Between the Hearts with Fr. Craig
We have successfully made it through our first week with the new schedule! I was happy to see that each Mass was filled with a good number of people. Some of you expressed your intent on seeing if the early Mass at Sacred Heart would work better for your family while others thought the 12PM Mass at St. Kateri would fit their schedule well. Let us continue to be welcoming to each other as we blend in many ways.
We thank and pray for the many priests that have been helping us out throughout the months. We will still continue to count on them to help with Mass coverage and other events when we have the need. Also, on a very good note, the “rummage” sale of Fr. Terry’s stuff has made over $3,100. All of the money will be going to the Red Cloud School. Thank you all for your donations!
I know I have mentioned something about this in almost every bulletin or homily, but some people are now getting back from summer vacation and their travels abroad. We are already heavily in the midst of major change. It has come a year early for us while the rest of the archdiocese will catch up on July 1st. About 98 percent of all priests are moving to a new parish next year and there will be no one parish to one priest. Pastorates can have up to six parishes, if not more in some places, and they will all have to share priests. It is a total reset and change of how our parishes will run. I believe some of us are starting to accept this, some of us might not want to think about it, and I’m sure there are some of us that don’t believe this is going to happen. The fact is that the reality is before us and wherever we are at emotionally, know that Jesus has not left His Church. This will be a new way, similar to the first Apostles setting out to establish the Church. In fact, much is being written about how we once again are in an apostolic age, meaning that Christian life and morals no longer govern the world at large. The restructuring process we have set out on is so we can be like the first missionaries going out and proclaiming the Good News! While this can be a very trying time for us, it can also be a very exciting time as well, knowing we can be like those first Christians we hear about in the Acts of the Apostles. What mighty works we can perform for the glory of God if we just work together on our common mission of bringing the love of Jesus to others! Maybe a question we all can ask ourselves is, “How will God use me to change the world?” We need our prayer warriors with their rosaries, our missionaries on the front lines, our teachers introducing and supporting the faith, and the many other parts that make up the body of Christ.
Just a word about the Word. At Mass I mentioned that we need to be like cows! Well, more like how they eat, by chewing over and over on the Word, and then bringing it up again and again to keep chewing on its meaning. This way we can apply the Gospel to any moment of the day. The Word has power and so does our words too. May what we bring up be for the building up of others and not for tearing down. A careless word, a bit of gossip, and a misplaced comment can truly hurt all involved. May we always use our words for blessings and follow the example of Our Lady whose life, words, and deeds magnified the Lord.
In Christ, Fr. Craig
