What's Happening During Our Catholic Comeback
As we navigate our Catholic Comeback, this newsletter will continue to bring you updated information.
Spiritual Meanderings
Confessions will be heard on Friday, June 26,
at the St. Francis Shrine.

The Parish Office will be closed
Friday, July 3.


Live-streaming: Mass and Adoration
 
We are live-streaming daily and Sunday Masses as well as Adoration for those who are unable to attend:

  • Saturday, June 27, at 4:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, June 28, at 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
  • Monday, June 29, at 8:00 a.m. (public)
  • Tuesday, June 30, at 7:30 a.m. (private)
  • Wednesday, July 1, at 8:00 a.m. (private)
  • Thursday, July 2, at 7:30 a.m. (private)
  • Friday, July 3, at 8:00 p.m. (public)

Our YouTube channel is SJE-Greenfield.

If you miss the livestream, you can watch the upload of each daily Mass on our YouTube channel.

In order to comply with Archdiocesan directives, only two weekday Masses will be open for public attendees. The other weekday Masses will be private, and Adoration will close 15 minutes before the Mass starts; anyone in church will be asked to leave. Adoration will reopen when the Mass has concluded.
New Sound System Project Continues
 
Last week, our church was closed during the day so that the wiring for the new sound system could be installed. In this coming week, the church will be closed during the day from the end of morning Mass until 6:00 p.m. so the speakers themselves can be installed. The work will begin Monday, June 29. We are hoping that all of the speakers will be in place by Thursday evening.
 
The two public weekday Masses that we are permitted to have will be offered on Monday, June 29, at 8:00 a.m. on the Feast Day of the Apostles Peter and Paul. The second public Mass will be on Friday, July 3, at 8:00 a.m. as the church will celebrate the life of the Apostle Thomas.
 
July 4 - Play and Pray
 
This coming weekend, the entire country will be celebrating the Fourth of July. Our Mass times will be Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday at 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., and 11:00 a.m.
 
In addition to celebrating with flags, cookouts, and Cracker Jack, I invite all of you to pray our prayers and to pray our Rosaries.
 
Every day let us pray:

  • For the healing that needs to take place in our United States,
  • That God’s Will will be victorious,
  • That God will be first in each and every life of our lives,
  • For the end of racism, restoration of the family unit, a strong educational system, for the end of divorce, the eradication of pornography and drug abuse, and the end of violence in homes and cities.

As you can see, the list can go on and on.
 
The Blessed Mother has said over and over during the past 200 years, “If you want peace, then pray.” Particularly, let us pray the Rosary, meditating on the life of Jesus Christ. While many of our country’s problems are visible, we are also being attacked on a spiritual level that can only be won with prayer, fasting, and other forms of penance. Let us double up our prayers, and if you haven’t begun to pray, let us begin to pray each and every day.

24-Hour Perpetual Adoration
 
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen explains how Eucharistic Adoration can lead to theological insights. “Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are preceded by a personal encounter with Him. Theological insights are gained not only from between two covers of a book but from two bent knees before an altar. The Holy Hour becomes like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world.”

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 are currently two open hours for Adoration on Monday from 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. and from
10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
On Thursdays, there are two open hours from
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and
from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
 
Please call Kay Shomperlen to volunteer (414) 763-1250. Come join us!
Your donations are needed and will help us
continue to operate during these unsettling times.
Thirteenth Sunday of
Ordinary Time
June 27/28, 2020

Today’s readings take us back to some basics of stewardship living and demonstrate the genius of this way of life.

Our First Reading, from 2 Kings, shows us the necessity and power of hospitality. It recounts the story of a woman who showed loving hospitality to a visitor, inviting him to dinner with her family and arranging a room for him in their home so that he would have a comfortable place to stay during his travels through her town. She reached out to the man in a simple and practical manner to make him feel welcome and was rewarded in an extraordinary way.

In our Second Reading, from the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul reminds us of the power of our Baptism and how this sacrament makes us disciples. What does that mean for us here and now? St. Paul tells us very clearly: “You must think of yourselves as dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.” We must live for Christ! Nothing less will do. 

Our Lord proclaims this same instruction in a rather shocking way in our Gospel passage from Matthew: “Whoever finds his life (by living for oneself) will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” But how do we lose our life? Precisely through loving actions towards others, loving them as if they were Christ. “Whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple… he will surely not lose his reward.”

The simple brilliance of stewardship living? Only our infinitely creative, compassionate God could conceive it!
The Word Among Us

Copies of the July/August issue of The Word Among Us are available in the Narthex, at the Adoration entrance, and at the parish office for $2 per copy.
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.
Dr. Scott Hahn presents the historical and biblical origins of the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation). He provides an important guide for new Catholics, a source of renewal for "old hands", and a challenge to all of us to deepen our relationship with Christ through regular use of the Sacrament of Penance.
Although we are starting to come back to weekend Masses, we are unable to have gatherings after Mass. 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.
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.
School News
The newsletter is published on Wednesdays. Articles for each week's publication are due on Mondays at noon.

To submit articles e-mail to: newsletter@stjohns-grfd.org
"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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