THIS WEEK SUNDAY 15 APR 7 PM - Youth Ministry, Kostka Hall MONDAY 16 APR / Acts 6:8-15/Ps 119:23-30/Jn 6:22-29 8 AM - Mass, St. Peter Parish 7:30 PM - College Women s Bible Study, Newman Center TUESDAY 17 APR / Acts 7:51--8:1a/Ps 31:3cd-21ab/Jn 6:30-35 8:15 AM - Mass (+Kluck & Richter families) 4 PM - Salvation Army Meal Ministry 6:30 PM - Christian Initiation, Newman Center 6:30 PM - Celebration Choir, Church WEDNESDAY 18 APR /Acts 8:1b-8/Ps 66:1-7a/Jn 6:35-40 8:15 AM - Mass (+Paul & Bernice Raschka) 6:30 PM - REP Grs. 1-7, School; Gr. 8, Kostka Hall 9 PM - Late Night Mass, Newman Center THURSDAY 19 APR / Acts 5:27-33/Ps 34:2-20/Jn 3:31-36 8:15 AM - Mass (+Lucille Geiser) 9 AM-3:30 PM - Eucharistic Adoration - 3 PM - Divine Mercy Chaplet 7:30 PM - College Men s Bible Study, Newman Center FRIDAY 20 APR / Acts 9:1-20/Ps 117:1bc, 2/Jn 6:52-59 8:15 AM - Mass (+August Firkus & family, Robert & Helen Kropidlowski) 12 PM - Rosary, Newman Center SATURDAY 21 APR / Acts 9:31-42/Ps 116:12-17/Jn 6:60-69 No Reconciliation LORD S DAY WORSHIP 4th Sunday of Easter 21/22 APR Acts 4:8-12/Ps 118:1, 8-29/1 Jn 3:1-2/Jn 10:11-18 5 PM Saturday (+Jacqueline Werra) 8 AM Sunday (+David Glazer ) - 7:30 - Rosary 10 AM Sunday (+Regina & Leonard Konkol) 6 PM Sunday BREAKFAST CAFE The Spirit Breakfast Café will be open from 8:30-11:30 a.m., Apr. 15, in Kostka Hall. Serving egg bake, French toast, scrambled eggs, Fair Trade coffee, donuts & more. Only $6. and the coffee, tea, chocolate and other products will be on sale. Sharing Christ at Mass Our parish needs 35 people to assist as eucharistic ministers every weekend. That s a lot of people, and so there is always a need for more people to share the Body and Blood of Christ when we gather for Mass. How about you? You might be thinking: I m not holy enough or worthy enough to do that. You re right. None of our ministers are, but we remain hopeful that we will become more holy, more worthy of this ministry to which we are needed and called. There will be orientation for new and interested Eucharistic ministers parishioners and college and high school students after all four Masses May 5 and 6. Please give consideration to this invitation and our parish s need, and plan to stay briefly after Mass on that weekend. ACT Out Bible Study Explore the wonderful stories of the early Church as found in the Acts of the Apostles during a special Eastertime Bible Study at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, or just a little after 6:30, in church. What does the experience of those first Christians say to us? Let s consider that question, and others together. You ll also find lots of great information and incite about Acts in Easter s Little White Book.
The answer is Five I t was like the set-up for a bad joke: How many Benedictine monks does it take to stencil a Bible passage on a wall? The answer, it seems, would be five. That premise occurred to me as I walked through the entranceway of the residence hall where I lived at St. John s Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., last year. Returning from class on a beautiful spring afternoon, I discovered the monks beginning what was clearly going to be a project requiring a considerable team of experts, or maybe several who knew what they were doing and a few to offer technical guidance, or to learn the craft. I inquired as to what was happening and they explained that someone had thought a quote from the Emmaus story in Luke s gospel would be appropriate for an otherwise blank and blah wall. Who could argue with that? The stencil had been prepared I was curious but didn t ask how that happened and now they were applying it to the wall. Figuring that five was more than enough for this job and since I knew nothing about what they were doing, I went to my apartment. A couple hours later, on my way to an appointment, I went through the entranceway, eager to see the quote that had been chosen. The first thing I noticed, however, was something else. It immediately prompted me to re-phrase the question of my lame joke: How many Benedictine monks does it take to stencil a Bible passage on a wall crooked? As much as I tried to convince myself that the lines of text were straight, there was no way to ignore the reality that the carefully prepared passage was just the slightest bit lower on the right. Coming back from dinner that night with some friends, I ARE WE THERE YET? - Fr. Tom Lindner wondered if maybe my vision or perspective was skewed. I asked them if they saw anything problematic about the new feature. Was Emmaus spelled wrong? No, it was spelled correctly. Shouldn t there be an and between road and while. No, this was just a different translation of the passage. Shouldn t there be a colon after The road to Emmaus? Probably, but that wasn t it. Wait a minute, my friend said after long careful inspection, is it crooked? Indeed. I mentioned the misalignment to another monk who hadn t been among the five and