Within a week of my ordination to

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1 MARCH/APRIL 2017 PARISH NEWSLETTER Lakeville, Minnesota A Letter From Our Pastor STRENGTH AND ACCOUNTABILITY My Dear Friends in Christ, Within a week of my ordination to the priesthood, I was invited by five more experienced priests to join a small group of them who gathered once a month to pray, have fellowship and share their ministry. As one who has never been particularly attracted to circle groups or navel gazing, I was apprehensive. By the grace of God and the recommendation of other priests, I did join. I am still in the group today and it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. My fears of navel gazing and circling up to complain were overblown. What I found was the gift of being surrounded by like-minded men who had more experience in ministry than I did and had my best interests in mind. We still meet once a month to share our lives, breathe a little, and pray together. I gain wisdom and strength every time we meet, even if I need to be corrected. The collective wisdom of the group prevents small things that may be brewing in me from getting out of control. They are there to hold me up and keep me accountable to the call that God has for all priests. Our lives, more so than many others, can lend itself to isolation. My small group prevents that from happening. In our chaotic lives, it is easy to end up in isolation in our faith. That s not what God desires for any of His people. We are meant to live in communion with each other and community. In our very large parish, the intimacy we desire can be difficult to find without intentionally seeking it. It can also easily lead us to an unaccountable life. The small groups that are starting for Lent are a great opportunity to experience smaller community within our larger one, and create a place of strength and accountability in our discipleship. It is also a great way to meet new and lasting friends. You can join a small group on your own and be assigned to one based on your criteria address, gender, life situation, age, time available, etc. You can also sign up as a group you may already be connected to. Training will be provided for facilitators in the flexible and easy program and after Lent, you can decide whether you are able to continue. You can pick up cards to sign up in the gathering space at church, or go to com/smallgroup/ for more details. Grouping is a necessary component of living a life of discipleship in Christ. It is not an easy life and we need places of strength and accountability. I pray that you will introduce yourself to the fourth building block of a spiritual life in small groups. Have a blessed Lent and Happy Easter! Sincerely in Christ, Fr. Tom Wilson Pastor If you would like to sign up for a small group, please pick up a sign-up card from the Gathering Space in the church, or visit for more details. we GROW we SERVE we WORK we INVITE we CARE we PRAY

2 ALL SAINTS SHE WHO PRAYS FOR US By HOLLY STEFFL Clinton Zweber and Kathleen Kehrer were married at All Saints on Feb. 3, As we celebrate 140 years of All Saints Catholic Church, it s only fitting to take a look at the people around the parish those who fill the church each week and share the Word of God day after day. There is one parishioner, Kathleen Zweber, who deserves some special recognition in that at 91, she is All Saints longest living parishioner. Kathleen was baptized just two days after her birth in January of 1926 and has called All Saints home ever since. Kathleen grew up in Credit River Township. A selfproclaimed tomboy, she grew up in the middle of her four brothers and remembers going to church at All Saints every Sunday. In between the Sundays, she attended a one-room schoolhouse and received her First Communion when she was 7. Kathleen still has the rosary and prayer book her godfather gave her on that day. Kathleen was confirmed at 13 at All Saints, and a few years later, Kathleen graduated from Lakeville High School at 16. Kathleen married her husband, Clinton Zweber, and brought six beautiful children into the world. All of their children were baptized at All Saints and would later attend All Saints School. Through months of Sundays, Kathleen has watched All Saints evolve, grow and change. Kathleen recalls going to Mass in the old Lakeville movie theater when the first structure burned down in She also remembers feeling more involved in Mass after transitioning from Latin to English. Kathleen welcomed these changes over the years, helping to strengthen her relationship with God. After her children were grown is when Kathleen felt the most involved at All Saints, dabbling in a little bit of everything, from serving meals at funerals, to participating in the Rosary Society, to now being active in the Prayer Network, just to name a few. She notes that being a money counter and sacristan are some of her favorite opportunities the church has to offer. She has always found comfort in the community that All Saints brings to her life. Even as life tested Kathleen, she never strayed away from God and always remembered to pray. She prays a Rosary almost every day and says it s her favorite prayer. Kathleen also finds happiness when she is singing at Mass. Though she doesn t have a favorite hymn, she says singing of His praise is her favorite! Kathleen also has enjoyed befriending the priests that have called All Saints home. 2

