St. Mary - Big River Catholic Church 2 0 t h S u n d a y O r d i n a r y T i m e A u g u s t 1 9 t h, 2 0 1 8 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him...the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. John 6:56-57 T h e N a t i v i t y o f t h e B l e s s e d V i r g i n M a r y W 1 0 1 3 7 5 7 0 t h A v e. R i v e r F a l l s, W I 54022 Oh Sacrament most holy! Oh Sacrament Divine! All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine. Praised and adored be Jesus in the most holy Sacrament of the Altar, now and forever. Amen Mass Schedule Weekend. Saturday 6:00 pm Sunday 9:30 am Weekday. Mon. to Fri. 8:30 am First Friday & First Sat. 8:30 am Holy Days.See bulletin Welcome to St. Mary s www.stmarysbigriver.com Confessions -One hour before each Weekend Mass -Thurs. before First Friday 9:00 am -First Friday 9:00 am -First Sat. 9:00 am -Any time by appointment Devotional Times Eucharistic Adoration - Every Tuesday 7:00 am - 7:00 pm - 9:00 to 10:00 am every First Friday Militia Immaculata (MI) Prayer Group Meets Wednesday (summer) 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the church. http://missionimmaculata.com/
P a g e 2 News & Events Welcome to St. Mary s! Welcome visitors! If you would like to become a member of our parish call the Administrative Assistant and we will help you register. S t. M a r y - B i g R i v e r Parish Calendar Monday - Aug. 20 St. Bernard of Clairvaux, abbot & doctor of the church Tuesday - Aug. 21 St. Piux X, pope Adoration 7:00 am - 7pm Wednesday - Aug. 22 St. Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary 6:30 pm MI Prayer Group Thursday - Aug. 23 St. Rose of Lima, virgin Friday - Aug. 24 St. Bartholomew, Apostle 8:30 am Mass Adoration 9am - 10 am Prolife Novena Saturday - Aug. 25 St. Joseph of Calasanz, priest 3:00 pm Matzek/ Butterfield Wedding 5:00 pm Confessions 6:00 pm Holy Mass Sunday - Aug. 26 21st Sunday Ordinary Time 8:30 am Confessions 9:30 am Holy Mass Book of Eternal Life: Please daily pray for our deceased parishioners who are listed in the white binder in the back of the church. They are listed by the date of death. Pictorial Directory A big thank you to all who helped make our directory possible! We could not have done it without your help. Thank you to all the families who participated so that our directory could be more complete. Our directory will be assembled and delivered to us soon. Look for announcements for when your photos and directory arrive. Cleaning of the School Hall All hands on deck! The school hall is in major need of cleaning! This cannot happen without helpers! Our parish cannot afford to hire this out. The clean-up day is Thursday, August 23rd from 9:oo am to Noon. Many hands make light work! Work will include cleaning tasks and organizing tasks for the CCD program. There is something for everyone! Kids ages 13 and up who are willing to work are also welcome. Please bring cleaning rags, pales, dusters, cleaners, etc., if you can. Contact RSVP to Angie Dosdall if you can help: 715.792-2447 All Day Tuesday Adoration St. Mary s now offers adoration of the Blessed Sacrament every Tuesday from 7am to 7pm. Come and spend sometime with our Lord and make reparation for all the offenses committed against Him. If you can commit to an hour or be a substitute please email Ashley Doornink at: ashleydoornink@hotmail.com Social Media - Facebook St. Mary s is discontinuing the parish Facebook page for now. Our parishioner Jennifer Medley has generously volunteered her time and talents to maintaining this page and we thank her for her wonderful ministry in this area. Unfortunately, we have encountered difficulties and glitches which necessitate the closure of our current account. We may set up a new Facebook page in the future, but for now we do not plan to do that.