he suggested I not say anything to any of them. He d heard there d been a slight bit of tension among the team, but wasn t sure why. There was no need to add to the fraternal turmoil. The skewed text will remain there for awhile, he said, and then someone will paint over it and maybe a straight one will be attempted. Or not. It might just be left, the monk opined, as a reminder that the Road to Emmaus, or whatever road we take, isn t always straight. And so, if you hear a trivia question this weekend: How many Benedictine monks does it take to stencil a Bible passage on a wall crooked? Well, you know the answer. TL 838 Fremont St., 344.9117 2108 Fourth Ave., 345.6500, Pastor frtom@holyspiritstevenspoint.org deaconrick@holyspiritstevenspoint.org, Administrative-Parish Life Coordinator lee@holyspiritstevenspoint.org, Pastoral Care Director julie@holyspiritstevenspoint.org, Campus Ministry Director wendy@holyspiritstevenspoint.org, Faith Formation & Evangelization Director, colleen@holyspiritstevenspoint.org, Finance Coordinator srbarb@holyspiritstevenspoint.org Music Director mary@holyspiritstevenspoint.org Student Liturgy Coordinator liturgy@holyspiritstevenspoint.org www.pacellicatholicschools.com 341.2445 BUILDING UPON A FIRM FOUNDATION Chairs: Joining Our Parish: Fr. Tom would be glad to talk with you about parish membership. Send him an email at frtom@holyspiritstevenspoint.org or call him at 345-6500 to make an appointment. Celebrating Baptism: Baptism is celebrated at Lord s Day Mass at various times of the liturgical year. If you want to raise your child in the Catholic faith and celebrate your child s baptism, please call Fr. Tom for more information. Parents celebrating the baptism of heir first child are asked to complete a baptism orientation seminar. Caring for the Sick: If you or a loved one are seriously ill, homebound or anticipating surgery, please call Fr. Tom to schedule a visit and/or the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. Campus Ministry: Point Catholic is the name of Holy Spirit s outreach to college students attending UW-Stevens Point and Mid-State Technical College. You can learn more about campus ministry at our website. Facebook: Like us at Holy Spirit Parish and Point Catholic. Joining F a c e b o o k i s e a s y. G o t o www.facebook.com.
Transitions of Grace New Life: This weekend we welcome Redden Robert Colby to faith through the waters of baptism. He is the son of Travis and Kellyn Colby. Helping to Continue a Tradition When we gather for Mass on the weekend, we re able to gather in a freshly vacuumed and cleaned church because a team of volunteers have tended to those tasks. If we are to continue this long-standing tradition we need new and more volunteers to share the duties. The work is primarily done after the Friday morning Mass, so around 9 a.m. If you re able to assist or would like more information, please call the parish office. Several people over the years have observed that this work time becomes prayer time. KC Fund-raiser Next Weekend KC Council 1170 will accept donations for Tootsie Rolls during the annual Campaign for People with Intellectual Disabilities before and after all Masses next weekend. Elsewhere Franciscans Downtown: The movie The Giver will be shown on Wednesday at 1 p.m. All are welcome. Also A spring concert of music and readings, Let Nature Sing, will be led by organist William Weinmann on Saturday, Apr 21 at noon. Lunch will be provided by Graffiti s Sport Pub. Sunday Breakfast: St. Mary-Torun will hold breakfast on Sunday, Apr. 22 between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. This youth ministry fundraiser includes pancakes, French toast, sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns, applesauce, desserts and beverages. Cost is $7/adults; $3/ages 5-10; under age 5/free. Earth Day Celebration: Sr. Roselyn Heil, FSPA will help to explore our relationship with Creation around us on Saturday, Apr. 21 at 9:30 a.m. This day of retreat will be held at St. Anthony Spirituality Center. For more information call 715-443-2236 or visit www.sarcenter.com. Domestic Church Retreat: Although we know that true holiness is supposedly possible within daily demands of marriage and parenthood, it can be very difficult to know how to access it and take advantage of the fact that marriage is a Sacrament. This retreat, held at St. Anthony Spirituality Center April 26-29, gives couples real, concrete help to tap into what God has in store for them. For more information call 715-344-2236 or visit www.sarcenter.com. Stevens Point Area Catholic Cemeteries: Spring clean up of cemeteries will be held on April 16. Please remove all decorations that you would like to save prior to the 16th. Parishioners interested in learning more about the Catholic Cemeteries in Stevens Point can call the office at 715-341- 3236 or visit stevenspointcatholiccemetery.com. Of time, talent and treasure STEWARDSHIP QUESTIONS An underlying lesson from all three readings this weekend is that the Risen Christ has wiped away our sins, not only for individuals, but throughout the world and its history. The terrible power of sin has now been reversed and our coming to perfection through the love of God is part of the Easter experience. As stewards of God s love we are called to participate in Christ s redemptive activity. The stewardship questions for us are many: How do we resist injustice at home or in the workplace? How do we confront violence in our language and attitudes? How do we bring Christ to others? International Catholic Stewardship Council ANTICIPATING SPIRITFEST 2018 Planning has begun for this year s event on July 22nd. We are currently in need of volunteers to serve as chairpeople for the Main Raffle. Training and support will be readily available. If you d like more information, email Brant Bergeron, SpiritFEST Chair, at bergeron@dcopy.net or call 347-2736. PARTICIPATION AT MASS April 7/8 5 p.m. 281 8 a.m. 264 10 a.m. 391 6 p.m. 295 HOLY SPIRIT PARISH GIVING April 7/8..$20,669.60 Good Friday Collection for Twinning Parish in Haiti: $4,528.30 DIOCESAN ANNUAL APPEAL Target $104,960 Contributions to Date $61,946 Number of Contributors 261 (27%) Adore the Risen Lord on Thursday We adore the Risen Lord in the Blessed Sacrament every Thursday from the conclusion of the 8:15 Mass until Benediction at 3:30. Think of this as an opportunity to be with the Lord for a few minutes, for a half hour, an hour, maybe longer. Come to pray, to read, to be still. There are resources at each entranceway to guide your prayer.
LATE-NIGHT MASS is at 9 p.m. Wednesday in the Newman Center Chapel. It s a simpler version of what we do on Sunday and offers a prayerful, mid-week break for praise and worship. STUDENT SUPPER: The final Student Supper of the year is at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 25. Sign-up at Mass next weekend. Also plan to join us for our Year-End Cookout at lunchtime on Sunday, May 13. All college students are invited. EXPLORING FAITH: The gospel isn t something we just talk about or study. It s something we live. to talk about living faithfully amid real demands and temptations. We meet at the Newman Center and new people are always welcome! FAITH FORMATION ACT OUT! Parents/Adults Join us in church like the earliest Christian communities for a look at our first readings each week from the Acts of the Apostles. Wednesdays in church a little after 6:30pm. Done by 7:30. SHINY NEW CATHOLIC CORNER ALLELUIA! He is risen! This week we re proud to introduce Drake Martens with Dad Rob, Mom Lyn, and Sponsor JoAnn! Drake is working hard in the 4th Grade both at school and in Faith Formation. He is a great artist and loves St. Padre Pio! Drake s family loves the tradition, the stability, the moral value system and the rich explanations of the Catholic Church and at Holy Spirit Parish! Drake is doing lots of reporting/teach at home as well! His favorite part of Easter Vigil was his baptism he is still smiling and giggling about it! Welcome to the family, Drake!
It s time to return Rice Bowls and donations from our Lenten almsgiving. Deposit them in baskets at all church entranceways, or at the Newman Center. A History of 150 Years Feed My Lambs is a 465-page, full-color book celebrating the history of the Diocese of La Crosse. The book includes information about the origins of the diocese and Catholicism within this region, as well as profiles of bishops, religious communities, and all of the diocese s parishes. The book is available for review and purchase at the parish office, as well as at today s Breakfast Café in Kostka Hall. Bringing clarity and light to marriage and the Church A very Catholic relative or friend shares wisdom on marriage, divorce, annulments or some related topic. The intent is good, but the information is incorrect or maybe poorly applied, and thus a sacramental marriage in the Church is not pursued and the grace of the sacramental covenant is not realized. It s regarded as too many hoops, too judgmental, too much money, simply too much of something. The Church unquestionably regards marriage is of great importance. There are only seven sacraments and marriage is one of them! Celebrating the sacrament of marriage is not meant to be an ideal, but rather a celebration of life and love intended for all who are called to make its promises of sacrificial commitment. If you are in a marriage that has not been celebrated as a sacrament within the Church, or have been married and divorced and are interested in learning about the annulment process, or have other questions regarding you, your marriage or interest in marriage, and the Church, please contact Fr. Tom at frtom@holyspiritstevenspoint.org, or 345-6500. The point is not to judge, but to be helpful and encouraging in guiding people to appreciate and celebrate this sacrament of the Church. If nothing else, you ll have accurate information.