What's Happening During Our Catholic Comeback
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As we navigate our Catholic Comeback, this newsletter will continue to bring you
updated information.
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As the parish moves ahead in our Catholic Comeback, the need for a separate weekly message has lessened. With parishioners coming to Mass either in person or via the live-stream, all will receive the same weekly message in Fr. Michael’s weekend homilies. We have appreciated all of your positive comments about Fr. Michael’s Meanderings during the most difficult weeks of the COVID-19 shutdown.
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Confessions will be held on Friday and Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at the northwest entrance (opposite the Adoration entrance) of the church.
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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:
- Monday at 8:00 a.m.
- Tuesday at 7:30 a.m.
- Wednesday at 8:00 a.m.
- Thursday at 7:30 a.m.
- Friday at 8:00 a.m.
- Saturday at 8:00 a.m. and 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 daily Mass on our YouTube channel.
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The Parish Festival -
Generous Offer
Later this week or early next week, you will receive the “Begging Letter” from St. John’s requesting a special financial donation to make up the $70,000 loss due to the cancellation of the Parish Festival. On Tuesday, I found in my mailbox some generous news. A parishioner is willing to match contributions up to $25,000 to help us reach our goal of $70,000. The parishioner is offering to match what comes in for the festival so that we can reach our goal. This is a very generous offer from a parishioner who wrote, “I have been greatly blessed in my life.” They would like to share their blessings with their parish. Thank you ahead of time for all those who will help us reach this significant goal.
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 again been a recent increase in this kind of activity. The sender’s email address is
mmerkt.stjohnsgrfd@gmail.com
. Do not reply to this email address. It is not my legitimate email address.
I will
not
ask you for a favor, or ask you to buy gift cards for myself, for staff or for other Parish leaders.
Please be on alert for these and similar scams. Ignore, and/or delete, any such messages.
24-Hour Perpetual Adoration
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said, “In life today, often noisy and dispersive, it is more important than ever to recover the capacity for inner silence and recollection. Eucharistic adoration permits this not only centered on the ‘I’ but more so in the company of that ‘You’ full of love who is Jesus Christ, ‘the God who is near to us.’”
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 currently one open hour for Adoration
on Monday from 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.
Please call Kay Shomperlen to volunteer (414) 763-1250. Come join us!
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Your donations are needed and will help us
continue to operate during these unsettling times.
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Sixteenth Sunday in
Ordinary Time
July 18/19, 2020
Today’s Gospel passage from Matthew is filled with lessons both cautionary and consoling for the Christian steward as Jesus uses several parables to describe the kingdom of heaven and our role in it.
First, He compares it to a field where both wheat and weeds have been sown. Both weeds and wheat are permitted to grow, and only at harvest time are they separated, or “judged”; the wheat gathered into the sower’s barn and the weeds finally destroyed. So it will be for each of us at the end of our time on earth. It is a sobering reminder of the justice of God.
Next, He says the kingdom of heaven is like the small portion of yeast that is mixed in with flour for the making of bread. The yeast makes up an insignificant fraction of the ingredients, yet it is vital to the outcome; without that tiny bit of yeast, the bread simply will not rise. Similarly, He compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, “the smallest of all the seeds.” But when it is full-grown, it becomes the largest of all the plants, a sturdy and hardy bush where “birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.”
So often, the prayers we pray, the service we offer, the gifts we give, in comparison to the immense needs around us, can seem laughably small. But, as Jesus makes clear through the images of yeast and mustard seed, that is not the truth! God sees and “grows” our offerings of time, talent, and treasure in ways we cannot begin to imagine.
In justice, in gratitude, in love, let us remain faithful to the mission entrusted to our care for the building of the kingdom of heaven.
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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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Patrick Madrid explores the history of the persecution of the Catholic Church in 1920s Mexico. He recounts the sufferings and martyrdom that thousands of Catholics endured to defend their religious freedom during the Cristero War.
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SCRIP will now be sold before and after all weekend Masses. We will be outside under the tent in front of the church. 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.
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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