been blessed throughout my life, and particularly throughout my 36 years of ministry, with wonderful examples of marital holiness in everyday life. While it is unlikely that my parents will ever be canonized, my siblings and I often speak of our indebtedness to our parents for their witness to the faith and their willingness to sacrifice for their family. We will always be grateful for the way they introduced us to God\u2019s love and made sure that we found a home in our Church.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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I have witnessed that same sense of sacrifice here in the Archdiocese. During the prayer and listening sessions that led up to our 2022 Synod, I heard time and again of the love and concern that reside in the hearts of so many parents in this local Church, who want nothing more than to lead their families to Jesus. They instinctively understand and model what Jesus taught Martha in the midst of her anxiety: \u201conly one thing is necessary,\u201d being with Jesus (Lk 10:42).<\/p>

For that reason, I was not surprised at the 2022 Synod when the proposition regarding \u201cparents as the first teachers of their children in the ways of the faith”5<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0received so much support. I was happy to both include that proposition as one of our first three priorities for implementation and to appoint a Blue Ribbon Commission to help the Archdiocese develop a plan for responding to parents who desire the Church\u2019s assistance in assuming their weighty responsibilities.<\/p>

I remain grateful for the work of our Blue Ribbon Commission, and I am happy to issue at their recommendation this pastoral letter as an expression of encouragement to parents and to all those who support them pastorally.<\/p>

Commended to the help of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, and the mighty intercession of our patron Saint Paul in the 175th year of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Lead Kindly Light.<\/em><\/strong>6<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Section I<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Our Urgent Challenge and the Narrow Path<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Section II<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What is Required to Accomplish the Task?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Section III<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Sacramental Marriage: The Essential Foundation for a Family of Disciples<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\u201cThe Family of Families\u201d \u2014 The Church Supporting Families on Their Journey to Heaven<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Section V<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cFamily, Become What You Are!\u201d<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Section VI<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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How Does the Catholic Community Support You in Your Vocation?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Section VII<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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How Can You Pass on the Faith to Your Children?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Section VIII<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What\u2019s Next for Our Catholic Families in the Archdiocese?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Only One Thing is Necessary How Catholic Families Can Strive to be United in This Life and the Next Pastoral Letter to the Families of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Only One Thing is Necessary (PDF) Una Sola Cosa es Necesaria Listen now (podcast) Discussion questions Family guide https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XHOmBV4js_E Index Preface Section I: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6498,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-14718","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archspm.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archspm.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archspm.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archspm.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archspm.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14718"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.archspm.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14755,"href":"https:\/\/www.archspm.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14718\/revisions\/14755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.archspm.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.archspm.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}