Another Christmas has come

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1 Saint Peter C a t h o l i c C h u r c h Inside 2 Embracing Stewardship as a Way of Life 3 Lectors Treasure Privilege of Proclaiming God s Word 4 Catholic Schools Week Stewardship New Year s Resolutions and Stewardship 7 Liturgical Catechesis: Inviting the Marginalized A Letter from Our Pastor Have a Stewardship Epiphany this New Year Dear Parishioners, January 2013 Another Christmas has come and gone, and as wonderful as the Advent season and Christmas are, things can get a little hectic in even the most organized households. Cards, decorations, shopping for gifts, and attending holiday parties can be stressful. But once we make it past New Year s Day, things finally settle down a bit. In January, though, we still have another big feast to celebrate Epiphany. For most of us, Epiphany is just an afterthought of Christmas, the day we observe the arrival of the wise men in Bethlehem. And we ve all heard homilies explaining how that odd word Epiphany comes from the Greek meaning showing forth, because the child Jesus was shown forth to the magi (who were Gentiles) as the Savior of all people, not only the Messiah of the Jews. This is true, but the Epiphany has a stewardship message for us as well. After all, the magi did not come just to gawk at the baby Jesus. They came because they knew he is someone special. Where is the newborn king of the Jews? they asked (Mt 2:2), although he s not the sort of king who lives in palaces. As St. Matthew relates it (2:11), They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They came to worship, and part of that worship included offering gifts to the newborn Lord. Jesus certainly welcomes all who come to visit him, even those who come out of mere curiosity. But when we really continued on back cover St. Peter Parish is a Catholic community of faith bringing the light of Christ to all by ser ving others

2 St. Peter Catholic Church Embracing Stewardship as a Way of Life: More Reflections on the 2012 Msgr. McGread Stewardship Conference in Wichita, Kan. There is no doubt that Msgr. Thomas McGread is a faithful follower of Jesus Christ and a tremendously impactful Church teacher for our time. As we prepare to actively participate at the 2012 Stewardship Conference, Msgr. McGread s video presentation, St. Francis: How Stewardship Became A Way of Life, has grabbed our attention! Msgr. McGread built one the most vibrant parishes in the country by teaching his St. Francis parishioners how to use their personal gifts of time, talent and treasure. Next, with Rev. Mr. Don McArdle s presentation on the spirituality of stewardship, the religious and lay leaders present at the conference have the foundation for parish stewardship in place. We are now prepared to hear from several parish leaders who are sharing their parish stewardship journeys. Rev. David Zimmer and the parish of St. John the Apostle in Minot, N.D. are committed to developing stewardship as a way of life. Fr. Dave attended the Stewardship Conference several years ago, and he taught his parish the spirituality of stewardship. Since then, the 650-family parish has experienced deepened spirituality, significant increases in participation in parish ministries, and increases in financial participation. But at this parish, the concept of trust was put to the test. In 2011, a flood impacted the entire community, displacing about half of the parishioners. But St. John s story of faith, discipleship and trust became an example of stewardship in action. People gathered at the parish and said, We need a place to... And that is when St. John s stewardship journey began. Fr. Dave reminds us that Jesus didn t say, I know there are only 12 of you, so we better wait and get a few more. The foundation is in place, conversion occurs to the stewardship way of life, and the spirituality of stewardship moves the people. As scripture says, Go out and tell everybody the Good News. The people of St. John s do not keep this good news to themselves they challenge each other to trust God and really be disciples of Christ, taking faith to a whole new level. When following Christ by giving time, talent and treasure, people show gratitude for what God has given them. In the emerging spirituality, parishioners follow Christ as by Ginny Camacho authentic disciples. Everybody notices that something is different and better. Stewardship evolves in different ways, and trust is tested. Always trust the foundation that has been built with God s blessings and grace. Understanding stewardship first begins on a personal level. However, it must become public. Leadership of the Church is key, and everyone in the parish must understand the four pillars of stewardship hospitality, prayer, formation and service. Hopefully, our summaries of the stewardship conference experiences will help educate our parish. This year is the 20 th Anniversary of the Bishops Pastoral Stewardship: A Disciple s Response, a major call to evangelization. How have we been doing? Jesus didn t wait to begin his public ministry until the numbers of disciples were impressive, or until the disciples were greatly talented or financially well-off. He shows us the way Forget yourself, pick up your cross, and follow me. Have you stepped forward to share your gifts? Fr. Dave told several moving stories of St. John s parishioners making a difference. Parishioner Mary s stewardship was welcoming soldiers home. She so touched the lives of those soldiers that when she passed away, the soldiers and parishioners became stewards at her military funeral. Stewardship is always evolving. Some might step aside in a ministry they have been leading for years, because others are stepping forward. We recognize our parish stewardship journey is not a program it is a way of life. We can help each other to be authentic, whole-hearted disciples of Jesus. What great potential we have! That potential will be more fully realized when we gather and say, We need a place to... 2

