What's Happening During a Pandemic
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While we are "Safer At Home" our weekly newsletter has changed format
to help you during this challenging time.
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Spiritual Meanderings During a Pandemic
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Fr. Michael will be hearing confessions this
Friday, May 1 at 8:30 a.m.
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Live-streaming: Mass and Adoration
As we announced last week, we are now live-streaming daily and Sunday Masses and Adoration. We are still working out audio issues, so please bear with us.
Our YouTube channel is SJE-Greenfield if you are searching for it.
For the daily Masses, we will announce on our Facebook page about 15 minutes before Mass starts each day (you can subscribe to our Facebook page by clicking the link at the bottom of the newsletter).
Mass on Saturday, May 2, will live-stream at 4:30 p.m.
Mass on Sunday, May 3, will live-stream at 8:30 a.m.
In order to comply with Wisconsin's "Safer-at-Home" order these are private Masses and are not open to the public.
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As a youngster, I was introduced to the Blessed Mother in several different ways. Probably the first was my dad calling us seven children together after the evening meal to pray the Rosary in our living room. This was particularly done in the months of May and October. Our living room had several large pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and below the pictures was a statue of the Blessed Mother along with other statues of saints, our blessed candles, and blessed palms. It was there, by these holy images, we prayed the Rosary.
Secondly, going to a Catholic school (Holy Apostles in New Berlin), the devotions to the Blessed Mother were reinforced by the Sisters of St. Francis of Lake Drive, who taught us, along with a handful of lay teachers. Each classroom had a special location for a “May Altar” usually on the counter along the windows where a statue of Our Lady of Grace stood. Children would bring fresh cut flowers from their homes each day. In the month of May, there were always plenty of flowers, tulips, lilies of the valley, and lilacs. As a class, we would pray the Rosary, or a decade of the Rosary, in honor of Mary during the month of May.
And thirdly, the devotion to the Blessed Mother was instilled in the entire neighborhood as my aunt, who lived next door to us, developed what was known as a “Block Rosary.” Every weekday, Monday through Friday at 11:00 a.m., all were invited to her house to pray the Rosary. Usually it consisted of housewives who stayed at home to work and take care of their children. However, during summer months and vacation times, all of the Catholic kids, which were many in the 50s and 60s, were strongly encouraged to gather to pray the Rosary. Part of the incentive to come and pray came in July, usually on or near the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, when the neighborhood Rosary ladies would have a huge picnic for all the kids who came to Rosary.
The recitation and praying of the Rosary is a good way to meditate on the life of Christ. It is, as St. Louis de Montfort says, a good way of growing in holiness and staying connected with God. As we begin this month of May, I encourage all of you to pray the Rosary, as individuals, and as families. Also, the first day of May, both the Bishops of the United States and Canada, have consecrated their countries to Our Blessed Mother.
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Scam Alert
Please be aware of telephone calls, texts, and emails that appear to be from myself, or other parish staff or parish leaders. There has been a recent increase in this kind of activity. I will not ask for gift cards. I will not ask you to make gift card purchases on my behalf, or for staff or other parish leaders, and then say you will be reimbursed. Please be alert for scams similar to these. Ignore, and/or delete, any such messages.
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DELIVERANCE PRAYER FOR USE BY THE LAITY
In His name and by the power of His Cross and Blood, I ask Jesus to bind any evil spirits, forces, and powers of the earth, air, fire, or water, of the netherworld and the satanic forces of nature. By the power of the Holy Spirit and by His authority, I ask Jesus Christ to break any curses, hexes, or spells and to send them back where they came from, if it be His Holy Will. I ask You, Lord Jesus to protect us by pouring Thy Precious Blood on us and our families, which You have shed for us and I ask Thee to command that any departing spirits leave quietly, without disturbance and go straight to the Cross to be disposed of as Thou sees fit. I ask Thee to bind any demonic interaction, interplay, or communications. I place (name a person, place, or thing) under the protection of the Blood of Jesus Christ which He shed for us. Amen.
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Your donations are needed and will help us
continue to operate during these unsettling times.
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Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 2/3, 2020
Today’s readings on this fourth Sunday of Easter offer us a glimpse into the heart of our loving Savior. He is the Good Shepherd, and we can confidently place our trust in Him as we live the stewardship way of life.
This endearing image of Jesus as a shepherd, and His personal love for each one of us, is described in our Gospel passage from John, through the words of Jesus Himself. Here we read Jesus’ description of Himself as the “Good Shepherd.” He says of Himself, “The sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.”
This aspect of our Lord’s tender and personal love for each one of us is a compelling reason to embrace the stewardship way of life. In the offering of our time, talent, and treasure to Him, we can express our gratitude to Him for the incomprehensible love He has for us.
Embracing this way of life certainly requires trust on our part. But Christ has proven Himself worthy of our faith. He “bore our sins in His body.” He calls Himself our shepherd, and He offers Himself as the guardian of our souls. He has withheld nothing of Himself and His goodness from us. He would never ask anything of us that would bring us harm. He tells us, “I came so that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”
This Easter season, let us resolve to entrust ourselves and our lives gratefully to Him.
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Our Unusual Journey and the Need for Prayer
May is generally one of the busiest months of the year for our school. We start the month by celebrating First Holy Communion with our second graders, and close with our eighth-grade graduation. These are such important milestones in the lives of our students. Postponing them has been stressful and just plain sad. Both grades have been preparing for these events in a variety of ways all year long! We know that First Holy Communion will come, and that it will lead to grace-filled lives for these young Catholics.
Eighth-grade graduation is a bit trickier. May should have included a class trip, eighth-grade Justification of Graduation (JOG) presentations, award ceremonies and a Mass passing the torch of school leadership to our seventh graders. The Mass and graduation ceremony would have been followed by a return to school to provide leadership at our all-school picnic. Instead, we are completing our JOG presentations online, leading Monday morning prayer via Zoom meetings, and hoping that, with luck, we will gather for our graduation Mass and ceremony in July. Even with the excitement of high school waiting for these students in the fall, this is a lot to give up.
We can’t make this up to our students, but we can find ways to celebrate the accomplishments of these young people. This past week, we did just that, when our upper-grade staff members traveled to the homes of our eighth graders, dropping off lawn signs and letters of encouragement. Small gestures like this can’t take the place of our usual celebrations, but they can remind our students and their families of our support and care for them as they experience this unusual transition into high school.
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Staying Safer at Home and Being a Blessing!
Mary Laidlaw-Otto, Principal
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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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Anne Marie Schmidt grew up in a very devout Catholic family in Czechoslovakia. In this presentation, she shares her incredible experiences of Divine Providence during the infamous Nazi persecution at Auschwitz and on the Russian battlefront. Anne Marie explains how her love for Christ grew through her astounding trials, and how she was led to see the hand of God working in them all.
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With public celebrations of Mass being canceled until further notice, SCRIP is still available at the parish office during regular business hours. However, we have some materials available if you would like to set up an online account.
Our enrollment code is
18DE7D4F11822. Once you have an online account you can pay by direct debit from your checking account (Presto Pay), by credit card, or by check here in the parish office. If we do not have the item in stock we will order on Monday and have the cards by Thursday. Once you have the physical card you can enroll it in your "wallet" and reload it as needed.
These are unprecedented times, but with your help we can keep this fundraising effort viable.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the parish office at 414-321-1965.
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This program allows .5% of your 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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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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