Would you describe prayer as a battle? When you are on your way to pray, do you consider yourself on your way to a fight? The Catholic Church does:

“In the battle of prayer, we must face in ourselves and around us erroneous notions of prayer. Some people view prayer as a simple psychological activity, others as an effort of concentration to reach a mental void. Still others reduce prayer to ritual words and postures. Many Christians unconsciously regard prayer as an occupation that is incompatible with all the other things they have to do: they “don’t have the time.” Those who seek God by prayer are quickly discouraged because they do not know that prayer comes also from the Holy Spirit and not from themselves alone.

Finally, some see prayer as a flight from the world in reaction against activism; but in fact, Christian prayer is neither an escape from reality nor a divorce from life.
Finally, our battle has to confront what we experience as failure in prayer: discouragement during periods of dryness; sadness that, because we have “great possessions,” we have not given all to the Lord; disappointment over not being heard according to our own will; wounded pride, stiffened by the indignity that is ours as sinners; our resistance to the idea that prayer is a free and unmerited gift; and so forth. The conclusion is always the same: what good does it do to pray? To overcome these obstacles, we must battle to gain humility, trust, and perseverance.” (Catechism – 2726-2728)

I read that, and I want to a) read more, and b) get back in there and fight. How about you?

Fr. Liekhus

Directions: South on Shady Oak Road; turn Left on Bren Road; then take the first right into the Cemetery entrance.

Questions? Contact Jay Strachota at (952) 935-7792.

The prayers of the St. Joseph community have been answered as we now have a leader for the 2012 Fall Festival. However, our task is not complete. We must continue our supplications for an inspired person to assume the Sunday Dinner/Kitchen position that Pat and Dennis Peterson filled so skillfully these many years past. The Fabulous Chicken Dinner and the Silent Auction are, next to the raffle, the most important attractions of our annual celebration so it remains vitally important to continue your prayers for the success of our September fete. St. Joseph’s wants you!

Start thinking about what you can do to make the Festival the best ever. Give serious, prayerful thought about volunteering for a committee position. Don’t just let George do it! Believe me, you will have a great time and it is a good bet that you will wish you had volunteered years earlier. Be sure to tell your friends and neighbors to save the date, September 16, and make it a special day for your whole family. To paraphrase, the family that prays (and plays) together stays together!

See you at the Festival (and don’t forget your weather prayers).

Hardin Olson
Grillmeister

This weekend is a very joyful weekend for our parishes, as our second graders celebrate their first communion. It is a special day in their lives and in the life of the parish, as they receive the Body and Blood of Jesus for the very first time.

Of course, one could argue that any day on which you receive the Lord in the Eucharist is a pretty special day, whether it is for the first time or the ten thousandth time. Our Lord loves you as much today as He did on the day you received your first communion. In our Father’s eyes, we are children, beloved children, favored children, His children, children whom He loves even more than we love our own children. His love for you is unique to you, it is personal, and he wants to share that love with you whenever you receive the Eucharist.

And what do we believe about the Eucharist? First, it is important to remember that the Eucharist is a mystery. We are incapable of fully grasping how Christ is able to be present in the Eucharist, and that’s ok. We don’t expect to be able to fully grasp the mind of God or all the things that He does, because we are not on the same level with Him; He is God, and we are not. That being said, we can still understand the Eucharist to some extent, we can say more than nothing because Christ has told us more than nothing, and so we try to understand what Jesus has revealed to us and His Church through the ages as best as we can.

When we receive the Eucharist, we receive the entire Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. We believe that the bread ceases to be bread and the wine ceases to be wine at the consecration, and they become, in their substance, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. They still look like bread and wine, they taste and smell like bread and wine, they will go stale if you leave them out too long like bread and wine, if you put them under a microscope, they will still have the molecular structure of bread and wine, but those are just their appearances, they are not bread and wine. Christ has transformed them into His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. This is a mystery, but it is a glorious mystery.