3 She loves watching them interact, preach and work with the parish as they create a solid community at All Saints a community that Kathleen says has been the main reason that she has remained so true to her faith over the last 91 years. Kathleen says that the combination of community and faith is what has helped her through her hardest times, and All Saints has been able to supply both to her throughout her life. And when asked what she would say or do for someone struggling in their faith, her simple response is that she would pray for them. And a prayerful woman she is. Kathleen s Christ-filled life has made her grateful for what the faith and All Saints have given her. Kathleen is a remarkable woman. Her belief is unquestioned. She is committed to the Lord our God. Her trust in the Lord is unbreakable. She is always prayerful and adds a bright light to the community of All Saints. Her 91 years of commitment to All Saints is something we can all learn from and strive for. In this 140th year of All Saints Catholic Church, let s take a page out of Kathleen s book and pray......pray for the Parish of All Saints....Pray that God continue to bless the community of All Saints....Pray that members young and old find comfort in the pews of All Saints.... Pray that All Saints Catholic Church stands for many more years and continues to serve parishioners like Kathleen for a lifetime. ENCOUNTER LENT We are called to build a culture of encounter. Jesus made that clear from the way He lived, the message He preached. Pope Francis makes that clear by his own daily example. And we have a host of holy men and women who have come before us, who have gone to the margins of society so that every member of our human family might know the love of God. Now, it s our turn. With the spiritual pillars of Lent at our disposal, we set out on a 40-day journey a journey of encounter with ourselves, our neighbors and our God. Through prayer, we encounter Christ, present in the faces of every member of our human family, so often still walking that long road to Calvary. Through fasting, we encounter our own obstacles, those things about ourselves that prevent us from loving God and neighbor. Through almsgiving, we encounter our brothers and sisters around the world, asking what we can give up so that others might have life to the fullest. Through learning, we encounter the mercy of God found in the Gospel and consider how we are called to make His mercy known in the world. Lent is our time to encounter, to cultivate a spirit of global solidarity. How will you contribute to the culture of encounter this Lent? As a community of disciples, All Saints will intentionally focus on these four pillars during the Lenten season. Opportunities for communal prayer and recommendations for personal prayer will be plentiful, while Tuesday evening Soup Suppers will make us mindful of fasting. Small groups will be highlighted during this Lenten season, along with the 2017 Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl App ( which puts Lent at your fingertips with new daily reflections and recipes, integrated social sharing and a new way to track your Lenten sacrifices! Available in English and Spanish in the Google Play and App stores. Rice Bowl is a Lenten faith-in-action program for families and faith communities, a vehicle through which the stories of communities around the world can be shared, an invitation through which our prayers and Lenten sacrifices can change lives. Rice Bowl helps all of us reflect on the realities of our brothers and sisters around the world, and how they can be in solidarity during the Lenten season. This year, All Saints will encourage families to make use of the Rice Bowl app, putting activities, prayer and financial generosity at your fingertips. Those who like the tangible Rice Bowl will find them in the back of Church beginning on Ash Wednesday. 3

