First Sunday of Lent
February 29/March 1, 2020
As we begin the beautiful and challenging season of Lent, our readings this week remind us why we need these 40 days so much. They also suggest a particular strategy we Christian stewards might take as we make the journey towards Easter.
Our first reading takes us back to Genesis, reminding us of our Creator and the loving care and lavish gifts He gave to our ancestors, Adam and Eve. He created them out of pure love and provided abundantly for them.
Life was good in the Garden until the first couple allowed just a sliver of doubt in the goodness of God to enter their minds. Swayed by the words of the serpent, they became ungrateful and distrustful despite God’s great love and all the gifts of creation He had provided. Sound familiar? These same temptations threaten to pull us away from God today.
Our Gospel passage, from Matthew, shows us by the example of Jesus Himself one way that we can attain spiritual strength and grow to become more effective disciples and stewards. In this passage, we find our Lord in the desert fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. Like Adam and Eve, He is confronted by the evil one. But unlike our fallen parents, our Lord triumphs definitively over the devil’s lies and sends him slithering away.
How did He do it? By knowing the Scriptures and by proclaiming them confidently, and by His perfect trust in the Father.
This Lent, let us embrace this 40-day spiritual reset. Let us prioritize our use of time by committing to prayerful study of the Scriptures and trusting more deeply in the Father’s love. We will surely be better stewards by Easter.
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Choir Loft Remodel
A big thanks to the crew of volunteers pictured on the left. They were able to remove the pews in the Choir Loft last Saturday and add seating to the main floor of the church by adding two short pews on the north side and exchanging the third row with a longer pew in both center sections.
With the pews removed, the platforms for the choirs were also completed this week. Now we are waiting for the carpet to be installed. Once it is completed, we will have more room for our growing choirs, including our hand bell choir, but there will be limited seating in the Choir Loft.
Stay tuned as the project continues.
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Measuring Spiritual Growth and
Parish Engagement
The Disciple Maker Index Survey is now open. All St. John parishioners are asked to take part. This survey is designed to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ and become more engaged in our parish. By answering the questions in the 15-minute survey, you will have the chance to reflect on individual spiritual growth as well as provide our parish leadership with invaluable insight into our parish strengths and opportunities.
This will allow St. John’s to set priorities and allocate resources in the years ahead.
There are two ways to participate. There is a convenient online survey that you can take at home. There is a link on our parish website or you can
click here
. Click on the link and first select the Archdiocese of Milwaukee then St. John the Evangelist Parish, Greenfield, from the options provided.
There are also paper surveys in the narthex. Contact the parish office if you would like a survey in a language other than English. The survey will close on Monday, March 23.
The survey is completely confidential. St. John’s will not receive any individual survey responses.
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33 Days to Merciful Love Retreat
Coming Soon! To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II's proclamation of the first Sunday after Easter as the Feast of Divine Mercy, St. John's will be offering Father Michael Gaitley's 33 Days to Merciful Love Retreat. This is a six-week study that will go deeper into what Divine Mercy is with the help of the spirituality of St. Therese of Lisieux's Little Way and St. Faustina's Diary. It begins Monday, March 2, at 6:45 p.m. in the Hall and Tuesday, March 3, at 1:00 p.m. in Room A. The retreat will culminate with the Consecration (or re-Consecration for those that have done this) after the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 19.
All are welcome.
For more information,
call or text Chris Wichgers at 414-507-7660
or Laura Lee Wierzbinski at 414-840-0261
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Ash Wednesday
February 26, 2020
Masses will be:
Noon and 6:30 p.m
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Stations of the Cross
Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.
