14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - JULY 4, 2021 - Church of ...
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FROM OUR PASTOR Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, It is good to be with you! I find great joy in the coincidence of returning to the place of my birth on the very Sunday when we hear Jesus say: “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” Fr. Matthew Kuhn Boy, am I glad I’m not a prophet. I admit, I am a little nervous about preaching to my own extended family. As a priest, I necessarily have to say things you may not want to hear. We can all feel the pressure to avoid saying prophetic things in order to avoid offending others, but we also have a responsibility to help each other grow in virtue and in love. Please know that the first person I am targeting in my preaching is me. I know my own faults, and most of what I preach is what I am hearing God say to my heart in prayer. The priest is not better than anyone else, but he is held to a higher standard. This is a good and necessary thing! I thank God for the honesty of children every time I hear one of your little ones repeating my own lesson back at me. It is good for my humility and for my confidence. If God can speak to me through them, then surely He can speak to them through me. May God grant us all the wisdom to recognize His voice and the courage to speak for Him to others. Peace in Christ, Father Matthew Kuhn Thank you from the bottom of my heart for celebrating my final liturgies here at St. Mary’s and for the wonderful retirement gathering at Carlos Creek Winery. I send a special thank you to the planning committee and the staff of Carlos Creek. It was a wonderful day. I have received a ton of cards....thank you. I plan to respond to every one of them. (Remember, my phone calendar says “No planned events today.” That is a very strange feeling. But I am sure that I will be filling in some time slots.) I wish you all well and thank you. I welcome Fr. Matthew... May you be blest in your ministry here. Blessings to all of you. Fr. Steve Binsfeld 308 3rd Street S., Apt 107 Sauk Rapids, MN 56379 frsteve@stmaryalexandria.org SUNDAY † We wish to offer our sympathy and promise of OFFERINGS ACTUAL BUDGET VARIANCE prayers to the family and friends of Irene Angeline Envelope $ 18,186 $ 23,904 $ (5,718) Wheeler. Electronic 9,930 9,769 161 Other 2,270 1,058 1,212 For June 26 $ 30,386 $ 34,731 $ (4,345) YTD Offerings $ 1,661,172 $ 1,806,012 $ (144,840) * Total year budget is spread equally over 52 weeks. Detailed fiinancial reports may be viewed at the Parish Office.
COMMUNITY NEWS PRAYER CORNER What: Livestream Mass time change When: Beginning July 3/4, livestream Mass will move If you or someone you know in our from 5:00 PM to 10:00 AM. parish community is sick or ill, or has Why: Technology ministers are more available at a family member who could use our 10:00 AM prayers, please call our Parish Nurse, Kathy Fischer, at 762-2320. Names It’s hard to stay home on a summer will be published for 6 weeks, and Saturday night in lake country! renewed for an additional 6 weeks upon request. Please remember the following people in your THE PARISH OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED Monday, prayers: July 5. Happy 4th of July! Betty Schlosser, Dan Woods, Andrew Herges, Kevin Richmond, Sr., Virginia Schultz, Mary JULY IS LET’S BAG HUNGER MONTH - The Outreach Waldorf, Jerry Sacre, Lawrence Cline, Dan Radford, Food Shelf has indicated that they would prefer to Jody Koubsky, Kathy Moriarity, Bev Bernholtz, continue receiving monetary donations at this time. Ben Smith, Jessi Johnson, Carol Zacher, Emily They will use these donations to purchase needed Lambert, Tony Strasser, John Clayton, Jan & food. Contributions can be sent or dropped off at 1205 Lowell Bohen, Sara (Thompson) Westre, Joan Lake St, Alexandria, MN 56308 or in the parish office Cook, Charity Spindler, Dot Ledman, Rose Ann drop box. Donations may also be put in the collection Maloney, Maxine Sammons, Judy Fuller, Reid baskets at Mass. There will be food shelf envelopes Skinner, Greg Dahlgren, Vicky Revering, and at the church entrances that may be used. Please Lillian L . be sure to indicate on your check that it is for the Church of St Mary July Food Campaign. Thank you Blood Drive in advance for your willingness to share. St. Mary’s Catholic Church Tuesday, July 6 - 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM Wednesday, July 7 - 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM Appt/Info: Contact Janet at 320-763-3381 ABOUT LIFE Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee (JPIC) - The False God of Absolute Freedom by Fr. Billy Swan (2019) Five key points about the nature of freedom: 1. Modernity celebrates human freedom and seeks to protect its integrity. Faith in Christ is not the enemy of this freedom but the guarantor of true freedom. 2. Much of the alleged conflict between human freedom and faith stems from how we understand the human person to be. We humans are beings in relationship. Therefore, our freedom accommodates some degree of commitment to others and self-sacrifice. 3. Freedom is conditioned by what freedom chooses. Our choices either enhance freedom or diminish it. True freedom is not arbitrarily doing what we want but delighting in choosing the good and the true. 4. Our freedom is not destroyed or replaced by God’s freedom. It is about aligning our will with God’s will. 5. The pursuit of absolute freedom ends up destroying freedom. Insistence on absolute freedom leads to conflict and violence. SANCTITY OF LIFE Visit St. Mary’s Sanctity of Life online at sanctityoflifestm.org for information and resources.
COMMUNITY NEWS A special THANK YOU to Barb Friedrichs who has coordinated Coffee & Rolls for the past several years. Barb created a team and schedule to provide our parishioners fellowship after each Sunday Mass. With donuts and rolls donated by Roers Family Bakery, along with fruit, coffee and juice served by parishioners, groups and/or committees made it a great way to start the day. Barb recently retired and is looking to new ventures both within the church and with her family. We wish her well and thank her for her years of service and creating a team of wonderful people to continue in her place. We are looking for someone to take over and coordinate this ministry. Barb has organized notes and a team of people to support you. If you are interested, please call the parish office 763-5781. FAITH FORMATION stmreled@stmaryalexandria.org | 320-763-9202 YOUTH FAITH FORMATION Our Middle School students experienced their first mission trip in June. They traveled up to Duluth where they served at a youth center and a food shelf, and assisted in cleaning up the fairgrounds, Wade Stadium, and a few local parks. They also helped John in moving out of his home of 53 years. I think he especially enjoyed the company! The students also had the opportunity to explore all that Duluth has to offer and were excited to meet Fr Mike Schmitz when we made time for Mass at the Newman Center! Check out more photos on our FB page - https:// www.facebook.com/StMarysYouthMN/
Stewardship Inspiring a deeper understanding of true giving July 2021 D Third, uring the summer, we might be we use the summer as tempted to let our participation a time to try out new ways to in parish life slip just a little. I serve others. hope that we can all resist that tempta- I suspect that there are many of us tion. We should be about the ordinary who have skills which we’ve never business of the Christian, growing in the used in Christian service, perhaps be- knowledge and love of the Lord, shar- ing our lives with one another, sharing our faith with those who have no faith, and reaching out to the poor and needy who are God’s special friends. That’s a pretty large order, I have to admit, but I’d like to make three simple sug- gestions about ways you can be about God’s business this summer: First, we can continue in the habit of faithful attendance at worship, and you can in- vite some of your friends and neighbors to come with you. I suspect that each of you has a friend who takes a vacation from worshiping S God. Help that friend to see that God cause we fear that we wouldn’t really tewardship and hasn’t gone on vacation; invite him or do a good enough job to please people evangelization her to worship with you some Sunday. or that we might get stuck in a particu- go hand in hand, for lar form of ministry forever. What bet- Second, we can use some of our summer leisure time for ter time than the summer to try out a stewardship is a shar- ing of the good news. Christian study. new form of ministry as an adventure Our response in time, in faith. If you have an idea about same talent and treasure is a There are probably a large number form of ministry you’d like to take on continuing announce- of good books in your local library, for a while this summer, share your idea ment that echoes the and not all of them are heavy reading. with others. Whether it’s singing in the good news proclaimed Many of them are simply the stories of choir, reading lessons on Sundays, vis- by angels long ago. ordinary Christians like you and me. iting the sick or the elderly, or any other You might also want to consider get- form of ministry, try it out this summer. ting together with a few others to study part of the Bible. 1
They’ll Wait for Me! What’s In Your Hand S ome years ago, my church put What’s in your hand that God can use on a Passion play. It was much To bring him glory and praise? more ambitious than our usual When you offer it to the Lord Easter programs. Almost every member He’ll use it in special ways. of the congregation was involved in one way or another. I volunteered to help Moses offered a shepherd’s staff with the refreshments. I’d anticipated God used to part the sea, pouring punch, serving cookies, and so And when he struck the desert rock, forth. However, I was soon confront- Water poured out freely. ed with our church’s ancient (and huge) coffee maker. I had no idea Your hand may hold an instrument T he stewardship of how to work it. Directions were That