What's Happening
at St. John's
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Meanderings of 40 Years
of Priesthood (Continued)
A BIG THANK YOU to all the parishioners at St. John’s for helping me celebrate the 40th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. A special thank you to Karen Schulteis, her husband Chris, and John Schindhelm, who provided the music for the four Masses last weekend. Two of the songs were used 40 years ago at my ordination Mass, the prelude "Simple Song" as well as the post-Communion song, "Come Into the Fields."
Also, a gracious thank you to the Vocations Committee, especially Mary Baumgardner, for helping to organize the Spiritual Bouquet gift and setting up the Fr. Michael memorabilia table in the narthex of the Church.
And finally, a generous thank you to the many parishioners who offered words of congratulations, cards, gifts, and treats. May God continue to bless us all.
While I obtained a Masters in Theology from St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee before I was ordained, there are many things about being a parish priest that I have learned from lived experience. Much of what I have learned is from other pastors I have ministered with.
The pastors I worked with over the years were very valuable. The very first pastor was a Capuchin priest, Fr. Perry McDonald. We worked together for three years in Huntington, Indiana. He is a great preacher and his style of preaching helped form me in some of the ways I preach today.
After Huntington, I served one year at Holy Cross in Mt. Calvary, Wisconsin, with another Capuchin pastor, Fr. Rupert Dorn. He was a very kind, softhearted man who loved to socialize with the parishioners on a regular basis.
Fr. David Reichling, a Capuchin pastor at St. Bernard’s in Billings, Montana, taught me a lot about celebrating the Easter Triduum and the value of an outside bonfire on Holy Saturday Eve and processing with lit candles.
The pastor who had the most influence in helping me understand the operations of parish life was Fr. Bill Kohler. He was pastor at Mary Queen of Heaven in West Allis. We worked together for five years. He was very organized and very involved with making decisions regarding the day-to-day operations of parish life. I became pastor when he took a new assignment and left me very prepared and confident for my first time as pastor. While it is a luxury to be an associate pastor, it is enjoyable and creative to be a pastor.
While I learned much from pastors, I have also learned from office staff and from you, the parishioners. And so, after 40 years, a big thank you to all those past and present who have been a part of my priestly ministry.
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24-Hour Perpetual Adoration
St. John’s is fortunate to have 24-hour Perpetual Adoration. Please take advantage of this beautiful opportunity to stay close to God in these difficult times. Hand sanitizer is available in the Adoration entrance (south side of Church), and we ask that you practice social distancing and stay at least six feet from others while in Church.
There is an open hour on Mondays-
4:00 to 5:00 a.m.
Please call Kay Shomperlen if interested
in volunteering at 414-763-1250.
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Understanding the Real Presence
of Jesus in the Eucharist
By Michael Jacques and Austin Rahill
Over the last several decades, there has been a substantial bleeding in the Church. Her children are leaving in droves for other denominations that “feed them” spiritually. We have had this massive bleed for decades in the Catholic Church, with Catholics leaving for either no religion at all, for Protestantism, whether it be evangelical or fundamentalist, or for non-Christian religions.
Further, when you look at the statistics of those who walk away from the Church and those who choose to stay in the Church, some are left with the thought of “were we ever taught about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Divine Sacrament?”
In this four-part series, we plan to discuss the two fundamental beliefs that are so significant to Catholics, so important that no one would ever leave the Catholic faith if they better understood them both. It is also necessary that every Catholic be able to articulate a defense of why we believe in the Reality of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
The first “belief” is understanding why the Church teaches that the sacrifice of Calvary is made present on the altar at every Mass. Thus, we participate in union with the Priest and Christ in offering the sacrificial memorial of Calvary through the Mass, as instituted at the Lord’s Supper, and that it replaces the memorial sacrifice of the Jewish Passover.
This the most powerful prayer on earth and is, in fact, where heaven and earth meet in prayer. If this belief were better understood, no one would ever want to miss Sunday Mass. Further, every Catholic would have the desire, whenever possible, to participate in daily Mass. This concept may seem unfathomable to some. How could it be possible that the body of Christ could be made present on the altar at every Mass throughout the ages?