2 0 t h S u n d a y O r d i n a r y T i m e P a g e 3 Upcoming Events Faith Formation Religious Education Registration Registration for fall classes has now begun. Forms will be mailed to those who have not yet registered. Please return them ASAP. Catechists Needed! We are in need of several catechists for the afternoon and evening sessions. Please call or email Traci Campion ASAP if you are willing to help in this most noble endeavor. Our children are the future of the church! We need generous adults to help guide them to our Holy Faith. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Training If you are interested in helping with the CGS Program and would be willing to be certified for Level 1, we have training available starting September 8th at St. Michael s Church in Stillwater. Class is one Saturday a month until March for Part 1. Part 2 would be next year. Contact Traci Campion ASAP if you would be willing to be trained in CGS. St. Mary s will pay for your tuition fee! We cannot offer the program without teachers! Support Our Advertisers Income for August 12, 2018 Plate... $1032.00 Youth Envelopes...1.00 Adult Envelopes..2340.00 Improvement Fund..750.00 Friendship Fund.. 50.00 Haiti Teacher Fund... 30.00 Total. $4203.00 Correction from last week: Improvement Fund should have read $1500 NOT $500.
A Message From Our Pastor Since arriving at Saint Mary numerous parishioners have expressed to me their regret at not having been formed well in their faith while they were younger. For some it was because of their own lack of or being lukewarm in their faith. During adolescence or young adulthood there were other things more important than coming to know God better. For others, the desire was there but the faith formation that was offered was defective. Sadly over the course of the past 50 years in many parishes catechesis has indeed suffered from a lack of clarity and zeal needed to form young people to be disciples of the Lord. And now during the pontificate of Francis such confusion among the faithful is being created by the Pope s own ambiguous statements as well as the teachings of those bishops and theologians who are his closest advisors. Whatever the reasons, so many parishioners bluntly say to me: I don t know my faith, but I really desire to deepen my faith or I m so confused! In this vacuum many parishioners have sought to form themselves in the faith through personal study of solid resources recommended to them by a trusted source books, online materials, speakers, programming of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) just to name a few. Others have used materials that seem to them to be good but in reality are not in harmony with Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition or are riddled with historical or theological inaccuracies. Still others have filled that void by going very deeply into one aspect of the faith or a particular devotion. However, as I listen to your concerns, it is clear that that overall, comprehensive vision of the Faith is still lacking. You lament that you don t have the tools necessary to hold fast to what is good amidst the confusion within and outside of the Catholic Church. Indeed, many of you have expressed your desire to fill these gaps in your faith formation but do not know how to do it. Our own Diocese of La Crosse and our neighbors in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul- Minneapolis have programs for the laity intended to accomplish this task. Unfortunately, the realities of home and family life preclude most parishioners from participation in these worthy programs. What to do? Recently several pastors in our area have harvested great spiritual fruits for their parishes by leading a select and committed group of parishioners in a study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. So many of you have expressed the desire to dive into the Catechism but acknowledge that you have become overwhelmed or frustrated in attempting it on your own. Beginning September 20, I am offering to lead you through a thorough study of this comprehensive summary of what we believe as Catholics. Indeed, Saint John Paul II who promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992 said it is presented to the Church and the world as a full, complete exposition of Catholic doctrine, enabling everyone to know what the Church professes, celebrates, lives, and prays in her daily life so that the Faith in turn can be presented to the people of our day in the most suitable way possible. I invite you to prayerfully consider whether the Lord is calling you to participate in this rich formation in the Faith. We will meet at the rectory for two hours every third Thursday of the month from September through May. The size of the group will be