you can play and sing service is at least as nowhere to be found. The ladies A song of praise and worship important as checkbook who normally used it were all cast To glorify the King. stewardship, but some- members, and couldn’t help me, times it is easier to write worried that they might miss their Or in your hand may rest a pen a check than to take the entrance. That you can use to write trouble to explore what So I stood there, terrified that I Words of great encouragement you can do for your was going to have to explain why To bring a friend God’s light. church and community there was no coffee. Then, a man with your “hidden assets” cheerfully asked if he could help. Maybe you hold a piece of bread, ... your skills and talents. He managed to figure out how to A cup of water, too. operate it. I was grateful, but wor- When they’re offered to one in need, ried. Seeing his costume, I knew he God will bless through you. must be in the cast. I thanked him, but remembering what the others had said, I Though you may look down at your asked, “Aren’t you worried you’ll miss hands your entrance?” And nothing is found there, “Oh, they’ll wait for me,” he said When you lift them to the Lord, calmly, and strode off. They did. Later, I He’ll hear and answer prayer. discovered he had the part of Jesus. Yes, people in a play will wait for an You may think my gift’s too small, actor portraying Christ. But how often But it matters not the size. do we wait upon Jesus, performing the When God looks at your open hand, good works that he commands? Reach- Your gift he multiplies. ing out to the community, whether with a Passion play, a food pantry, a school supplies drive, or simply inviting a new neighbor to church, is something we shouldn’t wait to do. 2
second of our lives? And who will pro- Pastor John’s musing... vide for us when our earth journey is over? The grateful and wise person will say something like- “All that I am and all that I have of any consequence comes from God. Therefore I offer my life to God. Willingly, I lose my life to God. For God alone knows how to best use my life and whatever has come with it: my brain—power, my talent, my A strength, my time allotted, and the re- s part of their sources God has allowed me to have total steward- T for the days, whether few or many, I ship, Christians are he Greek writer, Nikos Kazant- will have here on earth. So be it.” concerned about the zakis, once told the story of an dedication of their old monk who lived on one of talents. They regard the islands off of Greece. One day a personal abilities to young man who was rock climbing on the island came across the monk and work and to lead as began conversing with him. another evidence of When the young man felt better ac- God’s loving care. quainted, he asked the monk if he still In a spirit of conse- wrestled with the devil. “Oh no,” the cration, they desire to devout old fellow said, “not anymore. have those talents uti- I have grown old and the devil has lized in business, in grown old with me. He no longer has the home, in church, my strength. Now I wrestle with God. in such a manner that “With God?” the young man queried, they will make a con- “you wrestle with God? Well, let me tribution to the King- ask: Do you hope to win?” dom of God on earth. The answer the monk gave is worthy These priorities are of remembering. “Win?” he asked, “Do important to them, I hope to win? Heavens no, I hope to including during the lose!” summer months. If that seems puzzling, think more about it. And think about Jesus’ state- ment to the effect that to lose to Him was in fact to win. Christ’s precise words were: “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39) Upon consideration, it all makes per- fect sense. To whom do we owe our existence anyway? To whom are we therefore ultimately obligated? Whose providential care ministers to us every 3
