ST. PETER - Colman STS. SIMON & JUDE - Flandreau OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL - Elkton 105 S. Bates St., FLANDREAU, SD 57028 Phone: 997-2610 Fax: 997-2180 Father Melvin Kuhn, Pastor [email protected] [email protected] This past week the Church celebrated the memorials of two great Dominican : St and St Pius V. The actual name of the is: The Order of Preachers, abbreviated O.P. So if you see a priest’s or sister’s name followed by: O.P., it means they are a Dominican. However, since the order was founded by St Dominic in the 1100’s, they are commonly called Dominicans. The Dominicans have contributed greatly to the Church in centuries past. Amongst the many great theologians that our Lord has given to His Church, St , a Dominican and , stands out as probably the greatest and most influential of all – he and St Augustine. The Dominicans continue to fortify and build up the Church today. As one example, a new branch of Dominican Sisters was started in 1997 – the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. They wear the traditional Dominican habit ( with black veil and a on their side; according to tradition, the Rosary was given to the Church through St Dominic) and they are very faithful to the teachings of the Church. Their main apostolate (or work) is teaching. After their foundation, their numbers grew so rapidly that they were not able to house all of their new vocations and they had to expand their convent. When we truly and fully bind ourselves to He who is Life, He gives life; the converse is also true – when we separate ourselves from He who is Life, we die. In spite of their great growth in numbers, they are not able to meet the demand for them. So again, there have been many great Dominican saints since their foundation, starting, of course, with St Dominic himself. One of the main reasons our Lord gives saints to His Church (i.e., a main reason we have them) is because their lives (and writings) help teach the faith. Through their lives one can see how the faith is embodied and lived out. While it is important and helpful to look at their external actions, attention has to be paid especially to their interior disposition. Saints are not saints because of some great, tangible accomplishment; they are saints because of heroic virtue, holiness of life, a pure and true love of God. With this in mind, let us return now to St Catherine of Siena and Pope St Pius V. Although St Catherine of Siena lived in the 1300’s she is still a good example for people today. St Catherine did indeed have a great influence in the Church in her day, and a lasting influence as well especially through one of her writings, which is today called “The Dialogue” (or The Dialogue of St Catherine of Siena). This writing (which is today available in form) records St Catherine’s conversations with God the Father (she was a mystic of the Church), in addition to some of her own thoughts; Catherine has been named a Doctor of the Church, in spite of very little education. Catherine also had great influence not only on those around her but even on the Pope himself. At that time, the Pope was living in Avignon, , in part simply because that’s where his predecessors had lived for about 70 years prior to him. However, God made it known to Catherine that it was His will that the Pope return to . Interestingly Pope Gregory XI had made a private and personal vow to God to return to Rome. He hesitated, however, due to objections from his curia. Now Catherine had come to Avignon to speak to the Pope on other matters and while she was there, Pope Gregory, knowing her sanctity, consulted with her about returning to Rome. Catherine answered very simply: Fulfill the vow you made to God. Pope Gregory knew that he had told no one (including Catherine) about this vow and realized that only God could have made this known to her. He moved to Rome (returned the seat of the papacy to Rome) shortly thereafter. Catherine also had great influence in settling frequent and violent disputes in as well as rebellions against the Church. (Continued on page 4) Fifth Sunday of Easter ~ May 2, 2021 Liturgy Schedule Location Intention

Mon., May 3 5:30 PM Mass Flandreau † James McGlone

Tues., May 4 5:30 PM Mass (*Note time*) Flandreau Special Intention

Wed., 9:00 AM Mass/Exposition/Adoration Elkton † Richard Gebhart

Thur., May 6 9:00 AM Mass/Exposition/Adoration Colman Personal Intention

Fri., May 7 9:00 AM Mass/Exposition/Adoration Flandreau Samantha Luze

Sat., May 8 7:00 PM Mass Colman † Lucille Anderson 8:30 AM Mass Elkton All Parishioners Sun., May 9 10:30 AM Mass Flandreau † Joan Johnson Rovig

Confessions : - Elkton & Colman 1/2 hour prior to weekend Mass - Flandreau after Sunday Mass

Rosary: - prayed 1/2 hour prior to each weekend Mass.

Daily Readings for the Week MINISTERS OF SERVICE May 3: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Ps 19:2-5; John 14:6-14

COLMAN ~ SAT., MAY 8 May 4: Acts 14:19-28; Ps 145:10-13,21; John 14:27-31 Lector: Dan Schmidt May 5: Acts 15:1-6; Ps 122:1-5 ; John 15:1-8 Servers: Josie Mousel, Rilyn Groos May 6: Acts 15:7-21; Ps 96:1-3,10; John 15:9-11 May 7: Acts 15:22-31; Ps 57:8-12; John 15:12-17

ELKTON ~ SUN., MAY 9 May 8: Acts 16:1-10; Ps 100:1-5; John 15:18-21 Lector: Sharon Landsman May 9: Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48; Ps 98:1-4; 1 John 4:7-10; Altar Servers: Aidan/Connor Owens John 15:9-17

FLANDREAU ~ SUN., MAY 9 Thank you to all who have so Lector: Reggie Gassman generously responded to CFSA - Altar Servers: Bella Pavlis 2021. At St. Peter & OLGC we are Rachel/Rebecca/Matthew Heinemann within $1000 of reaching our monetary Sacristan: Pam Rorvik-Albers goal and we have reached our goal at SS&J. However, there are a number of households who have not yet responded. It is in our parish’s best interest to reach and/or exceed our Apr. 2th CFSA goal. Here is why: If we do not reach goal, the parish has to pay the difference with parish funds. If we exceed goal the overage stays in the parish. Our CFSA goals are