3 January 2013 Lectors Treasure Privilege of Proclaiming God s Word A reading from the With these words, the lector announces that he is about to proclaim God s Word. God is present in the liturgy in a number of ways in the Eucharist, in the Body of Christ gathered and in His Word, says longtime lector Kathy Citro. It s an honor knowing that He is present in the proclaiming that we do, too. At a parish as large and active as St. Peter, there is no shortage of gifted adults serving as lectors at our weekend Masses. In fact, even with two lectors serving at weekend liturgies, most only read a couple times a year. When they are called upon to serve, our lectors take their role very seriously. The Word of God is very important to me, says another longtime lector, Kathy Cramsey. We aren t up there just to read we proclaim the Word of God to those in the pews. So I try to really work on it. I ll read through the readings several times, Google any words I m not sure how to pronounce, and make sure that I understand what the reading is talking about. That s key you can t read something well if you don t know what it s saying. However, preparing for a lectoring assignment takes more than practice. I practice the readings, for sure, but I also spend some time praying through them, says Kathy Citro. I pray for Kathy Cramsey proclaims the Word of God at a recent Mass understanding and that I ll read it well, but I also pray that everyone will hear the Word the way God wants them to. Like any other ministry, the participants in the Lector Ministry want to share their talents of reading and annunciation. Nevertheless, more than a few lectors have experienced nervousness when they got started. I was a little scared at first not so much of the reading itself, as just doing something wrong in front of everyone, Kathy Citro says. I got over that pretty quickly, though. I started reading about five or six years ago, and I have been very comfortable with it for a while now. Our lectors treasure their opportunities to read at weekend liturgies and at special feast days like holy days of obligation and Holy Week. As they become more and more accustomed to spending time in God s Word, many lectors notice a strengthening of their faith. For one thing, serving as a lector makes me take the time to sit down and read the readings and the Bible more often in general, Kathy Cramsey says. I try to do that as often as I can, but life sometimes gets in the way. But when I m assigned to lector, that makes me take the time to experience the Word and be with the Lord in that way. Anyone interested in serving in the Lector Ministry may call the parish office at and speak with Jill Anderson. I practice the readings, for sure, but I also spend some time praying through them. I pray for understanding and that I ll read it well, but I also pray that everyone will hear the Word the way God wants them to. Kathy Citro 3

4 St. Peter Catholic Church Catholic Schoo Every year beginning on the last Sunday in January, St. Peter School joins Catholic schools across the country in their observation of Catholic Schools Week, a nationwide celebration of Catholic education sponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Catholic Schools Week is a nationwide celebration for Catholic schools, says Janet Bick, principal of St. Peter School. And it makes the public aware of what the schools are. They are a choice for parents who are looking for a different choice for their children s religious education. Catholic Schools Week has a different theme for each year. This year s theme, Catholic Schools Raise the Standards, is fitting not only for this week, but for Catholic education as a whole. We do have high expectations, and we have high standards for our students in the Catholic schools, and we strive for that, Mrs. Bick says. It s an awareness to the general public about who we are and what we do. It s also a chance for the students to celebrate that it is a privilege to be in a Catholic school. Every school celebrates Catholic Schools Week in their own ways. Here at St. Peter School, the celebration will start on the weekend of Jan. 26 and 27. At all weekend Masses, the St. Peter students and faculty will act as greeters, lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, and will take special part in the liturgies. There will also be a pancake and sausage breakfast held in the gym from 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday. On Monday, Jan. 28, St. Peter School will join other area Catholic schools for an All-School Mass at Quincy Notre Dame High School, celebrated by Bishop Paprocki. 4