4 GOD IS NE ALL SAINTS In January, All Saints launched a mission to lead us to an Extraordinary life. With three nights of prayer, learning and fellowship, speaker Michael Gormley helped lead the parish toward an understanding of the urgency of God s call to each of us. It was amazing to be with hundreds and hundreds of people as we were called out into deeper water with God. Extraordinary Call The Lord calls each of us individually. This is a concept that is often hard for us to understand after all, we aren t Moses or Isaac or Sarah or Mary. We aren t saints just people trying to get through the day. The priests and nuns are the holy ones. Not us. Not me. But as Mr. Gormley said, Christ wants followers, not just believers. Following is a far more active process than believing. Often, the first step in following Jesus is prayer, having a conversation with Him. But conversations require listening as well as speaking. Sadly, today s world teaches that if you aren t busy doing, then the activity is meaningless therefore, prayer is a useless activity that should be avoided in favor of more important activities. We must work to overcome this concept. One type of prayer, the Lectio Divina or praying with Sacred Scripture is an excellent way to reach out to God and listen to Him. By slowly reading a passage of Scripture and meditating on it, God can speak directly to us and to our lives. A guide for Lectio Divina can be found on the parish website and in St. Mary s Chapel. At the heart of prayer is the Mass. It brings us together as a community so that we can gain strength through the Eucharist and from each other. Following Jesus is not supposed to be just an individual activity. We are called to be part of the body of Christ. Life is more satisfying when we have meaningful connections with other people. Through prayer, we listen to God and hear His call to us. Prayer invites us to venture out into deeper waters with Jesus. Jesus invites each of us, no matter who we are. He calls each one of us in our ordinary lives to be extraordinary people by following Him. Extraordinary Life Prayer can help us create space in our heart for Jesus and seek God intentionally, not just go through the motions. But prayer is not enough. As Psalm 51 says, A clean heart create 4

5 ITHER DISTANT NOR IRRELEVANT By DAWN MARCOTTE for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn. God desires a personal relationship with each of us, but often we don t feel worthy of such a close bond. The gift of Reconciliation helps us to grow closer to God through repentance. Reconciliation is a beautiful sacrament that helps us heal our relationship with God, no matter how many times we break it. No matter how many times we walk away, God is always there. We don t have to be good enough to be loved by God or to follow Jesus. God wants to have an encounter with us that will change our lives. We cannot earn God s love we already have it. By confessing our sins and receiving absolution, we heal our relationship with God. Doing this regularly allows us to receive God s mercy and see that He wants a relationship with us. Living an extraordinary life is being a disciple of Jesus and doing what God calls us to do. This includes trying to be present to people when they need it. God has a mission for each of us, but we can t do it alone we need others to support us in our faith, we need to hold others accountable in theirs and we need each other to build strength in following Jesus in every aspect of our lives. Extraordinary Mission Following Jesus is not a solitary pursuit. Jesus called 12 apostles, a small group of men. These men prayed together, worshiped together, lived together and learned together. Together they changed the world they lived in. Additional followers of Jesus, including the women who discovered the resurrection of Jesus, were also called disciples, and they, too, prayed together and in community bore witness to the power of Christ s love. They didn t live free from sin, and their lives weren t always easy. But they were ordinary people called to an extraordinary mission spreading the Gospel to a world who didn t always want to hear it. Over 2,000 years later, we are still called to that mission. We are called to live extraordinary lives following Christ, but we are not called to do it alone. All Saints is a very large church, and it is easy to get lost in the crowd. Easy to live a mediocre faith that puts God in a box and only lets Him out on Sunday or at Christmas and Easter. But God is bigger than that. So are we. There are already many small groups of followers here at All Saints. People who are focused on specific groups such as teens, Bible study, adoration, MOMS, or the Catholic Watchmen. The list is long. But not everyone has heard the call to join one of these groups. In Lent, All Saints is forming many new small groups. These small groups will help us to build a stronger relationship with God by building stronger relationships with others who share our faith and commitment to Jesus. All Saints wants everyone to have a small group of people to start building a community, to have a place to grow in strength. Each of us is an ordinary person, living an ordinary life, but God has given each of us an Extraordinary call. Come, follow me. MAKE HISTORY! Plan to participate in our 140th Anniversary Pictorial Directory Coming May