We talk about the Body of Christ with the hosts, and the Blood of Christ in the chalice, because that’s what Jesus did at the Last Supper. He said, “This is my body,” and “This is my blood.” But that was for the sign value: bread more closely resembles a body, and wine more closely resembles blood, so we say, “The Body of Christ,” and “The Blood of Christ” separately. But in truth, the entire Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ is contained in every particle of the host, and in every drop of the Precious Blood. That’s why you don’t have to receive both, you can receive just from one if you prefer; there is nothing lacking, no part of Jesus that you don’t get when you receive only one. If you were at the 10:30am Mass a few weeks ago, you may have noticed that we underestimated the number of hosts that we would need, and ran out! Fortunately, there was still Precious Blood remaining, and the rest of the congregation received from the chalice. They did not receive any less of Jesus than those who received under both species. All of Christ is present in every particle of the host and every drop of the consecrated wine. That is why we take such care of the vessels that we use, to make sure that none of the Eucharist is still in them after communion, because every last particle is our Lord.

When we think of the Eucharist in terms of “how is this possible,” it might seem far-fetched and hard to believe. But when we think of it in terms of Christ’s love and His power as God, it is not hard at all. It is not hard to believe that Christ would find a way to make it so that we could have such an intimate communion with him. Some have asked in the past, “Why would He come in the form of something so simple and fragile as bread and wine? Why not a mountain? Why not a star in the sky? Why not something majestic, something that would last for millennia?”

The answer is because Jesus does not want to be apart from us, to remain distant and outside of us. He wants to be one with us, and he wants us to choose it to be so. The Eucharist is not something that is forced upon us; it is something that we receive. And what better way to help us understand that Christ is essential for our spiritual life than to come in the form of that which is essential for our physical life – food? Just as we need food for natural life, we need Christ for supernatural life. It is the simplest and yet most extraordinary way for Christ to sustain us.

What a great and glorious mystery! It is the mystery of God’s love for us. And this weekend, our young people will experience that love in their first communion. Blessed be God!

Fr. Liekhus

• If you are filling your (red parish) food shelf bag with groceries, thank you!
• If you have one sitting empty at home, please fill it and bring it to church.
• If you don’t have a red food shelf bag, please pick one up at church and fill it with food.

This weekend, we hear Jesus described as the good shepherd. We have probably seen paintings of Jesus carrying the lost sheep on his shoulders back to the flock. And Jesus tells us that he not only goes out to find the lost sheep, but is willing to lay down his life for the sake of his flock. He contrasts this with a hired man, who abandons the flock when there is danger, one who saves his own life, rather than risk it for the sake of the flock.

I’ve always been a little uneasy with that notion of a good shepherd. Granted, we are called to be good stewards of God’s creation, taking care of that which has been given to us. We have not been given power over creation in order to abuse it, but in order to cooperate with God in caring for it. So I can understand a good shepherd being one who takes good care of his flock, and perhaps even goes off to find a single sheep who has strayed. But to lay down his life for them? As tragic as losing an entire flock of sheep may be, wouldn’t it be more tragic to lose a human being? Why should a shepherd be considered bad if he didn’t risk his life to save some animals?

By human logic, it wouldn’t make sense. Human life is more valuable than merely animal life, so we shouldn’t put ourselves in grave danger to save animals. That which is higher shouldn’t be sacrificed for that which is lower. It seems perfectly logical to me.

But I thank God that He didn’t operate on that logic. Because if He did, He never would have condescended to become one of us, and He never would have sacrificed Himself, the God-man, for that which was merely man; that which is higher for that which is lower. Just as sheep have no claim on us to make such a sacrifice for them, we have no claim on God to make such a sacrifice for us. Christ is clear that no one can take his life from him, no one can make that claim that he owes his life to us. If he is going to give us his life, he is going to give it freely, by his own choice.

And give it he did, even though we are unworthy of such a sacrifice. It is so important for us to understand that if we are to have the proper disposition before God. He does not owe us His love, His care, His mercy, His forgiveness. We forfeited those things when we rejected Him through our sin. Yet He freely gives them to us anyway. He chooses to love us in our fallen state, He chose to redeem us despite our rejection. What else can we demand of God? After He sacrificed His only Son to open the gates of heaven for us, what further petition can we demand He grant?

