e-Bulletin
Week of March 28 - April 3, 2021
|
... t o L o v e , t o S e r v e , t o b e H o p e ...
|
|
|
|
|
MASS RESERVATION
Please remember that you need to sign up each week.
|
|
All services will be live-streamed, except for Easter Vigil.
We will also have a videotaped option for Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.
March 28 - Palm Sunday at 9:00 am
April 1 - Holy Thursday at 7:00 pm
April 2 - Good Friday at 7:00 pm
April 3 - Easter Vigil at 8:00 pm
April 4 - Easter at 9:00 am and 11:00 am
Reservations will be open a week prior to the Mass or service.
All in person Masses/Services will require reservations. CLICK HERE to reserve a space. Limit will be 150.
You will be able to watch livestreamed Masses/services while they are happening, or they can be found on our You Tube page within a short time after the conclusion of the service by clicking on the Videos tab.
|
|
HOLY WEEK AT HOME
Helps to enhance your online prayer during Holy Week
The following are ways to help your prayer during Holy Week as you celebrate the Masses and Service from home.
HOLY THURSDAY: Have a bowl of water and a towel on the table in front of you, cover the table with a white cloth, have a candle on the table. When the washing of feet takes place, wash each others’ feet, dry them or wash each others’ hands, dry them; if alone, wash your hands and dry them. When the Altar is stripped, remove the bowl of water and towel, the white cloth on the table, blow out the candle, and remain for a period of quiet.
GOOD FRIDAY: On the table in front of you place a special cross, lay it on some red or purple material. If you have a number of candles place them on the table and light them. When people venerate the cross in church each person takes the cross, holds it for a moment of quiet prayer, and then passes it to the next person.
After the Priest reads a series of prayers before the veneration of the cross, add your own individual prayer. At the end of the service turn off the lights and remain with the candles in quiet.
EASTER SUNDAY: Cover the table in front of you with a white cloth, have a bowl of water, a special candle, colored Easter eggs, Easter basket, any other Easter decorations.
After we renew our Baptismal promises, bless your self with the water from your bowl. The candle is your Christ Candle as is the one in our church.
CHILDREN, at the end of Mass hold your Easter baskets high when Fr. Tim asks, for a special blessing. Make sure mom and dad take some good pictures.
My hope is these suggestions will help you to have richer prayer celebrations for Holy Week.
Happy Easter,
Fr. Tim
|
|
HOLY WEEK NEEDS:
Ushers, Greeters and Sanitizing Crews
Holy Week is almost here. We will need ushers, greeters and people to help sanitize the church every day beginning on Holy Thursday (April 1) through Easter Sunday.
If you are interested in helping with ushering or greeting please
If you are interested in learning how to sanitize the church and are available to help on Friday evening or Saturday morning after the Good Friday service; Saturday evening after the Vigil or between the 9 and 11 a.m. Masses on Easter Sunday -
Training sessions can be set up at your convenience.
|
|
HOLY WEEK COLLECTIONS
Two different collections are traditional to our Triduum celebration. This year because we cannot pass the basket or have processions, we will collect these a little differently:
THE HOLY THURSDAY COLLECTION FOR THE POOR
At St. Thomas Becket we collect food and money for The Open Door Food Shelf and Catholic Relief Services. A basket for the Rice Bowls brought before Holy Thursday is at the St. Thomas Becket statue in the Commons. On Holy Thursday baskets will be at the font as you enter the church to place your Rice Bowls or any money you wish to give to these needs. All money not in a Rice Bowl will go to The Open Door Food Shelf. All the money in the Rice Bowls goes to Catholic Relief Services.