Colman: calculated by the diocese based on the amount $795 of ordinary parish income and the number of Flandreau: registered households. If we use parish funds to $2216 pay our CFSA goal, we will be assessed on Elkton: dollars that were used to pay CFSA (sort of a $1678 double tax). Whereas, if we exceed goal, those Thank you! additional dollars stay in the parish and will be not assessed for next year’s goal. STS. SIMON & JUDE OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL

Please consider being a Host family for Ladies Guild Meeting: Monday, May 3rd at St Lumen Christi (formerly Totus Tuus) Sat., Mary’s Hall at 7:00 PM. We will be discussing July 31- Thur., August 5. Contact Laura 530- plans for First Communion and Confirmation 9428 or Marietta 864-3182. treats that will be served at CCD.

rd Catholic Daughters meeting: May 3 in First Holy Communion: the church basement. The rosary is at May 9th at the 8:30 AM Mass. 6:30pm & meeting at 7pm. Masks are encouraged, but not required with social distancing as members see best. Please Welcome through Baptism: into contact Jessica Lewis, if you want to attend our parish family by Zoom (internet or phone). Annie Mae White, daughter of Brandon & Kaitee White. Tuesday Daily Mass time has changed to 5:30 PM. We will try this to see if more people can attend daily Mass.

S T . P E T E R

Congratulations to the following as The St. Peter Parish Prayer Line has been they celebrate organized. Anyone can join at any time. First Holy Communion Contact Bonnie at 530-2184 or Emily at 651- Nikola Bietz Gaspar 0034 to request prayers. Grace Klein Kase Klein Welcome through Baptism: into Etzio Bullit our parish family Theo Entringer, son of Aaron & Abbie Entringer.

Congratulations to our Home Missions Appeal: Your support 2021 high school graduates: funds religious education, seminary Olivia Baumberger formation, lay ministry training, and other programs that build vibrant faith communities Ryker Hawkins right here in the United States. More Kennedi Landis information at www.usccb.org/home- Ryan Voelker Paige Franka missions. Envelopes available in the church Mary Miles Weston Miles entrance or you may use your own clearly marked envelope. Thank you.

Adult Class: 5:30 PM on Sunday at the CCD Center in Flandreau.

Workers Needed for The Banquet to help serve the meal on June 2nd. To volunteer, please call Jane at 997-2758.

Intention of the Holy Father for May: Let us pray that those in charge of finance will work with governments to regulate the financial sphere and protect citizens from its dangers. (Continued from page 1 Looking at Catherine only from the outside, people of today might say: oh look at her (external or tangible) accomplishments and influence; she was a leader; that’s what I want. To look at Catherine in this way, from only the outside, to look at her in this worldly way, is to completely miss the essence of St Catherine of Siena. Today it seems that everyone wants to be, and is encouraged to be, a “leader,” and even, perhaps, that if you’re not, well then you’re really nobody. Unfortunately it seems that all too often the desire to be a “leader” today is rooted in self-interest. To hold up Catherine as an example of this would be blatantly false. Catherine had no designs (no interest, no will, no desire) on being a “leader,” or a Doctor of the Church, or “influential” in the world. It might be helpful to recall that our Holy Mother was none of these things (not in some tangible way) and yet she is the greatest of all of God’s creatures. St Catherine is a beloved daughter of the Blessed , but in no way her equal. Catherine was not really a “leader” at all; what she was, was a great follower, a follower of our Lord. It was this fundamental characteristic that allowed our Lord to make great use of her in the world for the salvation of souls. Anyone who does not follow this example, who is not first and foremost a follower, is certainly not fit to “lead” others. To really know St Catherine of Siena, we have to back up and consider a true and complete account of her, not “quantifiable” “accomplishments.” So how can a person “see” the essence of Catherine? Some saints (like Augustine and Camillus de Lellis) went through a big conversion after leading lives very contrary to God while others sought God with their whole heart, mind, soul, and strength even from a young age. Catherine was of the later. She was not only prayerful but lived very penitentially and sought solitude to be alone with God, even from a young age. At one point, her mom and dad wanted her to get married and they tried to dissuade her from this full commitment to God. Catherine did not wish to get married so she endured many insults, humiliations, the lowest jobs that would ordinarily be given only to servants, and so on. She suffered from a number of illnesses and endured the harsh treatments that were given for them. At one point, she entered into a darkness, a seeming absence of God. She not only endured this but did so happily, offering it all to our Lord as a participation in His work. It was because of her knowledge and love of God that our Lord was actually able to accomplish great things through her. Bringing peace amongst the various factions of Italy was not a heralded work; she suffered hatred at times because of it and put her own life at risk. Why? Why? Why? Very simply because it was pleasing to the Beloved which, in turn, was pleasing to her. Am I willing to the do the same? There is so much more that could be drawn from St Catherine of Siena, especially if we turn our attention to The Dialogue but let us turn briefly to Pope St Pius V. It is striking how Catherine and Pope Pius exhibit almost identical characteristics in terms of devotion to God. Rather than reiterate these, let us consider his “ascendancy” to the papacy; I should say his reluctant ascendancy to the papacy. Pope Pius V was pope from 1566 to 1572, when it was still considered an honor by clergy and laity alike to be called into the hierarchy of the Church. Pius protested at each step – being made a bishop, then a cardinal, and then pope – which he actually wept over. Like Catherine, he desired only to be a follower, a true follower of Truth Himself. Pius went on to have perhaps even greater influence in the Church and the world than Catherine. Ponder these great saints well. Let their real virtue settle deeply in your mind so that one day we might share the Eternal Kingdom with them.