I’m not saying we should not continue to petition God, to ask Him for His intercession or even to ask questions of Him when we do not understand His will and His actions. I don’t want it to sound like we should be walking on eggshells when we talk to God, afraid to approach Him and share what is on our minds and our hearts. But this should be done without any doubt of His love for us, without any doubt about whether or not He is listening to us or cares about what happens to us. The only way we could doubt that is if we fail to grasp what He did for us by being a good shepherd. Yes, we may sometimes forget or in the heat of the moment question whether God is listening, but when we stop and meditate on the cross, those questions, in the end, are answered.

Christ is the good shepherd. His goodness surpasses our limited human reasoning, so that he cares for us with greater love than we could hope for. Let us always remember that, and marvel at the goodness of our Lord who laid down his life for us.

Fr. Liekhus

Do you realize that St. Joseph’s Parish started 90 years ago? Sounds like a good reason to celebrate! And celebrate we will – on Sunday, May 27. Retired Archbishop Harry Flynn will preside at our 8:30am Mass, which will be followed by a reception for everyone in the social hall. Mark your calendars now!

May 3: 9:30am–8:00pm
May 4: 9:30am–5:00pm
May 5: 9:30am–12:30pm

We will be accepting rummage sale items from Saturday, April 28 through Wednesday 12:00pm on May 2 nothing after that time will be accepted because we need the time to get the hall ready for the sale on Thursday.

We take everything except: TV sets, large stereo sets, consoles, computers, carpeting, microwaves, appliances, baby car seats (not allowed to sell them), old tires and wheels, large windows, box springs and mattresses, water beds, toxic chemicals/paint and hide-a-beds. Furniture must be in good condition.

Men are needed to help with the hardware and outside area. We need help sorting, pricing and many other tasks even sit down jobs for those who cannot stand for a long time. Remember it takes many volunteers from set up on Friday, April 27 to tear down at 12:30pm on Saturday, May 5 to make this a success.

Food donations are always welcome. Our workers look forward to much needed coffee breaks and lunches. They enjoy your great food donations.

Pick up is available. Questions or if you need items picked up, please call Suzanne at (952) 9358-2401 or Janet at (952) 935-5151.

One of the things that I continue to appreciate about our eventual parish merger is how well our parishes complement each other. The example that comes immediately to mind is the BeFriender Ministry. St. Joseph’s has a rich history of offering this ministry to the people of the parish, whereas St. John’s has been in need of a more formal, more organized pastoral ministry. At the same time, the number of BeFrienders had begun to wane at St. Joseph’s and was in need of a boost; in comes St. John’s, which has provided five of the six new candidates for the ministry, which could increase the number from about 10 to 16, a 60% increase. This benefits both communities, as it gives St. Joseph’s a revitalized ministry and the people of St. John’s a better opportunity to be served.

A new opportunity that I am happy to announce is the opening of St. Margaret’s Cemetery to the parishioners of St. John’s. St. Margaret’s is located on Shady Oak Road and Bren Road across the street from the Scoreboard restaurant. It is the site of the former St. Margaret’s parish, which merged with St. Mary’s to form St. Joseph’s in 1922. Being a parish cemetery, it has been restricted to the parishioners of St. Joseph’s, but recognizing that we will one day be a single parish, and wanting to reach out to the people of St. John’s, the board was happy to open their beloved cemetery even before the merger takes place.

And it truly is a beloved cemetery. The people of St. Joseph’s care deeply about St. Margaret’s and the board is protective of her, so it is significant that they are happy to share it with the people of St. John’s. Our dear Deacon Jim Murphy has his final resting place at St. Margaret’s, so it already has a special place in the hearts of the people of St. John’s.

This is my first parish with a cemetery, so this is a new experience for me. I am looking into the possibility of having a Memorial Day Mass at the cemetery, weather permitting but I am not sure what the protocols are for such a Mass. It would be a good opportunity for the people of St. John’s to come visit their new cemetery and the people of St. Joseph’s to celebrate a joyful event on the grounds. I will keep you posted!

In the meantime, if you would like to purchase a plot or just find out more about St. Margaret’s, please call Martha at the office of St. Joseph’s and she will be happy to help.

Fr. Liekhus