THE PONTIFICAL GOOD FRIDAY COLLECTION
Pope Francis has asked Catholics to support Christians in the Holy Land through this collection. This support helps parishes, Catholic schools and funds the preservation of sacred shrines. Wars, unrest and instability have been especially hard on Christians. This collection also provides humanitarian aid to refugees. Fittingly, as we remember our common Baptism with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering, there will be a basket on the Baptismal Font for your donation.
|
|
LIVESTREAM MASS
Each Sunday morning the upcoming livestream link will be at the top of the YouTube page. If you wish to view the livestreamed Mass at a later time, you will find it in the Past Live Streams in the fourth row of the YouTube page or on the Videos tab.
|
|
STB STATIONS OF THE CROSS
This year due to the pandemic, we will not be able to gather at our parish to walk through our Stations of the Cross and have a bowl of soup as a community. Fr. Tim made a video for you. We invite you to walk with him (virtually), every Friday and gather at your table to enjoy a cup of soup.
|
|
|
EASTER FLORAL DEDICATIONS
by MARACH 28
Dedicate a loved one in prayer by offering beautiful Easter plants for our worship space. If you would like to remember someone, or make a donation, it would be gratefully accepted.
Plant donations: $10 each.
Payable to: Saint Thomas Becket— Easter Floral.
DEADLINE IS THIS WEEKEND!
Place this form and your donation in in a separate envelope and put in the collection basket by this Sunday, March 28 . If you are not attending Mass this Sunday, you can email the name(s) of your loved ones to Monica Lopez and mail a Check today to 4455 South Robert Trail, Eagan, MN 55123 the office so we can get it by Monday, March 29.
Your loved one’s name will be listed in the bulletin Easter Sunday.
|
|
EASTER BASKET PROJECT THANK YOU!
THANK YOU to everyone who helped make our Easter Basket Project such a huge success this year! Special thanks go to Julie Fitzgerald and her family for coordinating this year’s project and to the Anonymous Donor who helped us meet our goal for baskets and gift cards. Thank you, also, to the Confirmation students and parishioners who helped load the truck on Sunday. Many households in Dakota County and North Minneapolis will have a happier Easter thanks to the generosity of our parishioners. Below are this year’s incredible numbers:
$14,490 in Gift Cards in total
156 baskets, each valued approx. at $100 = $15,600
$30,090.00 TOTAL
|
|
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
Please contact Fr. Tim for individual Reconciliation.
|
|
CALENDAR
Monday, March 29:
- Boy Scouts, Troop 451, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Tuesday, March 30:
- AA meeting, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Wednesday, March 31:
Thursday, April 1: Holy Thursday
- Al-Anon meeting, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
-
Mass by reservation, 7:00 pm
Friday, April 2: Good Friday
Saturday, April 3: Eater Vigil
- Food Shelf Weekend (donate online)
-
Easter Vigil by reservation, 8:00 pm
Sunday, April 4: Easter
- Food Shelf Weekend (donate online)
- Pre recorded Easter Mass available
-
9:00 am MASS, Fr. Tim (reservation required) LiveStream available
-
11:00 am MASS, Fr. Tim (reservation required) LiveStream available
|
|
PRISON MINISTRY VIRTUAL WORKSHOP
APRIL 17
Saturday, April 17, 2021
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
|
|
VBS
SAVE THE DATE!
All Aboard for VBS 2021
The Rocky Railway will be rolling July 12-15 from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm each day.
- We will limit total campers at VBS to 35 participants
- We will limit small groups to 7 campers and 2 leaders
- Each small group will remain in their own “pod” as they move through the day
- We will follow whatever CDC guidelines are in place in July
- Snacks will be prepackaged and eaten only with small groups
More details will be available in April with registration beginning Monday, April 12, 2012.
|
|
IN SYMPATHY
Our deepest sympathy goes to parishioner, Paula Praska, and her family on the death of her father, Stephan Bucko, who passed away on Tuesday, March 16, at the age of 89.
Please remember Stephan in your prayers.
May God grant eternal rest and
give comfort to the family at their time of loss.
Amen
|
|
STB VIRTUAL PRAYER WALL
Let's pray for each other!
When you get to this page, double click on the brick wall to post your prayer or a prayer request, or click on the "+" on the lower right of the wall.
|
|
KEEP CHRIST IN EASTER
by APRIL 4
Keep Christ in Easter and have a chance to win a Target gift card!
