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The of our Lord — January 12, 2020 MARY’S & SAINT ELIZABETH’S CHURCHES Phone: 701-579-4312 FATHER GARY BENZ-PASTOR [email protected]; Cell Phone 701-509-9504; Rectory 701-579-4874 VICTOR DVORAK – www.stmaryschurchnewengland.com “After Jesus was baptized, He came up from the water . . .” There is an old story of a German cob- bler who used to sit in the doorway of his cottage and work at his trade. He was always singing or humming as he worked and most of his tunes were of a religious nature. One day, a Jewish merchant passed by and he was attracted by the cheerful appearance and the cheery song of the worker. “My friend,” remarked the Jew, “You seem exceedingly happy.” “I am,” remarked the cobbler, “I have good reason for it, since I am a King’s son.” The Jew continued on his way, thinking to himself that this guy was a mental case. Imagine, a peasant calling himself the son of a king! A few days later, the Jew passed the same cottage. “Good morning your royal highness,” was the Jew’s half scornful greeting. “Good morning,” said the cobbler. He continued, “I wonder if you believe that I am not the son of a king. Let me explain what I mean. As a Christian, I was baptized and Baptism makes one an adopted child of the King of heaven.” The Jew was so impressed that as he contemplated this in the following days and weeks, he eventually decided to seek Baptism and enter the . The lesson for all of us: daily contemplate the dignity of being a child of God in Baptism. May the joy of our spiritual childhood be evident in our lives and lead others to Jesus Christ so that they may be saved. A point to ponder: Spending time with God puts everything in perspective.

Familiaris Consortio (cont.) The Indivisible Unity of Conjugal Communion 19. The is the one which is established and which develops between husband and wife: by virtue of the covenant of married life, the man and woman “are no longer two but one flesh” and they are called to grow con- tinually in their communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual self-giving. This conjugal communion sinks its roots in the natural complementarity that exists between man and woman, and is nurtured through the personal willingness of the spouses to share their entire life project, what they have and what they are: for this reason such communion is the fruit and the sign of a profoundly human need, confirms it, purifies it and elevates it, leading it to perfection through the of Matrimony: the Holy Spirit who is poured out in the celebration offers Christian couples the gift of a new communion of love that is the living and real image of that unique unity which makes the Church the invisible Mystical Body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Goodbye dearest of liturgical seasons We all love the Christmas season but sadly, it is the shortest of the liturgical seasons. This Sunday, with the Solemnity of the Baptism of our Lord, the Christmas season officially comes to an end. No more creche in the church and our homes; no more Christmas trees with bright lights; no more bright red poinsettias; no more glorious Christmas songs; and no more begging for Christmas cookies by the pastor (but you still have until today to drop them off at his rectory door). Our favorite season of the Church year is over, but, don’t lose the spirit of Christmas . . . keep it all year long. Be a child of God, as Jesus was at Bethlehem; be of peace and good will at all times to all people; give gifts to others, especially the gift of prayer; and adore the Lord like the Three Magi, especially at every Holy . Even though the Christmas season has ended, live its spirit all year long and experience every day that “Joy to the World” that Jesus came to bring. On the lighter side: Plaque on the wall of Saint Thomas : “The loudspeaker was donated by John Schmidt in memory of his wife.” MASS & ADORATION SCHEDULE Monday, January 13th *Saint Mary’s Parish Council will meet Saturday, Jan- 7:30 AM SM—Communion Service uary 18th following Mass. Tuesday, January 14th *Saint Mary and Saint Elizabeth youth’s annual Ital- 7:30 AM SM—+Mike Holzemer by Sylvia Koppinger ian Meal will be held Sunday, February 23rd. 7:00 PM SE—+Deceased members of KC Council #5477 *SE church cleaning; Michele Wax, Haylee Wax, Wednesday, January 15th and Elvera Reindel are on for month of January. 