The second “belief” is understanding why the Church teaches that the Eucharist is the full and Real Presence of Christ, having the body, blood, and Divinity of our Lord and Savior even in the smallest particle of bread or drop of wine.
It has been my experience that many Protestants refuse to believe in the Real Presence, and it is one of the biggest stumbling blocks in trying to explain our Catholic beliefs, similar to when the Jews walked away in John 6. It is extremely difficult for those outside of the Catholic Faith to believe such a thing; to many, it strikes of cannibalism. I believe that from a Biblical perspective, it is easier for someone to understand and believe in the True Sacrificial nature of the Mass, which can then lead to an acceptance of the Real Presence in the Eucharist.
So, this series is designed to help parishioners understand these two important teachings and appreciate why the Catholic Church is absolutely correct in both of these two principles, as well as being truthful in all other doctrines of the church. We are all called to evangelize, to bring people to Christ, to bring our brothers, sisters, wayward children, friends, and relatives back to the Church of Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church.
This series explaining these two teachings will make it possible for you to share them with your children and others. You can help bring people back to the church if you study, teach, and pray. May God Bless Us ALL on this Journey.
In next week’s newsletter, Michael and Austin will explore “God’s Covenant with His People.”
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Your donations are needed and will help us
continue to operate during these unsettling times.
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Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 26/27, 2021
Our readings today remind us that our God is a tender and loving God.
In our Gospel, Jesus heals an ill child. An anxious and loving father sought after Jesus so that his daughter might be cured of her illness. As Jesus was traveling to heal her, they got word that the daughter had died. In that deeply painful moment, a moment no parent wants to experience, Jesus turned and said, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
Recall a moment when you felt like you hit rock bottom. Maybe you received devastating news; someone died, you lost your job, you were fighting addiction, or you were suffering mentally, spiritually, or physically. Maybe you are living that moment, or maybe that moment is yet to come.
In that time, imagine Jesus looking at you and saying, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Remember this verse. May it bring you peace and comfort. Recall that in our First Reading, God does not rejoice in our suffering and death. He rejoices in our faith and our trust in His glorious plan for our lives.
Whether we are healed like the little girl in our Gospel in this life, or we carry our suffering with us until we reach the next, if we remain faithful, Jesus will one day say to us, “Little girl or little boy, I say to you, arise!”
Today, let us reflect on how much our Good and Gracious God loves us. Remember that whatever we are suffering in this life, do not be afraid; God is right there with us.
— Stewardship Reflections by Catholic Stewardship Consultants
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Live-streaming: Mass and Adoration
We are live-streaming daily and Sunday Masses as well as Adoration for those who are unable to attend:
Daily Masses are:
Monday thru Saturday 8:00 a.m.
Weekend Masses are:
Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Sunday at 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Our YouTube channel is SJE-Greenfield.
If you miss the livestream, you can watch the upload of each Mass on our YouTube channel.
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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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Dr. Scott Hahn explains through his legendary testimony how he was militantly anti-Catholic but self-driven to seek the truth. This ultimately led him into the Catholic Church. He soon became an ardent defender of the Faith and one of its most passionate promoters. |
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Start earning the easy way with the new mobile app: RaiseRight by ShopWithScrip
RaiseRight is simply the right way to fundraise for our organization. Shop gift cards from more than 750 top brands to earn on your daily purchases—right from your phone.
Turn your shopping list into fundraising
- Discover new earning opportunities every day
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- Manage your gift cards in one place: your Wallet
Pick up right where you left off. Sign in with your same ShopWithScrip username and password. Access your gift cards right away. And check out with payment information already saved to your account.
SCRIP will now be sold before and after all weekend Masses. As always, SCRIP is available at the parish office during regular business hours. We have materials available below if you would like to set up an online account.
You can also click here to view a how-to video from Scrip on how to open an account.
To protect the program from fraud, please contact the Parish or School offices for the enrollment code. 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.
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 Thursdays. 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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