With the support of the Knights of Columbus, STB is offering a coloring contest for Easter.
o Via Instagram with your child’s first name, age and then #stbeaster in the post.
o By dropping a paper copy in a marked drop box at the front doors of St. Thomas Becket. Again, be sure to add your child’s name, age, and contact information
-
Entries are due by 5 pm Sunday, April 4th.
|
|
GROWING THROUGH LOSS
South Suburban Coalition
The Interdenominational Coalition of South Suburban Churches, comprised of 15 churches “south of the river”, is pleased to present a five-week series titled “Growing Through Loss”. Join us for one or all sessions on Thursday evenings, April 8, 15, 22, 29 and May 6, 2021, from 7:00 to 9:00.
Suggested donation per session is $4.00.
If you have any questions, email Barb Korman or call her at 651-452-8261
The following is a list of the dates and the speakers.
April 8
“The Wisdom of a Broken Heart”
Bussho Lahn
Certified Spiritual Director
MNZen Meditation Center
April 15
“Depression vs Grief: Which is it?”
Kay King
Older Adults Program Coordinator & Community Educator
National Alliance on Mental Illness of MN
April 22
“Love Deeply, Grieve Deeply”
Kelly Grosklags
Board Certified in Clinical Social Work
April 29
“Resiliency Through Life’s Challenges”
Donna Mathiowetz
Inspirational Speaker & Author
May 6
“Service of Remembrance”
Rev. Karen Treat
Pastor of Care Ministries & McKenna Crossing
Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church, Prior Lake
|
|
MEN'S HOLY WEEK RETRAT
APRIL 1-3
Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center in Prior Lake MN presents;
• Men's Holy Week Retreat, Thursday - SATURDAY, April 1-3 (Silent on Friday)
Consider deepening your Lenten experience by stepping aside from it all while being enlightened by four compelling talks. Take in the late Lenten stillness of God’s creation on the cusp of Spring. Meet with a spiritual director, partake in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, or simply relax in your fully private suite.
|
|
GOSPEL MEDITATION
Many struggle with Jesus. Some who consider themselves faithful hail him in their churches but still struggle to figure out what to do with him on our streets. The message is somehow more palatable when it echoes pious renderings and sentiments and involves singing hosannas during worship. It becomes a bit trickier when it gets to the part about changing the way we conduct the business of our lives, becoming more sensitive to the disadvantaged, poor, and marginalized, and living as servants of our Loving Creator. Ultimately, it is a struggle between wanting to be God ourselves and letting God be God as God is. That’s why it’s so easy to become hypocritical. We, like those who hailed Christ as he arrived in Jerusalem and sent Christ to the cross to die, also talk out of both sides of our mouths. We entertain what suits us at the time and walk away from the rest.
Many neglect God’s beautiful creation because they prefer what humans have made instead. Progress isn’t seen in preserving and enhancing what God has made but replacing it with something we believe is better and more useful. The earth, flowers, and animals are all expendable if they stand in the way of the “more” we want to achieve. We seek to remove as many obstacles and hurdles as possible in search of the easiest, quickest, and most efficient path we can find. We have created drugs and laws that preserve our free choice, even though it may mean setting aside God’s vision and example. Why suffer when we can easily be put to rest? Why endure insult or injury when we can retaliate, eliminate or subdue? Why accept life when it is acceptable to choose otherwise? We want to be God and resist accepting the fact that our real Creator has already given us the blueprints for the life we need to live in the Beatitudes and in the example of his Passion. We don’t like being stewards and managers and really want the power to do as we wish and desire. We want to create our own way.
Where has the true, effective Christian voice been through all of the wars and violence, prejudice and unjust conquests, abuse of human beings and attempted extinctions of nationalities, the establishments of procedures and protocols that serve only a few and not the many and all of the injustices and exploitations that are a part of our human history? A few courageous prophets have stood up and out throughout all of the comings and goings of our human journey with many receiving the same fate as the Crucified One we hail this week. Some still walk among us as shining stars showing us how it really can be. How would Jesus’ journey have ended if he lived life as we do? Unless we encounter the good with the bad, the just with the unjust, the grace with the sin, the glory with the cross, the death with the life we most certainly risk rendering God obsolete. After all, haven’t we already convinced ourselves that we can do better?