6 ALL SAINTS AN EVENING TO CELEBRATE LOVE By NADINE FRIEDERICHS Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (NASB) Corinthians 13:4-8 The 32nd Annual Cana Dinner was held for the All Saints parish community on Saturday, Feb. 11. Archbishop Bernard Hebda was welcomed to Brackett s Crossing by 310 people 100 more attendees than last year s event. The dinner is part of the events and programs that will take place as we celebrate our 140th parish anniversary. The evening offered time to enjoy fellowship with friends while taking time for prayer, breaking bread together and hearing from a wonderful speaker. The Cana Dinner is about celebrating the vocational call to the married life and the journey on which that vocation has taken each of the married couples whether the newly engaged (we had two couples in attendance) to those celebrating their 62nd anniversary. Marriage is an exciting adventure that offers good times and bad, challenges and ease, joy and sadness and, most of all, the greatest gift of all the intimacy of true, authentic love. The sacred marriage vows can be challenged by so many factors, both internal and external to each relationship. The Cana Dinner is an event that affirms marriage by celebrating those who value the Sacrament of Marriage. Archbishop Hebda shared insight from Pope Francis Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love. He specifically referenced chapter four, where Pope Francis examines each phrase of St. Paul s passage on love (Corinthians 13:4-8) and how it mirrors the love of Christ for His church. To read this section of the papal exhortation, visit the parish website at The evening ended with a renewal of wedding vows and a blessing by the archbishop. Planning for the 33rd annual Cana dinner will reflect the parishes renewed commitment to engaging parishioners in intentional discipleship. With this in mind, Fr. Wilson has asked that a committee of parishioners be formed to plan the details, including recommendations for our guest speakers. He asked me and my husband, Joe, to lead a small committee in this endeavor. If you would like to join us, please contact the parish office and they will connect us. We will begin planning this spring for the 2018 event. 6

7 LENT AND HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE Mass With Anointing Saturday, March 4 11 a.m. Stations of the Cross Fridays at 7:00 p.m.: March 3, 10, 17, 24, & 31 Fridays at 1:00 p.m.: March 10 & 24 Good Friday (April 14) at 12:00 p.m. Living Stations at 1:00 & 7:00 p.m. on April 7 Reconciliation Times Saturdays, March 4, 11, 18, 25 & April 1 8:30-9:30 a.m. and 3:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8 8:30-10 a.m. and 3:30-4:30 p.m. Parish Day of Reconciliation Wednesday, April p.m. ***many priests available. Additional Times During Holy Week: Monday, April :30 p.m. Tuesday, April 11 4:30-6 p.m. Wednesday, April 12 5:30-7 p.m. Holy Thursday, April :30 p.m. Good Friday, April 14 8:30-9:30 a.m. and 1-2:30 p.m. The Triduum Holy Thursday April 13 Morning Prayer, 8:30 a.m. Confessions, 3-4:30 p.m. Mass of the Lord s Supper, 7 p.m. Night Prayer, 10 p.m. Good Friday April 14 Morning Prayer, 8:30 a.m. Stations of the Cross, Noon Confessions, 1-2:30 p.m. The Lord s Passion, 7 p.m. Holy Saturday April 15 Morning Prayer, 8:30 a.m. Blessing of Easter Food, 9 a.m. Resurrection of the Lord Easter Vigil Mass, Saturday, April 15, 8 p.m. Easter Sunday, April 16 Masses: 6 7:30 9:30 (ASL) *11:30 a.m. *Incense used at this Mass Palm Sunday Saturday, April 8 Mass at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 9 Masses at 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. 7

8 ALL SAINTS CATHOLIC CHURCH Holyoke Ave Lakeville, MN Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Lakeville, MN Permit # 27 Address Service Requested we GROW we SERVE we WORK we INVITE we CARE we PRAY All Saints was a Sponsor Church for the 2017 South Metro Feed My Starving Children s Mobile Meal- Packing Event,which took place Feb in Apple Valley. We were able to cover hundreds of shift spots through individual and family sign-ups as well as School, Faith Formation and other groups serving together. All Saints was one of 24 Sponsor Churches. The goal was to cover 15,000 shift spots, pack four million meals, and raise $800,000. Our parish goal was to cover 600 shift spots at the event and raise $5,000. Way to go, All Saints! Weekend Masses: Saturday Vigil, 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 5:30 p.m. Daily Masses: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 7:30 a.m.; Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. & 6:00 p.m. in Lent; Friday, 7:30 a.m. & 8:30 a.m. (when school is in session); Saturday, 8:00 a.m. Please see the schedule on page 7 for Confession times during the Lenten season. STEWARDSHIP IN ACTION 2017 Feed My Starving Children Mobilepack