 One of the hallmarks of the teaching of Jesus is the mercy of God. One only needs to recall the parable of the Prodigal Son to confirm that the Father is a loving and merciful God. And yet, He is a just God. Though always ready to forgive the repentant, God still expects us to be accountable. The parable in today’s Gospel (the parable of the Talents) indicates that a response from us is expected and is necessary. Though God is merciful, He is not indulgent. Like any good Father, He expects something from His children. And our response to Him should not be based on fear (like the lazy servant in the parable), but familial love - like that of a devoted child towards his loving father.
The First Sunday of Advent, and the beginning of a new Liturgical Year, is just two weeks away. These past several years have been a time of upheaval, disruption, unrest, and fearfulness. The temporal order - things of this world - will always be a challenge. It is both a spiritual and psychological relief to start the new Church year. I expect we will continue to experience the difficulties of this world. But it is a great consolation to draw our attention to Our Lord’s first coming, and the preparation we annually make to celebrate the birth of Him Who makes all things new. Have you made your pledge to the Diocesan Annual Appeal? If you did not receive or have misplaced your Appeal materials and pledge card, extras are available from the parish office or in the Gather Space (SVdP) or Holy Family Cenacle (SSPP). Thank you for your generous support, and pray for the success of the DAA! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) was published in 1992 (the English translation in 1994) and is an excellent – and authoritative – presentation of the content of the Faith. When read along with the Bible the CCC provides a sure guide for us. But the Bible and the CCC are big books! Wouldn’t it be great if there were a shorter summary of both books? There is. And Jesus Himself provides us with the summary in today’s Gospel. “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” I suggest that we need the summary of the Lord AND the rich explanation of the Faith which is found by reading the Bible and the Catechism. So, read your Bible. And read the Catechism. But always refer back to the summary of our Lord to place it all in context. This Wednesday, November 1, is the Solemnity of All Saints when we honor all the holy men and women who have witnessed to the Faith heroically. (See the Mass schedule for both parishes in this bulletin.) The celebration of All Souls follows on Thursday, November 2. It provides us an excellent opportunity to come together to pray in a particular way for our beloved dead. The beloved dead of SSPP will be remembered at the 8:00am Mass on Thursday, Nov. 2; and of SVdP at the 4:30pm Mass on Saturday, Nov. 4. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen! As I have mentioned in past bulletins, the Diocesan Annual Appeal provides funding for many local, diocesan, national, and universal Church efforts. All our parishioners should have received their letter from the diocese, along with a brochure explaining the Appeal and a personalized pledge card. (Additional brochures and blank pledge cards are available in the Holy Family Cenacle [SSPP] or Gather Space [SVdP], if you did not receive or misplaced your letter.) Every dollar that we exceed the official target will be returned to the parish for the parish’s use. Exceeding our target will NOT cause the target to go up in the future, nor will it change the level of our support to Assumption Catholic Schools. I encourage all our parishioners to contribute to the DAA generously - according to your means. As the old saying goes: many hands make light work. I have placed a ‘thermometer’ poster in the main entry (SSPP – Holy Family Cenacle; SVdP – Gather Space) which will mark our progress: both in numbers of parishioners who contribute, and the total dollars pledged. I’ve already made my gift to the Diocesan Annual Appeal - join me in helping us reach our goal. Please continue to pray for the success of the Diocesan Annual Appeal! Thank you for your generosity! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller  Jesus often initiates His own teaching in the Gospels. But He also is prompted to teach certain truths at the instigation of others, or by some circumstance, as He does in today’s Gospel. The same is true for the Church and Her teachings. One of the important aspects of the Catholic Faith is our understanding and belief that there is a development of doctrine over time. This doesn’t mean that our teachings change, but that as new circumstances arise there is the opportunity (and oftentimes the necessity) of clarifying certain teachings. For instance, around the year 300 A.D., some Christians began to spread the idea that Jesus was not truly God, but rather a sort of “superman”, and a creature of the Father. In response, the Bishops met in council in Nicaea to clarify the true teaching about the nature of Christ. The result was the Nicene Creed, which we recite every Sunday. Does this mean that Catholics didn’t believe in the Trinity, or in the human and divine natures of Jesus, before the Council of Nicaea? Of course, they always believed them. But it was only when this belief was challenged that the Church made Her teaching clearer by the formulation of the creed. The same can be said about the Church’s teachings on the authority of the Pope, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and many other doctrines. When challenges have been made, or when circumstances demand it, the Church follows the example of the Lord: She (the Church) teaches the unchanging Truth to address the questions of an ever-changing world.
We kicked-off the Diocesan Annual Appeal last week. All should have received their Appeal letter from the Bishop. If you didn’t, contact the parish office, or pickup Appeal materials at the Church entrance. I hope all our parishioners will make a generous gift, according to your means, to the Appeal! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller  It is a rare person who, once embracing the Faith, is then able to live a life totally and faithfully committed to the Lord. Our faith is for a time strong and vigorous - and then wanes as we struggle through difficulties. (That’s another good reason why Jesus gave us the Sacrament of Confession!) Since God is calling all of us to be saints, we need to seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit, and the Grace of the Sacraments, to persevere in faith every day. And it is never too late to “turn it around” if one hasn’t been living a holy life. As the Lord says in today’s Gospel, it is the “tax collectors and prostitutes” (i.e., the public sinners of the day) who heard the call of repentance and reformed their lives. Lord, help us with Your Grace to reform our lives.