How often do we wait upon Jesus, performing the good works that he commands? How Much is Enough? T eacher, what good thing must I enjoy God’s blessings. But one of the do to get eternal life?” reasons God gives us gifts is so we can “Go sell your possessions share with others and help bless those and give to the poor, and you will have in need. We can hang on tightly and treasure in heaven. Then come, follow walk away sad, or surrender everything me.” over to his Lordship and ultimately “When the young man heard this, he become co-workers with Christ in the went away sad, because he had great building of his Kingdom, right here and wealth.” now. This Bible story teaches that we all worship something, and it becomes our everything. The rich man went away sad because he worshipped money. He held on so tight that he missed out on an adventure with Christ. He was so close, yet so far. When we give freely of our money to the stewardship of our local church, we not only help build the Kingdom of God, we also affirm that God has first place in our hearts. The Bible says, “Whoever loves money never has Copyright © Parish Publishing, LLC enough” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). It’s o.k. to May not be reproduced without permission. 888-320-5576 www.parishpublishing.org 4
ADULT FAITH FORMATION ST. MARY’S SCHOOL St. Mary’s School educates the whole child SUMMER 2021 WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY within a nurturing Catholic Christian environment. Drawing from Father Mike stmaryss@stmaryalexandria.org | 320-763-5861 Schmitz’s “Quick Catholic Lessons”, we will explore just a few core questions about Catholicism and tough issues in Christian discipleship. This study will meet for five Paraprofessional Position Available! Saturdays beginning July 10th until August 7th from 8:00 to The primary responsibility of this position is to 10:00 AM in the Lighthouse work collaboratively with the classroom teachers (building in the north church and their students to help reinforce or enrich parking lot). skills in a variety of subject areas. This is a perfect summer study with no The position is for six hours per day during the 171 homework (nor cost). It is not necessary to student contact days starting on August 31. commit to all or even most sessions; attend when you are able. Please join us! Interested candidates must send cover letter and resume to: Questions? Call or text Lori 320-808-1145 or email biblestudywomen@gmail.com Troy Sladek, Principal St. Mary’s School 421 Hawthorne PRAY THE ROSARY WITH US EACH MORNING! Alexandria, MN 56308 Our prayers are united via conference call and it’s very easy to do. Please unite your prayers with ours and join us daily. Board of Education Member Needed! At 7:55 AM each morning dial: 712-775-7465 and enter access code 653790#. You may introduce The St. Mary’s Board of Education has openings yourself if you would like. You will be asked to mute beginning in September. Call or stop by the Parish your phone when the rosary begins at 8:00 AM. or School Office for an application if you are interested. Questions: Judy Clayton 320-333-9892 Diane Gay 320-766-703 CALENDAR RAFFLE WINNERS 6/27 John Hovel, Alexandria $35 6/28 Jim Kuhn, Alexandria $20 6/29 William Cass, Alexandria $20 6/30 Nick Nettleton, Alexandria $20 7/1 Kimberly Hawkins Garfield $100 7/2 Jacob Wales, Alexandria $20 7/3 Kevin Kopischke, Carlos $20 Support St. Mary’s School by Participating in: Tapes for Education Follow St. Mary’s School on Instagram and Facebook stmarysschoolalexandria St. Mary’s School Alexandria
LITURGICAL AND MUSICAL NOTES PARISH HEALTH MINISTRY LIFTING SPIRITS, TOUCHING LIVES DRYEYE A Prophet—Except In Your Own Home Jesus returns home to preach in the synagogue in which he grew up. The people were astonished at his wisdom. Word had already reached them concerning all of the miracles Dry eye occurs when there are problems with the production he had accomplished. But rather than rejoicing in his or consistency of tears. homecoming, they took offense. COMMON SYMPTOMS This Gospel speaks to just about every parent of an adolescent who ever lived. In Jesus’ words, “Prophets are not without honor, except...among their own kin, and in their own house” (Mark 6:4). Like Jesus, we too experience Stinging Excessive Sandy or gritty Episodes of Redness or burning tearing sensation blurred vision the hurt and frustration of not being heard by the people closest to us—the very people we most want to influence. At one point my husband and I had four teenagers living in COMMON RISK FACTORS our house at the same time. I am sure we gave just about every speech given to an adolescent during that time frame. They were always very respectful, they seemed to listen, but sometimes you could just tell by their stance or Side effects from Hormonal Age Auto-immune Dry certain medications changes disorders, such environment the look on their face that our words of wisdom were being as arthritis heavily filtered. WHO GETS DRY EYE? I remember sitting with one of our sons following a