7:00 PM SM—, Mother of Perpetual Help Devotions * SE Coffee and rolls Sunday, January 12th after +Adam Krebs & +Lyle Krebs by Gene & Judy Krebs 8:30 am Mass. Thursday, January 16th * SE parishioners will be taking down the Christmas decorations after Mass on Sunday, January 12th. 7:30 AM SM—+Maggie Schorsch by the Rettinger family Everyone's help is appreciated. Friday, January 17th 7:30 AM SM—+Ken Binstock by Victor & Dianne Binstock Marriage: Contact Pastor at least nine months to your an- ticipated wedding date. 12-3:00 PM SM—Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Baptism: Pre-Baptism preparation session required. Saturday, January18th : By request. 8:30 AM SM—+Adam Krebs & +Lyle Krebs by Gene & Judy Krebs Reconciliation (): Before Mass in both Parishes 5:00 PM SM—+Reggie Gentz by Family St. Mary’s Liturgical Ministers January 18th & 19th, 2020 Sunday, January 19th MINISTRY Saturday 5:00 PM Sunday 10:30AM

8:30 AM SE- +Dale Reindel by Deran & Tina Lefor Lector Lori F. John E. 10:30 AM SM—Pro Populo Mass Servers Will S./Leonard G. Brock E./Gordon S. Eucharistic Ministers Cely S./Robert S. Dianne B./Emily M. Please Keep in Your Prayers: Theresa Tarpo, Todd Leach, JoAnn Gifts Molly R. Kent & Angie M. Urlacher, Zane Sabo, Richard Jambor, Brad Novak, Josie Steier, Katie Stolz, Rosary Leader Maureen G. Susan S. Katie Kautzman, Hazel Jacobs, Amber Urlacher, Savannah Benz, Bonnie Benz, Lily Serr, Anise Masterson, Chuck Brusich, Nate Hernandez, Andy Greeters Nicholas D/Eileen L. Victor & Lynn Dvorak Prokop, Henley Johnson, Duane Grundhauser, Pete Schaefer, Alice Candri- Homebound David & Vivian H. David & Vivian H. an, Marilyn Jacobs, Leo Heck, Ross Thomas, Arlene Rohr, Brenda Barton, Collection Report St. Mary’s January 5th & 6th, 2020 Elven Kaufman, Suzette Printz, Linda Reisenauer, Russ Lefor, Cindy Martin, Adult Youth Howard Schiwal, Theresa Decker, Alyssa Binstock, Yvonne Fettig, Kim Kuhn, Don Miller, Bonnie (Krebs) Dick, Dorothy Kohl, Colleen Churchill $ 2754.20 Envelopes $ 22.00 Assisted Living and Nursing Home Residents: Gilbert & Ruth Buzalsky, $ 113.40 Loose Plate Mary Hanson, Aggie Wandler, Charlotte Krebs, Harvey Herberholz, Archie $ 2889.60 Total Jalbert, Joan Binstock, Joe Wandler, Sylvia Koppinger, Leona Gordon, Don- nella Koppinger, Marilyn Jeske, Willie Emmil, Frances Heick $ 2889.60 Monthly Total $175.00 Building Fund Our Deceased Loved Ones +Shawn Flaherty, +Duane Dobitz, +Dan Saint Elizabeth’s Liturgical Ministers January 19th, 2020

Frank, +Cecelia Jung, +Benedict Benz, +Kenneth Stagl, +Florentine Bohl- Sunday 8:30 AM man, +Josie Heidt, +Dale Schoeder, +Ed Pechtl, +Magdalen Schorsch, Lector Deran +Dale Reindel, +Adam Schulz, + George Koffler, +Edwin Lefor, +Louise Krebs, +Regina Gentz, +Tina Rixen, +Rose Krebs (SE), +Herbert Emmil, Mass Server Nathan +Joan Madler, + Leroy Kilwein, +Harold Maershbecker, +Darwin Schaefer, Eucharistic Ministers Cindy & Trish +James Gatzke, +Ed Koppinger, +Eleanor Keck, +Ardelle Kovar, +Eugenia Gifts Elvera Stagl, +Nick Lenhardt, +Mike Urlacher, +Keith Herold Greeters Trish Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Youth group is Ushers Elvie & Dennis W. planning a mission trip this summer. They will Collection Report St. Elizabeth’s January 5th, 2020 Adult Youth have a spaghetti dinner at the church on Janu- $ 734.00 Envelopes $ 7.00 ary 12th serving from 11:15 am-1:00 pm. A $ 20.00 Loose Plate $ free will offering will be accepted. Come one come all! $ 761.00 Total Spaghetti, garlic bread, and dessert will be served. $ 761.00 Monthly Total The ABC’s of our Catholic Faith Abstinence: in terms of practices, this refers to refraining from certain food or drink, normally meat. Ab- stinence allows us to enter into sacrificial way of life so as to experience and appreciate the Cross of Jesus in our lives, the Sacrifice of Mount Calvary. In doing so, we may offer up the sacrifice of abstinence for our own sanctifica- tion and or for that of others as well. Strict religious orders such as the , the , and the never eat meat, with the hope that by this great sacrifice, the Lord will forgive the sins of lost souls