strictly limited so as to foster communion and interaction among participants. Once registration is closed, participants will be chosen by a random drawing. In order to participate you must be a fully initiated Catholic (that is, have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist) as well as make the firm commitment to attend every session and do the homework of reading assigned passages of the Catechism. Due to time constraints, this first year in all likelihood we will cover approximately one-half of the Catechism. It is anticipated that next year will be offered a study of the second half of the Catechism will be offered. Signing up for this year s sessions does not commit you to the second year. Eventually it is expected that this two-year cycle will be repeated. Please contact me with questions or to register. Pope Francis named Cardinal Robert Sarah as the head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in 2014. Cardinal Sarah is a native of Guinea, West Africa, and convert to the Catholic Faith. He told the inspiring story of his remarkable life in the best-selling book, God or Nothing. Cardinal Sarah has recently published another bestseller, The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise. The official description of the book notes that in a time when technology penetrates our lives in so many ways and materialism exerts such a powerful influence over us, Cardinal Robert Sarah presents a bold book about the strength of silence. The modern world generates so much noise, he says, that seeking moments of silence has become both harder and more necessary than ever before. Silence is the indispensable doorway to the divine, explains the Cardinal... (He) addresses the following questions: Can those who do not know silence ever attain truth, beauty, or love? Do not wisdom, artistic vision, and devotion spring from silence, where the voice of God is heard in the depths of the human heart? Cardinal Sarah himself explains that silence is more important than any other human work for it expresses God. The true revolution comes from silence; it leads us toward God and others so as to place ourselves humbly and generously at their service. A number of parishioners are reading this instant classic of the spiritual life. However, they are finding the text and its concepts to be quite challenging to understand and apply. Several have expressed a desire that I assist them in reading and assimilating this important work. If you are interested in joining others in exploring The Power of Silence please contact me. Meeting times will be determined by me and the participants. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us! Blessed Solanus Casey, pray for us! Father Kevin C. Louis, STL P a g e 4
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Pastor - Fr. Kevin Louis, STL 10137 570th Ave. River Falls, WI 54022 Rectory Phone: 715-425-5806 Fr. Louis Cell: 715-505-3870 email: crossensis89@gmail.com Deacon - Deacon Dan Gannon 651-210-9651 gannon.dan@gmail.com Administrative Assistant - Traci Campion 715-307-8844 reginahope1917@gmail.com Bookkeeper - Pat Bjork 715-273-3577 bjork.p@outlook.com Director of Religious Education (DRE) - Traci Campion 715-307-8844 reginahope1917@gmail.com Youth Ministry - Corrie Loe 715-262-3663 corrieloe@gmail.com Cemetery - John Matzek 715-792-2582 Rod Janovec 651-341-9203 Prayer Chain Requests - Pat Bjork 715-273-3577 bjork.p@outlook.com School Hall Office - 715-425-7830 Altar Rosary Society (ARS) - Angie Dosdall 715-792-2447 Finance Council - Pat Pechacek 715-262-4089 Stewardship Committee - Andy Mishek 651-200-5272 Grounds & Building Maintenance - Danny McNamara 715-821-1197 Mass Intentions Monday, August 20 Tuesday, August 21 Wednesday, August 22 Thursday, August 23 Friday, August 24 8:30 am Mass - Archer Bartad-St. Jeanne By Pat Bjork Saturday, August 25 6:00 pm - Jim Huppert By Randy & Kim Maier Sunday, August 26 9:30 am Pro Populo - & Janie Groetsch By John & Patty Groetsch Please note: The Mass Intentions Calendar has been filled through October 2018. August 25th Saturday - 6:00 pm Mass Reader... Bob Maier Ushers...George Matzek, Tony Matzek, Peter Schommer, Don Huppert Jr. Cross...Maximus & Xavier Husby Candles...Matt Maier Music...... Joanne Maier Rosary....Jean Grajkowski Liturgical Assistants August 26th Sunday - 9:30 am Mass Reader.....Andy Mishek Ushers/$ Counters...Craig Zuelke, John Yunker, Joe Merta, Charles Beeler Cross/Incense...William & Caleb Gugala Candles... Isaac Loe, Eli Books Rosary... Gary & Kathy Tapp Gift Bearer....Joe Merta Family Has your contact information changed? Do you want us to contact you? Would you like to register? Cut out this little form, fill it out, and place it in the collection basket. Name: Address: Phone: (home) (cell) Email: