Monsignor Shea and Celebrating 100 years of Catholic Rural Life
The Diocese of La Crosse was well represented at the centennial celebration of the national organization Catholic Rural Life on May 8, 2024, at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minn. Deacon Bob Zietlow assisted at the Mass celebrated by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and eight members of the Rural Life Committee of the Diocese of La Crosse who attended the conference and banquet, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Creamery Creek Holsteins of Bangor.
Speakers at the centennial celebration included Cardinal Dolan and Monsignor James Shea, president of the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND, and author of the bestseller, “From Christendom to Apostolic Mission.” Monsignor Shea, who grew up on a North Dakota dairy farm, graciously agreed to the following interview for Catholic Life:
Chris Ruff: Today, we are celebrating 100 years of Catholic Rural Life, an organization that works to recognize and respond to the needs of rural America, informed by a Catholic vision. What is at the heart of this celebration?
Monsignor Shea: Catholic Rural Life was founded in 1923 by Archbishop Edwin Vincent O’Hara of Kansas City, Mo. 100 years ago, there was concern that rural life in the United States was a place where the flourishing of the human person, and particularly the social doctrine of the church, could play itself out well, and where there were threats, too.
The 1939 “Manifesto on Rural Life” can feel like a grim reading, which is understandable given that it was written in the aftermath of the Dust Bowl. The 1930s were a challenging time for rural communities, not only due to the Great Depression but also because of the impact of the Dust Bowl. This Manifesto culminates in the haunting observation that the erosion of the human person is intricately connected with the erosion of the soil; that for our country really to come into its own as a nation that cherished and honored Christian values, it would be necessary for agrarian principles, Catholic social teaching principles, and the family farm, all to flourish. This highlights the rich and intricate legacy of Catholic rural life.
Today, we find ourselves in a very different situation in the wake of industrial farming, corporate farming and the dynamics of food production. And so, as we look at that, this centennial becomes a moment for an examination of conscience in which we ask ourselves what’s ahead for rural life in this country. Are there values and rhythms of life that need to be fought for and preserved for a humane existence to continue in our part of the world?
Chris Ruff: The Diocese of La Crosse is, of course, a rural diocese with many farms like the one you may have grown up on. Several challenges are evident, including the loss of family farms, economic issues due to fluctuating commodity prices and increasing equipment costs, and feelings of isolation and stress. What are some ways the Church can address these challenges posed by rural life today?
Monsignor Shea: These were not dissimilar from concerns that the Catholic Rural Life Conference was confronting in 1939 at the time of the “Manifesto on Rural Life,” and what they called for was education. They believed it was necessary for those who lived in rural areas and for other Catholics to have a robust understanding of what life on the land meant in terms of both the perils and the promise of an agrarian lifestyle.
The isolation was certainly there. When you think about the miracle of rural electrification, which brought so much promise to every corner of the country, you realize how much life has improved. Before electrification, life was much more difficult. The development of mechanization and equipment also made a big difference.
As we look at our current situation, it’s essential for us to recapture a vision of the human person and the connection between food production, rural life, and serving the broader community. Often, young people leave their family farms because they lack a robust or clear sense of the real value of what their family is contributing to the community. And that’s actually very important.
This is also connected to the question of priestly vocations. How? Because there was a time when large farm families were very generous to the Church. Many priests, including my brother and me (I have a brother who is also a priest), came from farm families and were raised with the understanding that our lives were not about ourselves. We were taught that this was a moment for contribution and service.
These are the essential values, along with several virtues commonly found in farm families. These include hard work, hospitality, neighborliness, and helping those in need. Also, a kind of wholesome self-sufficiency—not sheer independence that can occasionally crop up, but an independence rooted in community and parish. An openness to helping others raise children. Nowadays, people talk about how “it takes a village” to raise a child. Well, this was intuitively understood by those who homesteaded this country.
Chris Ruff: You’ve written a bestselling book, “From Christendom to Apostolic Mission,” in which you describe the challenges the Church faces today and the kind of evangelization that is needed to address those challenges. Are there any keys to be found in the realities of rural life?
Monsignor Shea: What’s happened is that we lament that the whole world has gone secular, and people don’t believe anything anymore. And so young people are leaving the Church in droves, etc. We hear about that. But I think people don’t understand that actually, what’s happened is there’s a new “religion” that has replaced Christianity as the primary religion of the day. It’s a vision of human life that relates to Christianity in an anti-Christian way but depends upon some of the principles of Christianity. And so, this is a powerful, imaginative vision of what human life is for and what it’s all about. It also plays out in a political schema, infighting between various political factions.
Many people believe that the world has become more secular, resulting in a decline in religious belief and an exodus of young people from the Church. However, some fail to realize that a new “religion” has emerged as the dominant belief system. This new vision of human life opposes Christianity but still draws on some of its principles. It offers a compelling perspective on the purpose and meaning of human existence and is manifested in political conflicts among various factions.
The essential thing for us now is to recapture the Christian imaginative vision. What’s the vision given to us by the Gospel, by Jesus Himself? It’s no mystery that Jesus taught in parables that often touched upon questions of agriculture and rural life—shepherds and mustard seeds. This isn’t a mystery because anyone who has experienced life in an agrarian setting or grew up in a small town or on a farm knows that close contact with nature fires the imagination and fosters a robust sense of dependence on God. This, in turn, opens a way to a deeper understanding of Christian truth.
I believe that the vision of rural life can help us renew the Catholic imaginative vision. Being in contact with nature, which we are meant to tend to like a gardener, allows us to connect with something we don’t simply have control over.
Chris Ruff: We are currently amid the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, which has had a powerful impact on our diocese and the Church in the United States. Can you see any connections between this and the realities of rural life we’ve discussed?
Monsignor Shea: That’s actually a very simple question. When we consider the elements of the Eucharistic sacrifice, they are agricultural products. What’s beautiful about them is that God doesn’t command us to offer Him wheat and grapes but rather bread and wine.
Bread and wine are fruits that come to us from the earth by the sweat of our brow. They are the yield of human labor, the blessings of nature and God’s bounty combined with our artisanship. The grain must be ground and the grapes must be crushed and fermented. In the eucharistic elements, we have this magnificent agricultural vision of how God wishes for us to give Him thanks and to worship Him in the highest sense in the Catholic imaginative vision, in the sacramental life of the Church.
Story and interview by Chris Ruff, Director of the Office for Ministries and Social Concerns
Published in the September/October 2024 issue of Catholic Life Magazine