June 30, 2024 – Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“In the prison of his days, teach the free man how to praise.”
Inscription on Memorial stone for W.H. Auden in Westminster Abbey, from his poem, “In Memory of W.B. Yeats”.
Dear Friends,
Our Gospel today from St. Mark shows the heaviness of human flesh where the spirit seems imprisoned by failing flesh – the woman afflicted with a hemorrhage for 12 years and Jairus’ little daughter sick to the point of death. These “clods of clay” we are given seem to weigh us down as well, as we face so many struggles, individually and communally, large and small. We even say to ourselves at times: “This has been a heavy day.”
And then we hear about Jesus, remembered in ancient stories as a healer, as a touch of life-giving relief and a Real Presence that brings strength and helps new possibilities to be envisioned. We realize his healing is the means to a new way of facing the inevitable heaviness.
In all of the healings today, there is a crowd of folks. Jesus is telling us that the heaviness is always there. But he is there too. We just need to face it together, with Jesus– praying, asking, begging, carrying our burden patiently, generously helping others to carry theirs, as we live a moment at a time. Together. Heavy, yes. But a shared heaviness is a lightened heaviness, and we walk the prison of days, singing together.
Praise God!
Fr. Tim
June 23, 2024 – Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Happy Sunday!
Praise the Lord for another day and another Sunday to give God glory!
Are you in the midst of a storm in your life, or have you experienced storms in the past? In today’s Gospel, the disciples are caught in a storm. They cry out to Jesus, calling him “Teacher.” Jesus then calls out, “Quiet! Be still!”
In this moment, Jesus shows his disciples a miracle, allowing them to see his divinity – He has control over the weather.
If our Lord has control over the weather, then he can assist us in many ways. During our own storms and struggles, do not be afraid to call out to Jesus to have him assist you. We can lean into the Lord in our most vulnerable times and see what miracles the Lord can do in our lives.
God Bless,
Fr. Joseph
June 16, 2024 – Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
As I begin my third year at the Family of Five parishes, I give thanks to God for each of you. I am grateful for the many times you have allowed me to be present as you experience life’s joys and struggles. The Priesthood is a privileged opportunity to enter humanity’s deepest places of happiness and pain, and as priests, we come into these places to console, to bless and to heal.
For the past two years, I have also been blessed to have Fr. Tim as my pastor, friend, and mentor. I give thanks for his ministry as well as for the great and hard work of each of our staff members and parish volunteers!
In the second reading for this weekend, St. Paul says that, in this life, “we walk by faith and not by sight.” There are fundamentals in the faith that help us walk the path of life with a more serene and peaceful attitude. These fundamentals are that God is good, He loves you and me, and He wants you and me to have life in abundance. I believe walking by faith means to believe these three principles with all our minds and hearts. What is the end result? That we will become children who trust that wherever we are led in life, we rest and are secured by God’s loving hand and strong arm.
May God bless our Family of Five parishes with much trust and confidence in the Lord!
With love, Fr. Carlos
June 9, 2024 – Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”
(The Gospel according to St. Mark, Ch. 3)
Dear Friends,
A few years ago there was an amusing Amazon commercial in which Alexa loses her voice. The folks replacing her said all the wrong things and used the wrong tone.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is dealing with the diabolic reactions to his preaching of the kingdom of God. People are accusing him of using the devil’s voice to advance his kingdom.
And people are divided and of harsh opinion. Sounds all too familiar! Division and harsh opinion are so much a part of the air we are breathing these days. Jesus’s response to the devil and his evil ways and the divisive effects of judgment, slander, violence, anger, meanness is FAMILY LOVE. He expands the call of family to include all try to do the will of God and use his practice of forgiving love as the start.
We must not lose our voice as the Church and surrender the higher way to which we are called to the lowest common denominator of meanness, division, judgment rooted in opinion and not the Truth. The devil and the diabolic forces (literally from the Greek root “to throw through and divide”) will not triumph if we work, as family, for that unity our belief in Jesus and his power for good and the truth, can bring about. If we try to come together in civil dialogue and the practice over and over again of that charity which produces peace and good will, the devil will never win.
Let’s pray for each other constantly, and through forgiveness and patience and increased charity bring unity to division.
Sincerely, with love,
Fr. Tim
June 2, 2024 – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Happy Corpus Christi!
Today, we celebrate the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the night before his death, Jesus left us a memorial of his sacrifice in the Eucharist — His real presence. The Eucharist is our participation in the cross, which is a beautiful and amazing gift from our God.
As we celebrate this solemnity, we are in the midst of the National Eucharistic Revival. A couple of years ago, the Bishops of the United States decided to have a three-year Eucharistic Revival. We are at the end of the second year and ready to move into the final year of the revival.
This summer, we will all have a few opportunities to participate in the revival. In June, as part of the revival, there is a National Eucharistic Pilgrimage which will pass through the Archdiocese of Milwaukee from June 18 to 26. Then in July, there is a Eucharistic Congress this summer in Indianapolis from July 17 to 24. Since 1895, there have been nine National Eucharistic Congresses, with the last one in 1941. The bishops decided now is the time. You will be able to participate online if you are unable to attend in person.
After the Eucharistic Congress, we hope to bring the fruit of the event into the world during the third year of the revival. To find more information about these events, please visit www.archmil.org 
for local events and www.eucharisticrevival.org for national information.
May we all grow in our devotion and love for the Eucharist!