The kickoff of The Diocesan Annual Appeal is two weeks from today. The DAA provides funding for many worthy local, diocesan, national, and universal Church efforts. Before the DAA parishes had a second collection every month for different needs of the Church in our country and around the world. The Diocesan Annual Appeal provides the means to support all these efforts more effectively. $500,000 of the Appeal’s total budget of $6 Million goes to support those needs. Locally the Appeal provides more than $530,000 of support to the Catholic Schools in our diocese. This funds training for teachers, as well as direct aid to those schools (and parishes) that carry a significant financial burden. This helps the Church fulfill its mission of providing an excellent Catholic school for families all around the Diocese. In two weeks all our parishioners will receive their letter from Bishop Callahan, along with a brochure explaining the Appeal and a personalized pledge card. Every dollar that we exceed the official target is returned to the parish for each parish’s use. Exceeding our target will NOT cause the target to go up in the future, nor will it change the level of our support to Assumption Catholic Schools. (Both SSPP and SVdP generously support ACS.) I encourage all our parishioners to contribute to the DAA generously - according to your means. As the old saying goes: many hands make light work. Pray for the success of the Diocesan Annual Appeal! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller  How would you like to get a full day’s wage after only doing one hour of work? That is what happens in the parable Jesus tells in today’s Gospel. Although one should be cautious not to use this parable as the basis for justice in the workplace, it does express the difference between what we understand as human justice and what God gives us out of His Divine Generosity. As the prophet Isaiah tells us in the first reading, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are His ways our ways. God is always more generous to us than we deserve.
Recognizing God’s generosity should spur us on to be generous as well. In three weeks we will kick off the Diocesan Annual Appeal. The DAA was begun 26 years ago in order to provide a more consistent and effective means of funding the many local, diocesan, national, and universal Church efforts. It replaced 12 annual collections and reduced the annual amount of money that the parishes pay to support the Diocesan offices. Each parish’s target is based upon the annual regular income, number of households, and the number of children enrolled in Catholic Schools (more students=lower target). From its beginning in 1997, the DAA was set up so that once a parish met its target, any amount over would be sent back to the parish as a ‘rebate’. This rebate is NOT considered in the formula for determining the following year’s target. Nor is the rebate used in the formula for determining the amount of support to the Catholic Schools (for SVdP & SSPP, Assumption Catholic Schools. We contribute generously to the support of Assumption Catholic Schools and will continue to do so.) The DAA is, therefore, an effective way to meet our obligations to support the various works of the Church AND (when we exceed our target) to provide additional money for our own parishes’ needs. May God bless you! Fr. Schaller  The Church presents us with three readings from the Sacred Scriptures each week at Sunday Mass. This is done so that we can be exposed to more of the Bible and can learn from the truth presented in the Word of God. Today’s lessons instruct us in the importance of forgiving others from the heart. Typically, we appeal to this teaching when we desire to be forgiven, but conveniently forget it when it comes to forgiving others who have wronged us. Don’t let hatred or vengeance blacken your soul. Listen to what our God teaches us in the Scriptures.
The Church’s liturgical year is filled with many beautiful celebrations: commemorating the lives of the Saints and of the Blessed Mother, and especially celebrating the Feasts of the Lord. The Feast of the Holy Cross was observed September 14. Hail Cross! Our only hope!! This Feast calls our attention to the means by which our Lord accomplished our salvation: on the Cross. We just observed the 22nd anniversary of the attack on 9/11. Who can forget that terrible experience of evil visited on our country? And who can forget the sign of hope which emerged from the rubble where once the Twin Towers stood? Do you remember how – seemingly miraculously – there appeared in the midst of that destruction the Cross formed by the intersection of two steel I-beams? The Cross is truly one of the deep mysteries of our Faith. God desired to have His own Son experience our own lives, and our own suffering. The Cross represents His suffering – and ours – by which we are also saved. It's now been over 10 weeks since SS Peter & Paul and St. Vincent de Paul parishes came to be served by a common Pastor and Associate Pastor. How are you doing? How am I doing? Among my goals as pastor is to preserve the identity of each parish while doing those things in common which can benefit both parishes. So today we begin publishing a joint parish bulletin. You’ll continue to receive the news and info proper to your parish, while also seeing what’s happening in the other Eastside parish. Let me know how you like it – or how it can be improved. May God bless you! Fr. Schaller  "No man is an island.” The English poet John Donne wrote those words nearly 400 years ago. They express a truth found also in the Sacred Scriptures, especially in today’s readings. None of us lives in a vacuum; rather we are bound together by our common humanity. And much more than that, we are bound together by our Faith, by Baptism. We are truly responsible for each other. This is most easily seen within the family, where parents take care of their children and children watch out for each other. This also provides the motive for evangelization. We need to do all we can to bring others to know, love, and serve God, and to live the Faith. Out of love for others, we should assist them with their physical needs, and teach them in word and action the moral and spiritual truths of our Faith.
