September 26 – Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Friends,
Praised be Jesus Christ!
As we approach the month of October, the Church’s gaze is drawn once again to Our Lord through Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, to whom October is dedicated to as the month of the Rosary.
Of course, within our own Family of Four Parishes, we are richly blessed to have a church dedicated to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, whose sanctuary was first raised above Oakland Avenue in 1885. At Mass this weekend, wherever the Church gathers to worship throughout the world, be it in Milwaukee or Rome, the priest prays these following words from the Collect, our opening prayer:
O God, who manifest your almighty power above all by pardoning and showing mercy, bestow we pray, your grace abundantly upon us and make those hastening to attain your promises heirs to the treasures of heaven.
It is the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and the Mother of the Church, who invites us to live now for those treasures of heaven, whose foretaste we receive in her Son’s Most Holy Body and Blood. For that reason, the Church never fails to turn to Mary, who in turn never fails to take the Church and each one of us, members of Christ’s Mystical Body, to the heart of her Son, our Incarnate Lord.
October is almost upon us and the invitation is ours to contemplate and to rest in the mysteries of the faith which we profess and return to in the devotion and prayer of the Most Holy Rosary. As a professor of mine in college would often repeat, “take your needs to the beads!”
On behalf of Fr. Tim, Fr. John and our entire parish staff, you have our love and our prayers.
See you at Mass!
Very truly yours,
Fr. Michael Malucha
September 19, 2021 – Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Friends,
Peace of Christ. The first words of this Sunday’s Gospel remind us that so often the Lord works in a hidden, mysterious way: “Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it” (Mk 9:30). The journey that the disciples took was hidden, likely unnoticed by much of the world around them. Yet this walking with the Lord in a hidden, mysterious way was so rich – because the disciples were accompanied by Jesus’ words, which give life and life to the full.
This past weekend I was away helping to lead a silent retreat for a group of young adults at Catholic Youth Expeditions in the Diocese of Green Bay. In the silence and hiddenness of the retreat center, it was amazing how the Lord worked in the lives of these young men and women! Without phones, computers or the busyness of everyday life, the retreat provided an opportunity to more fully encounter Christ. The sisters of the Missionaries of the Word (https://www.missionariesoftheword.com/), a recently founded women’s religious community, also helped to lead the retreat. The young sisters are such a gift and I learn so much from them on what it means to constantly be listening to God’s word. I pray that this week we too can be like the disciples and enter into the hidden journey of following Christ, humbling relying on the power of God’s word to sustain us.
From the afternoon of Sunday, September 19 – Tuesday, September 28, Fr. Tim will be away on vacation. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me, Fr. Michael or any other staff member if you would need assistance during this time! Know that you are prayed for, daily.
Sincerely, with love,
Fr. John
September 12, 2021 – Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Friends,
Praised be Jesus Christ!
As we gather to worship the living God this weekend in spirit and in truth, our hearts, like the Immaculate Heart of Mary, should be pierced as we remember the events of September 11, 2001.
Whether we were old or young, or not yet even born, and no matter who we might have voted for in the presidential election of 2000, that day shall stand forever fixed in the memory of our country.
When Our Blessed Lord summoned the crowd, He too spoke words that remain fixed for us today.
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:35)
This Tuesday, September 14, the Church will celebrate the Feast of the Holy Cross. Stat crux dum volvitur orbis. “The Cross is steady while the world is turning.” This motto of the Carthusian Order can encourage us and make our hearts steadfast as we are invited to embrace the only thing that remains fixed as our world continues to turn, the Cross, by which Our Lord has redeemed the world.
With hearts fixed on the Cross, the place where we are made steadfast, we, like the Blessed Mother, will receive the courage to stand beneath it, even before the manifold challenges of our own day.
Pierced by the images of September 11th and drawn to the Holy Cross, we beg for the grace to take up the crosses that Jesus desires to entrust us with as members of His Mystical Body, the Church.
For those who died on that day, and for those Americans who continue to lose their lives for our country, so that we might freely live for the sake of the Gospel, eternal rest grant unto them O Lord.
On behalf of Fr. Tim, Fr. John and our entire parish staff, you have our love and our prayers. See you at Mass! Very truly yours, Fr. Michael Malu On behalf of Fr. Tim, Fr. John and our entire parish staff, you have our love and our prayers.
See you at Mass!
Very truly yours,
Fr. Michael Malucha
September 5, 2021 – Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Thus says the Lord:
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!”
(From the prophet Isaiah, ch. 35)
Dear Friends,
What a couple weeks it has been! As a Covid-19 survivor, my heart goes out in deep support for all still struggling with this awful disease, and in deep sympathy for all who have died, and with gratitude for all caregivers and those who so give of themselves in the medical and first-response community.
I also want to thank you dear parishioners and friends who helped me so much with prayers, cards, communication, food! I thank from the bottom of my heart Fr. John, Fr. Michael, Chad and our amazing staff for allowing me the space and time for healing.
You know I got a lot of homily material in these past weeks of sickness, so you will be hearing stories, anecdotes, quips, complaints and any other number of expressions for a long time to come!
But to show my hand a bit, and to tie things to the Holy Gospel this Sunday, I have discovered a new facet of my life with Jesus whom I love with all my heart: JESUS THE HEALER.
Having faced such limits, and listening these days to all the limits of Afghanistan, Haiti, Louisiana, the streets of Milwaukee and all those limits we all face in the depths of our own broken and painful stories, I hear more loudly than ever the words of Jesus as he cured the deaf man: BE OPENED.
And I will trust the open and utter healing that only our Savior Jesus can bring.
Sincerely, with love,
Fr. Tim