©LPi
|
|
RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS
Walk Every Step with Christ
Holy Week is a week for being mindful. We must set loose the baggage of Lent, and not be deterred by the dazzling sunrise of Easter morning beckoning in the distance.
It’s okay for us to be excited for Easter. We’ve waited so long, after all. In my opinion it’s one of the best feelings there is: the yearning we have in our hearts for the Resurrection as we embark on Palm Sunday. And in a purely logical sense, many of us have Easter celebrations for which we are preparing, and practical considerations to contend with. It’s going to be a busy week, one likely full of happy distractions.
But my friends, we simply must keep our feet on the ground. Let’s not “skip” Holy Week. Resist the urge to flip to the last page of the book, to fast-forward to the final scene of the movie. Don’t rob yourself of the journey. This week is a blessed opportunity. It is this week that teaches us who we are. In the span of the Triduum, we have the birthday of the priesthood, the institution of the Eucharist, the sacrifice on Calvary and so many other vivid and meaningful scenes.
It may sound strange, to advise someone to savor the moments of Holy Week. There are so many violent and heartrending moments, after all. But this is the valley of tears, remember — we are not in Heaven yet. And here, in our fallen, sin-filled world, it is the heartrending moments that seem to matter the most.
These are the moments that define us as Catholics. Live them. Cherish them. Be present for each one.
— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS
©LPi
|
|
Every week on the printed bulletin we have a section for kids.
During this time of isolation, we will share this activity booklet for you to print out at home.
Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion
|
|
DAKOTA COUNTY'S COVID-19 INFO
This is the link to Dakota County’s COVID-19 info which has a wealth of info and links. Check out the Community Resources tab for all sorts of useful info. This is a central place for county info and community resources that a team of staff are regularly updating.
|
|
STEWARDSHIP MESSAGE
If you do nothing, nothing will happen.
|
|
PRAYERS FOR THE SICK
Please hold these parishioners in your prayers:
Janet Higgins
Lisa LaFrance
Mary Cloutier
Peter DePover
Judy Schmidt
If you have someone you would like added to our confidential Prayer Line call Cathy at 651-344-3350.
|
|
READINGS
Sunday:
Mk 11:1-10 or Jn 12:12-16/Is 50:4-7/Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24 [2a]/
Phil 2:6-11/Mk 14:1—15:47 or 15:1-39
Monday:
Is 42:1-7/Ps 27:1, 2, 3, 13-14 [1a]/Jn 12:1-11
Tuesday:
Is 49:1-6/Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17 [cf. 15ab]/Jn 13:21-33, 36-38
Wednesday:
Is 50:4-9a/Ps 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34 [14c]/Mt 26:14-25
Thursday:
Chrism Mass: Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9/Ps 89:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6 [2a]/Rv 1:5-8/Lk 4:16-21
Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper: Ex 12:1-8, 11-14/Ps 116:12-13, 15-16bc,
17-18 [cf. 1 Cor 10:16]/1 Cor 11:23-26/Jn 13:1-15
Friday:
Is 52:13—53:12/Ps 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25 [Lk 23:46]/
Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9/Jn 18:1—19:42
Saturday:
Vigil: Gn 1:1—2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a/Ps 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 13-14, 24, 35 [30] or
Ps 33:4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20-22 [5b]/Gn 22:1-18 or 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18/
Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11 [1]/Ex 14:15—15:1/Ex 15:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18 [1b]/
Is 54:5-14/Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13 [2a]/Is 55:1-11/Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 [3]/
Bar 3:9-15, 32—4:4/Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11 [Jn 6:68c]/Ez 36:16-17a, 18-28/
Ps 42:3, 5; 43:3, 4 [42:2] or Is 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6 [3] or Ps 51:12-13, 14-15,
18-19 [12a]/Rom 6:3-11/Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23/Mk 16:1-7
Next Sunday:
Acts 10:34a, 37-43/Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23 [24]/Col 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5:6b-8/
Jn 20:1-9 or Mk 16:1-7 or Lk 24:13-35
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