5 January 2013 ls Week 2013 Throughout the week, there will be a number of special activities and events held for the students, their parents and the rest of the community. On one day of the week, the students parents will be invited to a Mass in the morning, and then to spend the day visiting their children s classrooms. That day is also Dress Your Best Day, when the students don their best attire for the visiting parents. There will also be opportunities for the students to dress out of uniform during the week. This year, St. Peter School joined the Illinois Elementary Schools Association IESA and for the first time, the school is home to a Scholastic Quiz Bowl Team, which will be competing with other schools in the IESA. For this year's Catholic Schools Week, there will be an assembly during which our school s Scholastic Quiz Bowl Team will compete against a faculty team. Another favorite annual Catholic Schools Week event is the volleyball match between the eighth-grade class and the St. Peter faculty and staff, with Msgr. Leo Enlow as coach of the faculty and staff team. We try to make this fun for the students, Mrs. Bick says. All of the events and activities surrounding Catholic Schools Week share one common aim to celebrate and promote the gift of Catholic education. Sometimes, I m not sure the students realize what an important choice this is that their parents have made for them, Mrs. Bick says. They just know they re at a Catholic school and they don t understand why that s important. It s kind of routine for them. This takes them out of that routine to remind them of all of the good things we have to offer. For more information about Catholic Schools Week, please call the St. Peter School office at

6 St. Peter Catholic Church Stewardship New Year s Resolutions and Stewardship The beginning of the year is a popular time for personal reassessment. The earth has finished one more revolution around the sun, and swings low over the cold January horizon, just like last year. The days are shorter, and an evening of introspection seems more inviting. Somehow, when we take down the old calendar and tack up the new, we sense an opportunity to make a fresh start. To make the best of this opportunity which, truthfully, exists in June just as it does in January it is useful to make firm commitments. It s even more useful to write them down. These resolutions, kept in a desk drawer or on the refrigerator door, are a hard copy of our best intentions for self-improvement. They re signposts that redirect our lives towards good, and towards God. New Year s resolutions are often focused on personal health losing weight, relaxing more, or smoking less. It is certainly important, of course, to take good care of our bodies. But Christianity offers us a fuller concept of self-improvement. St. Paul reminds us that both the body and the soul need an exercise program. In fact, every aspect of our persons physical, mental, spiritual, emotional can benefit from an annual self-audit. Some people have taken to heart this multi-faceted concept of the self, and each year make one resolution for each area. For instance, one could resolve to join a Rosary prayer group to work on spirituality, or take a continuing education course to build mental skills. Still, others use the three theological virtues faith, hope and love to guide their resolution-making process. By now you may have discerned a similarity between New Year s resolutions and stewardship commitments. First, we use a similar method to think about stewardship, by breaking it down into more specific concepts time, talent and treasure. Second, to become better stewards, we write down our commitments. We record our good intentions to clarify exactly what they are and to remind us of our commitment on the evenings when the Rosary group interferes with a bowl game. Any serious commitment shares the same components it is specific, and it is written. From marriages to mortgages, treaties to trades serious resolutions are spelled out, both literally and figuratively. But even more important than the methodology of a commitment is the heart of the person who makes it. Even the most well-written job descriptions are useless unless there is someone to do the job well! Let us pray that this new year is a time of grace and wisdom for those of us who seek to recommit our lives to our family, our parish, and our God. St. Paul reminds us that both the body and the soul need an exercise program. In fact, every aspect of our persons physical, mental, spiritual, emotional can benefit from an annual self-audit. 6