family wedding when he and his cousins had absconded with a six-pack of beer. I can still hear this handsome young man (who stood about five- foot-one at the time) say to his father and me, “I know most fourteen-year-olds aren’t old enough to drink beer, but I’m a lot more mature.” Nearly 5 MILLION AMERICANS 50 years of age and older are estimated to have dry eye. Of these, more than 3 MILLION ARE WOMEN. Dry eye is particularly common Years later, I found a picture from that wedding showing my after menopause. son and his cousins standing with the groom. I asked my even more handsome, six-foot son if he remembered the wedding and the incident with the beer. He just shook his head and said, “Oh yeah, I was pretty dumb back then.” So have faith. More often than not that know- it-all teen with Dry eye may be increasing among young people due to the rolling eyes will usually come around to appreciate your extended use of computers, tablets, and smart phones. wisdom. I wonder if the same thing happened to the folks in Jesus’ hometown. For their sake, I hope so. IS IT MORE THAN AN IRRITATION? FAMILY RESPONSE It can be. Although dry eye is often a temporary annoyance, Practice active listening. Ask one person in the family to some people can develop chronic dry eye, which can scar talk about a problem they are having at home, school or the cornea and cause vision loss. work with which they would like help. Everyone else is to listen without interrupting. They may then ask questions CAN IT BE TREATED? to clarify what the person has said. When they are done listening, they can make suggestions. The person who was speaking tells each person how well he or she listened by giving him or her a grade of one to five. Five means you are Treatments include topical lubricants and prescription a really good listener. drops that enhance the eye’s tear film. PERSONAL RESPONSE Are you a good listener? What can you do to become better For more information, visit www.nei.nih.gov/health/dryeye. at this important skill? What do you want to remember from last week? Bringing Home the Gospel: Parent Reflections on the Sunday Gospels • Copyright © 2008, 2020 Judith Dunlap. Published by the Pastoral Center, PastoralCenter.com. All rights reserved. Scripture passages have been taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright ©1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of
SACRAMENTS RECONCILIATION Saturdays from 3:45 - 4:45 PM in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. BAPTISM All parents must take the Baptism Preparation Course. Call the Parish Office to sign up. Contact the Parish Office to schedule a baptism date at 320-763-5781. MARRIAGE PREPARATION Members of the parish (or children of members) must arrange for marriage at least 6 months in advance. Contact the Parish Office for more information. ANOINTING OF THE SICK Please call the Parish Office to arrange at 320-763-5781. WEEKLY MASS SCHEDULE WEEKLY READINGS - JULY 4 Tues. 5:30 PM † Stephen Bartos Mon. Gn 28:10-22a; Mt 9:18-26 Wed. 8:30 AM † Jerry Marthaler Tue. Gn 32:23-33; Mt 9:32-38 Thurs. 5:30 PM † Bill Roers Wed. Gn 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a; Mt 10:1-7 Fri. 8:30 AM † Warren Gibson Thurs. Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5; Mt 10:7-15 Sat. 5:00 PM † Rita Gasperlin Fri. Gn 46:1-7, 28-30; Mt 10:16-23 Sun. 8:00 AM For the Parish Sat. Gn 49:29-32; 50:15-26a; Mt 10:24-33 10:00AM † James Kinney Sun. Am 7:12-15; Eph 1:3-14; Mk 6:7-13 PARISH STAFF Matthew Kuhn.......................320-763-5781 Laurie Bienias.......................320-763-9202 Pastor Logistics Coordinator Todd Wentworth...................320-763-5781 Tammy Huss..........................320-763-9202 Parish Business Administrator Coordinator of Youth Ministries Laurie Youngers....................320-763-5781 Kathy Ballou...........................320-763-5781 Director of Music & Liturgy Communications Coordinator Kathy Fischer........................320-762-2320 Elmer Kobbermann............320-834-3103 Parish Nurse Francie Peterson.................320-360-0325 Troy Sladek.............................320-763-5861 Parish Trustees Principal & Elementary Faith Formation CONTACT US NEW MEMBERS www.stmaryalexandria.org To register, stop by our Hospitality Desk stmary@stmaryalexandria.org located in the Commons Area of the church or visit our website to complete the 320-763-5781 registration online.
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