March 4, 11, 18, 25
Fridays at 2:00 p.m. (School)
February 28, March 6, 13, 20, and April 3
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Wednesday, February 26
- 12:00 p.m. Ash Wednesday Mass
- 6:30 p.m. Ash Wednesday Mass
- 6:30 p.m. Gym Unavailable
- 7:15 p.m. Respect Life Holy Hour
Thursday, February 27
- 7:30 a.m. Mass followed by Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet
- 9:00 a.m. Secular Franciscans - Rectory Room A
- 2:45 p.m. Youth Hand Bell Choir Rehearsal - Music Room
- 5:15 p.m. Love One Another CEC Meeting - Hall
- 6:00 p.m. Adult Hand Bell Choir - Music Room
Friday, February 28
- 8:00 a.m. Mass followed by Confessions during Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet
- 4:00 p.m. Lenten Fish Fry - Gym
Saturday, February 29
- 6:45 a.m. Men's Group (Journey of Faith) - Hall
- 8:00 a.m. Mass followed by Confessions during Mother of Perpetual Help Devotion, Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet
Sunday, March 1
- 9:00 a.m. Grade School RE Classes - School
- 10:30 a.m. Children's Liturgy of the Word - Mass
- 3:00 p.m. Hall Unavailable
- 6:00 p.m. High School and Confirmation Classes - School
Monday, March 2
- 8:00 a.m. Mass followed by Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet
- 6:45 p.m. 33 Days to Merciful Love - Hall
Tuesday, March 3
- 7:30 a.m. Mass followed by St. Anthony Devotion, Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet
- 1:00 p.m. 33 Days to Merciful Love - Rectory Room A
- 2:45 p.m. Youth Choir Rehearsal - Music Room
- 7:00 p.m. Adult Choir Rehearsal - Music Room
Wednesday, March 4
- 8:00 a.m. Mass followed by Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet
- 6:30 p.m. Dartball - Hall
- 6:30 p.m. KSKJ - Rectory Room A
- 6:30 p.m. Gym Unavailable
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Small Plates, Big Hearts!
A Night at St. John's
A BIG THANKS for all who attended and supported our wonderful school. Please patronize our wonderful food suppliers, Double B's BBQ, Carrabba's, Red Onion Cafe, That's Amore, Mexican Village and Jimmy John's.
A great time was had by all!
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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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In this practical but spiritual presentation, Dr. Gregory Popcak discusses four keys to develop self-awareness and self mastery. He reveals that emotions are a gift from God and that they can help you grow in virtue. Learn how to master your feelings and calm your emotional storms so that you can experience the peace of Christ.
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Looking to get away to warmer weather? Use SCRIP for all your travel needs. Whether you are flying, driving, or taking a cruise, there is a SCRIP card for that! When you purchase SCRIP, St. John's will receive a percentage. Click
here to view and print our order form. If you would like to set up an online account, our enrollment code is
18DE7D4F11822
.
We order on Mondays and have them ready to be picked up no later than Thursday each week.
Upcoming SCRIP weekends are March 7/8 and 21/22. As always, SCRIP is available in the Parish Office during regular business hours.
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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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What's Happening in Our School
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Men's Retreat
A retreat for men will be held Friday, March 13, to Sunday, March 15, at the Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Oconomowoc. The weekend begins with check-in between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. The program starts at 7:00 p.m. and runs through noon on Sunday. Carpooling is available.
For details and/or to sign up, call Ron at 414-448-7117
or the Retreat Center at 262-567-6900
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Jesus and the End Times
Parishioners are invited to a one-day retreat on Saturday, March 7, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. in the Hall. The program is based on Dr. Brant Pitre's DVD series, Jesus and the End Times. A continental breakfast and lunch will be served. There will be a free-will offering.
If you h
ave ever wondered what the Bible teaches about what will happen at the End of Time, this program is for you. Many Catholics have heard about “the Rapture,” the coming of the “Antichrist,” and the "Second Coming," but are unsure exactly what to believe about these topics. Moreover, while Protestant Christians are often well-versed in the study of the “end times,” Catholics are often unfamiliar with what the Bible actually teaches.
Many Christians are unaware that the Catholic Church has very explicit teachings about the Tribulation, the Antichrist, the Second Coming, and the New Creation. In this detailed Bible study on the end times, Dr. Pitre brings clarity and precision to the confusion that frequently surrounds the doctrine of the end times, by answering crucial questions such as:
- What is the meaning of Jesus’ prophecies of tribulation and the coming of the Son of Man?
- Are we in the “end times” now?
- Why did Jesus prophesy the destruction of the Temple, and how does it relate to the End of the World?
- Is the Protestant belief in a secret “Rapture” a biblical teaching or a false doctrine?
- What will the Final Judgment be like, and how will we be judged?
If you have ever wondered about where this world is heading and what the ultimate destiny of humanity is, then don’t miss this powerful study of the truth about what the Bible and the Catholic Church teach about the last days.
Sign-up in the Narthex this weekend
or call Austin Rahill at 414-321-8922.
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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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