Wrapping retired priests in quilts and prayers

The Seven Sisters Apostolate is a Twin Cities-based ministry dedicated to strengthening the Church by offering up a Holy Hour every day for a specific priest or bishop. Hence, each small group has seven women — one for every day of the week — and the 10-year-old apostolate now claims more than 2,000 groups spanning 23 countries.

Two years ago, Deb Thielen launched “Appreciated and Loved,” a new ministry within the apostolate. The 68-year-old grandma, a retired legal secretary who also worked for the Office of the Archbishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, belongs to St. Michael in Stillwater. She was attending Mass at a silent retreat when inspiration struck. She was filled with a strong sense of love for the elderly priest celebrating Mass and decided to make him a quilt. Then she heard a message from God: “Not just him, but you will make a quilt for every retired priest in the archdiocese.”

Q) This quilt project was born during a moment of intense love. Do you think divine inspiration comes when a person is filled with love?

A) I think so because God is love. Anytime there is an inspiration from God, it’s going to come from love.

Q) You estimate there are 70 retired priests in the archdiocese. That’s a lofty goal!

A) Yes! We’ve made 13 quilts so far and have eight ready to give, but first we have to find prayer groups for them. Before a quilt is presented, we form a group of seven who will dedicate a Holy Hour a day to the priest receiving the quilt — so he is wrapped in the warmth of a homemade quilt and daily prayers. It’s a spiritual and a corporal work of mercy.

Our priests are under attack. We need to pray for them — especially for these retired priests. They’re cramming for the final. They’re getting closer and closer to meeting the Lord.

Q) Those two words — appreciated and loved — have such an impact.

A) These retired priests have given their lives for God and now they could be forgotten. We need to let them know they are loved and appreciated. We try to take these priests to lunch and tell them: “We still remember you! We miss you!”

Q) You design each quilt to match the priest’s interests.

A) Right! Father Tiffany loves motorcycles, so the back of his quilt is motorcycle posters. One priest at the Byrne Residence loves blue, so his quilt was all blue. Another retired priest used to race horses. I asked him to give me some pictures of his horses and didn’t tell him why. He gave me about 50, and I went home and said, “OK, Holy Spirit, you know which pictures I’m supposed to use. I’m only picking six.” So, I printed six on fabric and sewed them on the back of a quilt. He called me three times to thank me, and he said, “Do you know you picked my favorite horse?”

Q) What is it about quilts? Why are they so wonderful?

A) You make it with love. There is an expense, with the fabric and the time, but it’s given out of love. Once my husband said, “Deb, this costs a lot of money, and we’re on a fixed income.” I said, “Has God ever refused us? Have we ever gone without?” God will put on my heart who I’m supposed to make a quilt for.

This woman I walked home from Mass at the Cathedral with, God wanted me to give her a harvest quilt I made. It was the hardest quilt I’ve ever made. I gave it to her, and she sobbed. She said, “This reminds me of when my mother took me to the fair, and I had a dress that was a similar pattern.” This is how God works!

Q) Do you believe everyone is creative?

A) I think so. We all can do it. Whether you’re a carpenter building a home or painting a picture or whether you think, “I don’t have any gifts in art” and yet you’re baking a cake. We all have creativity. We just have to ask God how he wants us to use it.

Q) What helps you discern God’s will?

A) I really try to live in the present moment. I don’t want to live in the past or the future. I want to live in every single moment he gives me. If we live in the moment and really focus on, “God, what is your will for me right now?” He’ll show you! Just be open to it. If he wants me to do something in the future, he’ll show me. I don’t have to worry about it. All I have to do is just live for him right now.

Q) Wow. You have such clarity, a sense of surrender.

A) If you’d have known me in my earlier years, I was not the same person. I was a control freak. But when you grow in your spiritual life, you grow closer to God and you become more like God in the sense of loving people and not judging them or controlling them. Of course, we all struggle with control. Sometimes I try to control my husband on how to drive and what to do. We’re trying to be in imitation of Christ, but we’ll never get there till we’re in heaven.

Q) Tell me about your former self.

A) I was in corporate litigation at a high-profile firm. I could handle a lot of stress. Then I started doing retreats, and I started changing. We’re never going to change unless we have a prayer life. Every morning I wake up and say, “Heavenly Father, I come before thee, a humble servant, a wretched sinner, so desirous of doing your will. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, that I may have the wisdom and knowledge to know your will and the courage to live it out. Amen.” I’ve been saying it for so long. I’ll add, “Heavenly Father, I love you above all.” Then I go into it. We have to start off with love.

Q) When have you felt appreciated and loved?

A) So many people prayed for me when I had COVID. I waited at United Hospital for 14 hours in the hallway. They didn’t have a bed. So, they took me by ambulance to River Falls Hospital. The doctor said he’d never seen a worse case of double pneumonia from COVID. One night he called my husband to say he didn’t think I’d make it. But the next morning, I felt the healing hand of God, and I know so many people were praying for me. I felt beloved. I spoke to Archbishop Hebda (my former boss), and he said: “You’re not going to die. God has more work for you.” It’s our faith that gets us through and our love for God. If he wants you, he’s going to take you.