so that they may be saved. From the earliest days of the Church, Christians have always abstained from meat on and every Friday of the year, to honor Jesus Christ who sacrificed His flesh on Friday. Later, Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, was also made a day of abstinence. Even though Saint Paul VI lifted the practice of absti- nence on the Fridays outside of Lent, Catholics are still supposed to abstain from meat on Fridays unless they take part in a penance or sacrifice which is of equal or greater value. Thus, if you decide to have that juicy burger on Fridays, you should give up, as a suggestion, Facebook or TV that day as a sacrifice to justify that carnivorous delight of the burger. Actual sin: after is forgiven in Baptism, actual sins are those sins willfully committed due to the abuse of our free will. With actual sin, we know what God wants us to do, but en- ticed by the evil one, we do the opposite and reject the call to be holy. Actual sins are twofold in nature: venial and mortal. Venial sins are those sins which are of a lesser evil and do not forfeit the life of God, sanctifying grace, within our souls (c.f. Matthew 12:31). Mortal sins, on the other hand, destroy the life of God with- in the soul and if they are not repented of and forgiven in the Sacrament of Penance, they can lead to eternal pun- ishment in Hell (c.f. I John 5:16-17). It is good to bring both types of sin to the Sacrament of Penance () because venial sins can accumulate and may hinder growth in the life of holiness. They can also quickly descend into mortal sins and the threat of everlasting loss from God’s presence. People assume that mortal sins are rare, but to be honest, they are more common than we think. They include: willfully missing Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation; pornography; the use of contraception; pre-marital sex; marital infidelity; masturbation; sterilization (men or women); or calumny. I would hope that we don’t take actual sins too lightly and that we make frequent use of the Sacrament of Penance. Gamble at the casinos or at BINGO, but don’t gamble with your soul and its eternal destination; you are smarter than that. Ad limina: this refers to the visit to the Holy Father, the Pope, that every must make every five years so as to give a report on the state of their . It literally means, “to the threshold of the apostles”, because the bishop, while in Rome, is expected to also visit and pray at the tombs of Saint Paul (at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls) and Saint Peter (at the Basilica of Saint Peter). Bishop Kagan will be making his ad limina visit in January. I assume the first portion of his report will be about me and how I should be the likely successor of , but humility does not allow me to talk about matters like these . . . you’ll have to read the report for yourself. Time to change course: It seems that at virtually every weekend Mass at Saint Mary’s, we are always scrambling for litur- gical ministers before Mass ( servers, Eucharistic ministers, readers, etc.). It is a common occurrence to see and hear Lynn Dvorak making a plea for liturgical ministers before Mass. Some of you call me and tell me that you will be away and can’t find a replacement and I appreciate the heads up. But, most of the time, people just don’t show up and leave us scrambling before Mass to find substitutes. We won’t be doing this anymore. We will be making no more public pleas for substitutes before Mass. If necessary, we will just cancel offering the Precious Blood; I will do my own altar serving; and I will read the Scripture readings myself. I hate to do this, but if people don’t want to be serious about these solemn com- mitments at the Holy Mass, then this is the result. People rarely skip out on a doctor’s appointment; a meeting with the person preparing their taxes; or a meal with family or friends, but they care little for fulfilling their solemn liturgical duties at the Holy Mass. Hmm. . . maybe we have a deeper problem with our priorities in life. Marc & Anne Wolf 11175 64th St SW New England, ND 568647 701-579-4221 www.21angus.com DAN’S BODY SHOP 701-227-8688 New England Mott DICKINSON, ND

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