7 January 2013 Liturgical Catechesis: Inviting the Marginalized When I was a boy, my father took my brother and me to church for Mass on most Sundays. Being male siblings, he and I would fool around and fight in the car on the way there. We got to Mass late, sat in the back, mumbled the prayers, and never sang. My father picked up the bulletin when we came in, and he would read it during the homily. My brother and I received Communion, but my father never did. And as soon as we received Communion, we would leave never staying for the end of Mass. My mother never went to church at all. She told me that she was treated badly by her priest at the time of her mother s death, and so she never went to Mass again. Today, I am the only practicing Catholic in my family. I say all of this because in every parish, there are nominal Catholics out in the margins. They sit and stand like the rest of us, but they are not really present to the liturgy. It s hard to make eye contact with them, or engage them in any personal way. They, too, tend to arrive late for Mass, and leave early. You, dear reader, might even be one of those Catholics. There are many reasons why a Catholic might be marginalized. The question is, how do we who are part of the intentional community of St. Peter s invite them in? If you are one of those for whom the Mass is more an obligation you must fulfill, rather than a celebration you enjoy, what can we by Scott Fitzgerald do for you to bring you out of the margins and into the midst of our parish life? Pope Benedict has recently taken up the call of what Blessed Pope John Paul II called The New Evangelization. As Catholics, we are to invite people to re-order their lives so that they can receive Holy Communion worthily, and that the Eucharist the very Body and Blood of Christ can then transform their lives. This is the heart of the Gospel, and of good stewardship. The Holy Spirit, present in the worshipping community gathered for Eucharist, is the one who calls. Do we hear it? We want to invite you whether or not you are standing in the margins or at the center to know that you are welcome. And this invitation is simple come to the Lord. Allow the Holy Spirit to engage you in your life. This is the way that the Mass is transformed in our lives, from a Sunday obligation to the center of our very selves. Reach out and receive Jesus. If you are already part of our intentional community of St. Peter s, watch for those who stand in the margins invite them in. In the words of St. Theresa of Avila, Christ has no hands on earth but yours. It is through kindness, hospitality, and even a warm smile or greeting that can build our parish. We do this together. When we put the Eucharist at the center of our lives, miracles happen I know it did for me when I was in the margins. Come to the Lord. Allow the Holy Spirit to engage you in your life. This is the way that the Mass is transformed in our lives, from a Sunday obligation to the center of our very selves. Reach out and receive Jesus. 7

8 St. Peter Catholic Church 2600 Maine Street Quincy, Illinois Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 105, Quincy, IL New Mass & Reconciliation Schedule Sunday Masses Saturday: 5 p.m., Sunday: 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m. Weekday Masses Mon-Sat: 8:00 a.m., except for Wednesdays during the school year: 8:30 a.m. Reconciliation Saturday: 7:30-7:50 a.m., 3:30-4:30 p.m. or by appointment Have a Stewardship Epiphany this New Year continued from front cover meet him, our instinctive response is to worship because we recognize that his character is unlike anyone else we ve ever met. Although Jesus, being God become man, is not limited, for most of us our meetings with him take place at Mass or other public services. But meeting Jesus and worshiping him calls forth an additional response, and so we, along with the wise men, open our treasures. And what are they? They are our Time, our Talent, and our Treasure. We can all find symbolic meanings in the magi s gifts. Gold, of course, represents Treasure. And because even today, frankincense is the chief ingredient in the incense used at Mass, it can stand for the gift of the Time we offer in worship and prayer. Finally, it takes effort and knowledge to transform the raw gum from tree sap into the forms used in perfumes, myrrh is a fitting symbol for our gift of Talent. As we begin this new year, let us take a moment to reflect on our place in the Epiphany narrative. Are you willing to undertake the journey to find the King? What treasures will you offer him in 2013? Rev. Msgr. Leo J. Enlow Pastor