Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 30/31, 2019
For too many of us, Lent is a season of doom and gloom, a time to feel bad about all the ways we are not “measuring up” in our spiritual lives. However, this view could not be further from the truth. Lent is a season of refreshment and love, awakening and rebirth. The Gospel Reading, the parable of the Prodigal Son, is filled with this theme of awakening and the extravagant, life-changing love that the Father has for each one of us.
We are all familiar with this amazing story. The bratty younger son who has the audacity to ask his dad for his inheritance early, only to squander it sinfully away. It makes us bristle instinctively at his nerve when we read it. However, isn’t that precisely what we do when we selfishly turn away from God (in big or small ways) in our own lives? We squander away the inheritance of grace He has given us.
In desperation from the mess he had made of his life, the son finally “comes to his senses,” awakening to the truth that he is a beloved son of a loving and merciful father. He decides to return home. His contrition is faltering, imperfect, and seems motivated in large part by his growling stomach. However, it is enough for a loving father.
In fact, as soon as the father catches sight of his son, he is “filled with compassion for him” and immediately sets about preparing a feast and fine clothes for this son. What an extravagance of love! What a beautiful picture Jesus gives us of our Father’s love and mercy! Oh, how this should fill us with gratitude for such a Father!
Moreover, how it should inspire us, with just the tiniest bit of spiritual “spring cleaning” we can be sure we will be swept up in our Father’s loving embrace and find ourselves feasting in His presence. That is what Lent is all about.
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CDs from Augustine Institute
Did you know we have CDs (and other items) located in the narthex? Each week we will highlight one of the available CDs.
Cost is $4 each.
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Bishop Robert Barron offers five sermons on the spiritual discipline we must cultivate in the Lenten season, a discipline centered in Christ. These meditations cover topics such as finding our identity in God, prayer as the key to mission, our thirst for God, how to end our alienation from God, and how to joyfully embrace the way of happiness.
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Stations of the Cross
Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. March 27, April 10, 17
Fridays at 2:00 p.m. (School)
March 29, April 5, 12
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Confession Schedule
Fridays at 8:30 a.m.
March 29, April 5, 12
Saturdays at 8:30 a.m.
March 30, April 6, 13
First Saturday 3:30-4:00 p.m.
April 6
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"Pray, Reconcile, and Rejoice - 12 Hours of Reconciliation"
In conjunction with the 175 Anniversary of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, this sacramental event will take place on Wednesday, April 10, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at ten parishes throughout the Archdiocese.
Locally it will be held at St. Mary Parish (9520 W. Forest Home Ave, Hales Corners).
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Take a Vacation with SCRIP
Are you planning a trip for Easter break? Going out of town for the weekend? Did you know you can purchase SCRIP to pay for many of your trip expenses? On the back of our SCRIP form you will find cards available for hotels, car rentals, airlines, cruise lines, and even Disney (good at their resorts, theme parks, cruises etc). Click
here to view and print our order form. Look at the second page; the items that can be ordered to plan your vacation are in bold print. We order on Mondays and have them ready to be picked up no later than Thursday each week.
April 6/7 and 27/28 will be the upcoming SCRIP weekends. As always, SCRIP is available in the Parish Office during regular business hours.
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This program allows .5% of your regular shopping on Amazon to be donated to St. John the Evangelist.
If you purchase Scrip, St. John's receives an additional 2.25%. That's 2.75% of your purchases to St. John's if you are already shopping Amazon.
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Become a Firecracker Backer!
Make a contribution to this year's fireworks display.
Categories for Sponsorship:
- Platinum: $500
- Gold: $250
- Silver: $150
- Bronze: $100
- Copper: $50
The deadline for Sponsorship is June 30, 2019.
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What's Happening in Our School
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St. Joseph's Altar
Keeping the Tradition Alive!
We are grateful to parents Cheryl Goldring, Monica Baumgardner, and Corinne Maier who gathered the materials and put together a St. Joseph’s altar. Mrs. Goldring spent the morning with our students, explaining the tradition of the altar to our students.
In addition, our St. Joseph’s table bake sale was a huge success, raising over $200 for our Water to Thrive well project.
Along with the bake sale, we raffled off a statue of St. Joseph, and each of our students received a St. Joseph prayer card.
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Restaurant Fundraiser
Join us at
Jason's Deli on
Thursday, April 4, 2019, from
4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Located at
95 N. Moorland Rd., Unit E-9,
Brookfield, WI (inside Brookfield Square).
Click here to RSVP for the event and then when you are ordering mention you are there for St. John the Evangelist School.
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Marriage & Family Matters
Friday, April 5, 2019
Please join us for an Hour of Prayer as we strengthen our families and community. Adoration is simply to show our love for Jesus and to adore Him in the Eucharist and allow Him to love us.
The purpose of a family adoration hour is to welcome families and to help children learn to adore Christ present in the Eucharist. Children, as well as all present, are lead through the adoration by a priest, deacon, or lay person.
6:00 p.m. in Church followed by open gym at 7:00 p.m.
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Easter Food Drive
St. John's chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is sponsoring a Food Drive. They will be collecting canned and non-perishable food items in the Narthex the weekend of April 6/7. Donations are given to needy families in the area and to local charitable agencies. Please be generous.
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Save the Date
With praise and thanksgiving to God, we would like to announce the ordination of our son, Brother MJ Groark, to the transitional diaconate for the Capuchin Franciscan order on April 27, 2019, at St. Clare Montefalco Parish in Chicago. Brother MJ is currently a Capuchin Franciscan friar living in Chicago and studying for the priesthood at Catholic Theological Union.
He will be ordained to the priesthood on December 7, 2019, at St. Francis Church in Milwaukee and will celebrate his Mass of Thanksgiving the next day, on December 8, 2019, 2:00 p.m., here at our parish. A reception will follow in the church hall. All are welcome to celebrate with us on this joyous occasion—more details to follow in the fall! Please keep Brother MJ and all priests and religious in your prayers!
Your fellow parishioners,
Michael and Anna Groark
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Palm Sunday - April 14
Masses at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.
Pancake Breakfast from 9:00-Noon
Holy Thursday - April 18
Mass of the Lord's Supper at 7:00 p.m.
Good Friday - April 19
Good Friday Service at 1:00 p.m.
Fish Fry from 4:00-7:00 p.m.
Holy Saturday - April 20
Blessing of Food Baskets at Noon
Easter Vigil at 8:00 p.m.
Easter Sunday - April 21
Masses at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.
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The newsletter is published on Wednesdays. Articles for each week's publication are due on Mondays at noon.
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"Remember God's Will in Yours!"
Please keep the needs of St. John the Evangelist in mind as you do your estate planning. For information on how to include the parish as a beneficiary, contact the Parish Office at 414-321-1965.
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