Focus on Faith! Marty Seifert: Being Catholic at the Capitol

Marty Seifert, an SMSU alum and long-time member at Holy Redeemer, was our "Focus on Faith" featured speaker for November.  From serving on the Student Senate at SSU, to serving as the Minority Whip at the Minnesota House of Representatives, to two runs for the Republican nomination for Governor of Minnesota, Marty has a long and story filled history with the Capitol.  Tuesday evening, he spent more than an hour with Newman Club members, other students on campus, and members of our parish community in the William Whipple Art Gallery, sharing insights, personal stories, and challenging those in attendance to take their faith seriously, and put it into action.

Along with sharing stories about how each day in session is opened, how they changed schedules to be more family and constituent friendly, and the challenges of special sessions, Marty took the time to remind us all that the little decisions we make are the ones that have the greatest long term impacts.  For example, if we say we will get to Mass when we can, we are more likely to miss Mass than not.  If we say Mass is a priority and we will get there no matter what, we look for solutions to solve problems that would get in the way of attending Mass.  When he was a legislator, he had to advocate for a later start to Sunday sessions so there was time to attend religious services for the Representatives.

He also discussed how important it is to have a network of people who have a similar belief system and will support you on your faith journey.  He had a group of colleagues with whom he regularly attended Mass when he was required to be at the Capitol on a weekend.  Marty was honest about the challenges, but direct in his approach when he said it is all ultimately up to us to make the best decisions and follow through on them.

Thank you, Marty, for sharing with us!