Of the many things that St. Paul is known for, one of them is the virtue of perseverance. If you take some time to read through the Acts of the Apostles, you can find many stories that where Paul faced a number of challenges, beginning with his conversion story when he was struck blind. (Acts 9) Paul was thrown in prison more than once, and in his letters, we learn that he also took up the task of keeping his friends on solid moral grounding. Through all the trials, Paul persevered in his love and devotion in Christ.
In response to the Archdiocese plea for mission-related needs and responding to God’s calling to be stewards, St. John grades preschool-eighth-grade will be implementing Archdiocese One as a mission project. Each week of faith formation the children/youth will have an opportunity to help fill up the collecting container with “pennies to pocket change.” No amount is too small. Every penny will help secure the future for Priest Retirement, Seminarian Education, Cathedral of St. Raphael Church and Campus repairs and Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services.
1. Blessings of peace and joy to you and your families. I bring to your attention that starting this November, parents seeking baptism for their child will be expected to attend a baptism catechesis session. The session is for those who are baptizing a child for the first time as well as those who have baptized a child before. As Catholics, our baptism incorporates us into Christ, and at the same time initiates us into a faith community. It is our desire and Christian responsibility as a parish community to accompany and support families to prepare through catechetical instructions for the joyful celebration of baptism.
In response to real needs, and after broad consultation, as well as much work, I am happy to announce the start of a special appeal, which we are calling ArchdioceseOne, to help the poor and to support the mission of the Church. As the special appeal unfolds, each of us will be invited to help secure the future for mission-related needs: to financially support retired priests; to educate future priests, our seminarians; to make much-needed repairs to the Cathedral of St. Raphael; and to provide more legal services for immigrants, which has been identified as the greatest need for the poor in our midst.
Take Away Hunger on October 9: Take Away Hunger will once again take place at St. John from 6:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. This year’s presenter will be Joe Mischka, from Cedar Rapids, who will speak about agriculture in Haiti. A seasoned Haitian traveler, Joe works and visits with the Haitian local farmers in the Notre Dame de Lourdes area to learn more about their agriculture and what their needs are. The evening is divided up into three-twenty-minute segments, 1. Joe Mischka, 2. Packaging in the lower level, or 3. Join some of the grades as they learn new facts in the education wing about Haiti and agriculture/Catholic Social Teaching.