It has been an adjustment for our two Eastside Parishes of WI Rapids, SSPP & SVdP, these past two months. The changed Mass schedule is certainly the most noticeable and has the biggest impact on many families’ Sunday routines. The staff from both parishes is also adapting to some changes. We have converted both parishes to a new phone system which will provide better service and at a much-reduced cost. We have been making needed improvements in the St. Vincent de Paul parish office building (former convent, then rectory), which now also hosts the central office of Assumption Catholic Schools (north end of the first floor). This provides a mutual benefit: rent for SVdP and modest cost to ACS. By the end of the month the SSPP parish secretary will be moved to the SVdP parish office building, where Fr. Williams and I already have our offices. Each parish’s secretary works part-time. By staggering their hours, we will be able to provide greater accessibility for all our parishioners. And beginning next Sunday, September 17, we will publish a single bulletin for the Eastside Parishes of WI Rapids. That will reduce bulletin preparation and provide fuller information for both SSPP & SVdP parishioners. I have been attending the Catholic Medical Association conference in Phoenix, AZ the past week, and will be back this Tuesday. My thanks for Fr. Williams for holding down the fort! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller  “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” This acclamation by Simon Peter (from today’s Gospel) was not simply a conclusion he had come to after careful consideration using human logic. Rather, it was an insight given to him by the Father. It is yet another example of how God chooses us, rather than the other way around. Simon Peter then receives from the Lord authority “to bind and to loose”. The Church has always seen this event as key to understanding the authority that Peter and the other Apostles (and their successors) exercise in the Church. It is not mere human authority. They do not derive it from any human consent. We have the Lord’s promise that no human power, nor “the gates of the netherworld” shall prevail against the Church which He establishes upon the authority of Peter.
The late Pope John Paul II said that the new millennium is a time for renewed evangelization. In addition to the formation in faith which our Catholic schools, religious education programs, confirmation program, and adult faith classes provide, our parish also provides opportunities for those interested in becoming Catholic to learn more about our Faith. The RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) is designed for those who have never been baptized, and for baptized Christians from other churches, who are interested in becoming full members in the Catholic Church. Please call Deacon Jerry Ruesch at the SSPP or SVdP parish office (423-1351 or 423-2111) to register. May God bless you! Fr. Schaller  We celebrated the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven this past Tuesday, August 15. This solemnity is always observed on August 15, and is a Holy Day of Obligation (except when it falls on Saturday or Monday in the Dioceses of the U.S.). Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer, is rightfully honored by the Church because she was first honored by God. She was preserved from the stain of original sin (which we commemorate on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8). By the power of the Holy Spirit she conceived the Savior of the world within her womb. She was the first and most perfect disciple of the Lord. She stood at the foot of the Cross at His crucifixion. The Solemnity of Mary’s Assumption acknowledges and celebrates the fitting end of her life on this earth: namely, that at the end of her life on earth she was assumed body and soul into heaven by the power of God. Eastern Rite Catholics and Orthodox Christians refer to this feast as the Dormition of Mary, that is, her “falling asleep”. The belief of the Catholic Church is that Mary never suffered the corruption of her body, but that she was taken to heaven while still alive (or perhaps, at the very moment of death). This feast of Mary, like all the Marian feasts, is another way of recognizing the saving work which God has brought about through His (and Mary’s) Son, Jesus Christ. Mary, as the best disciple – as the one who cooperated most perfectly with God’s Grace – fittingly should be the first to enjoy everlasting life in heaven. May God bless you! Fr. Schaller  It is commonly observed that the world in which we live is increasingly fast-paced, hectic, and noisy. The human brain just can’t take all of that input. Advertisers understand this phenomenon as well; that’s why they make their commercials so loud and fill them with images geared to grab our attention. We have become so conditioned by this loud and active culture in which we live, that many people are now uncomfortable when experiencing silence. (Do you start to fidget after 30 seconds silence during Mass?!) But the Scriptures indicate that it is necessary for us to be silent - to be quiet inside as well - in order to hear God speak to us. The first reading from today’s Mass recounts how Elijah did not find the Lord in the strong and heavy wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in a “tiny whispering sound.” The Gospel, too, tells us how Jesus went up on the mountain by himself to pray. If Jesus Himself needed some quiet time alone to pray, just think how much we need it! Make a quick examination of your life, and of the routines that you follow. Do you automatically turn on the TV or radio whenever you enter a room? Are you frequently checking your phone or tablet? Do you find that you need to have some background noise present so that you don’t get uncomfortable or fidgety? Then I suggest you consciously decide to make some time each day - especially on Sundays - when you leave all the noise aside. It may take some effort at first to do this. The troubling events in the Church and in our country - political, social, and economic - make it more necessary. But if we are going to be able to hear the Lord speak to us in a tiny whisper, we will need to be quiet. This Tuesday, August 15, is the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass at St. Vincent de Paul is at 8:00am, and at SS Peter & Paul at 5:30pm. See you at Mass! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller |