Second Sunday of Lent – February 25, 2018
ENCOUNTER LENT: Sharing the Journey with CESIA
Cesia Lea Gomez is from the rural town of Somoto, Nicaragua, close to the Honduran border. Although it is a beautiful farming community, there are few job opportunities for young people, especially women. Many leave their communities to find work, but Cesia wanted to stay home with her parents and youngest sibling. With her mother’s encouragement, Cesia decided to pursue her dream of starting a business.
The CRS YouthBuild program helped her achieve that dream. YouthBuild’s core values—family, service, opportunity and leadership—guide what participants learn, and the kinds of relationships they build with one another. The program helps them build the confidence to pursue their goals.
Once very shy, Cesia is now a leader in her community. With what she learned in YouthBuild, she has built a thriving business making and selling cattle feed. She dreams of expanding her business throughout Nicaragua, and leads workshops in her community to help other young people.
THE DIGNITY OF WORK AND THE RIGHTS OF WORKERS
Jesus spent years working as a carpenter. Work is important to help people fulfill their potential. And everyone must receive a fair wage to provide for themselves and their families.
~ A Lenten story from Catholic Relief Services as we journey with our worldwide family.
For more information please visit:
https://www.crsricebowl.org/stories-of-hope/week-2
Our Lenten Almsgiving this year is in support of Catholic Relief Services. Rice Bowls for your Lenten Alms are available in the back of church.
First Sunday of Lent – February 18, 2018
Dear Friends:
ENCOUNTER MAJD
Eight-year-old Majd thought his family was going on a picnic. His mother, Lamya, said they would be back home in a week. But when ISIS attacked their home in northern Iraq, the family fled for good.
“What worried me the most were the kids,” Lamya says. “Our life was stable and we were doing well; we had a very big house. Our children had everything they needed. But when we fled, I was not able to bring anything for them—not even food.”
Fortunately, the family found an apartment to rent with other displaced families. It is much smaller than the home they had, but it’s safer. The children enrolled in a CRS-sponsored school, where the routine provides hope, stability and a sense of belonging. “Education is very important,” says Lamya, especially in Iraqi culture. Lamya received training from CRS and became a teacher at the school. Now she has hope for the future. “I really love children, so when I go to class I feel like I am with my family,” she says.
Her son, Majd, also loves going to school. “Majd is so motivated to go to school. He just wants it to be morning so he can go,” Lamya says. “He is relaxed, having fun and more confident.” For Majd, school means a normal life—now and in the future.
LIFE AND DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
We were made in God’s image and likeness. That means that every human being has special value and a purpose. We need to care for each other so we can be the people God calls us to be.
~ A Lenten story from Catholic Relief Services as we journey with our worldwide family.
For more information please visit:
https://www.crsricebowl.org/stories-of-hope/week-1
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 11, 2018
Dear Friends,
As you surely know, Lent begins this coming Wednesday, February 14. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of our 40 day journey to Easter, a time where we try to more fully focus our hearts on the perfect sacrifice of Jesus through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We look forward to journeying with you over these next seven weeks.
This year, our parishes will be taking part in CRS’s Rice Bowl program. CRS – Catholic Relief Services – does amazing work across the world, helping poor and vulnerable people overcome emergencies, earn a living through agriculture and access affordable health care. (You can learn more at www.crs.org and www.crsricebowl.org.) Their Rice Bowl program gives us a chance to encounter our brothers and sisters around the world and discover how we can walk in solidarity with them. During Lent, we will be taking a break from our weekly notes so that we can use this space in the bulletin to focus on a few of those people.
We will most certainly see you at mass, and we eagerly await to celebrate the beauty of Easter with you.
With love and peace,
Fr. Tim and Fr. Mike
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 4, 2018
“Decide to Lead”
2018 Catholic Stewardship Appeal
Dear Friends,
This Sunday begins the annual Catholic Stewardship Appeal. You may wonder why Archbishop Listecki is asking each one of us to share some of our financial resources for so great a cause. How does this annual Appeal affect our parishes? A truly Catholic answer would be that we belong to a larger church and share in the mission of the Archdiocese which includes 10 counties in southeast Wisconsin. While our family of four parishes offers many services and ministries, we cannot meet everyone’s needs. Through our support of the Annual Catholic Stewardship Appeal, we help to fund programs that serve families, strengthen parishes, support schools and form priests and parish leaders. The goal for 2018 is $7,700,000. Since we are not able to show the video for the Appeal in our churches, please view it online at www.catholicappeal.org.
On behalf of Fr. Tim and myself, please be as generous as possible. Thanks as your pastors for your support in helping us fulfill our responsibilities to the larger Church. We have been reflecting on Mark’s gospel in which Jesus teaches and expels demons. Today we see Jesus curing Peter and Andrew’s mother-in-law and healing many others. Jesus balances his frenetic activity with prayer by going alone into the desert to pray. This gospel helps prepare us for the Lenten season which begins next week on Ash Wednesday February 14th. If we believe in the gospel as good news, we will repent and receive healing and mercy. Next Sunday February 11th is the Twenty-sixth World Day of the Sick. Refer to the Vatican website for Pope Francis’ message. Pray for the sick and all those who care for them.
Sincerely with love,
Fr. Mike Michalski
