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HOLY SPIRIT CATHOLIC CHURCH Serving the People of Virginia and Mountain Iron 306 2 Nd Street South Virginia, Minnesota 55792

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HOLY SPIRIT CATHOLIC CHURCH Serving the People of Virginia and Mountain Iron 306 2 Nd Street South Virginia, Minnesota 55792 WELCOME TO HOLY SPIRIT CATHOLIC CHURCH Serving the People of Virginia and Mountain Iron 306 2 nd Street South Virginia, Minnesota 55792 www.holyspiritvirginia.com 218.741.6344 May 5th, 2019 Sunday Mass Saturday 4:30 PM Sunday 8:00 AM & 10:00 AM Daily Mass Monday -Thursday 8:30 AM Wednesday 5:15 PM Confessions Saturday 3:00 PM Wednesday 4:30 PM Parish Office Mon. -Fri. 8:00 AM -3:00 PM Fr. Bran don Moravitz Pastor Dan Schultz Deacon Hannah Milani Evangelization & Catechesis Ben Frost & Tisha Frost Adult Evangelization Jodi Phelps Business Manager Marquette Catholic School www.marquettecatholicschool.com 741 -6811 Jean Virant , Principal Julie Kingsley , Secretary . Fr. Brandon’s Babblings Sacraments Greetings Holy Spirit Parish! Marriage Contact parish office as soon as possible I recently read about an incredible conversion story of a man that is on his way to be and at least 6 months prior to desired canonized a Saint! I was deep inspired by it. SO much so that I want to share it wedding date. with you this weekend. Please take a moment to read this story and let it inspire you Baptism to remember to NEVER lose HOPE! God can do great things even in the darkest places and times. Give this a read… Infant baptism during Mass or privately. Call parish to arrange pre -baptism parent Satanic Priest Turned Saint session or request information. Forms available on the parish website. Sometimes reading the lives of the saints is discouraging. They may have been im- perfect, as we all are, but it can seem that none of them ever really sinned the way RCIA people today do. Even proverbial bad boy St. Augustine was a decent guy by today’s Adults interested in becoming Catholic, standards. It’s easy for those of us who have made terrible choices to feel discour- please speak with the Pastor for aged. May I introduce Blessed Bartolo Longo? information. Like many saints, Bartolo was raised in a faithful Catholic family. Unlike most saints, Anointing of the Sick Bartolo spent his 20s as a Satanic priest. Born in 1841, Bartolo Longo lost his father Call the Parish office to schedule when he was only 10. From that time, he grew more and more distant from his Catho- Sacrament or Communion calls for the lic faith. When he began university studies in Naples, at the University where St. homebound Thomas Aquinas himself had studied, he was eager to enter fully into the experience of a secular university. In mid -19th -century Italy, that meant anti -clericalism, athe- ism, and ultimately the occult. Bartolo began attending séances, experimented with Prayers & Devotions drugs, and even got involved in orgies. He lured people away from the Catholic faith, Prayer Warrior Team publicly ridiculing the Church of his childhood. Before long, the newly minted law- Call Donna Strumbell, 290 -3767 yer was “ordained” a priest of Satan. Divine Mercy Eucharistic Adoration Chapel Before long, Bartolo found himself paranoid and miserable, on the brink of a nerv- Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9:00 AM -8:00 PM ous breakdown. And as he clung to his Satanic practices, his family prayed. As hap- Open to everyone or call the office to pened with Augustine, the faithful prayers of Bartolo’s family finally broke down the commit a weekly half or full hour with wall of anger and sin that Bartolo had built around himself. One night, he heard the Jesus. voice of his dead father crying out to him, “Return to God!” Stunned, Bartolo visited a friend who lived nearby, Professor Vincenzo Pepe. When Pepe realized what had Stewardship of Treasure become of Bartolo, he cried, “Do you want to die in an insane asylum and be damned forever?” {By this he did not mean that Bartolo would be damned for insanity, but Ordinary Income that the sinful choices he had made while sane would lead inevitably to madness and July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 damnation.) Pepe’s courage in pointing out the danger his friend was in cut through Annual Goal ...............................$476,788 Bartolo’s defenses, and before long he had agreed to meet with a Dominican priest, Income Received to Date............$383,001 Fr. Alberto Radente. Average Weekly Goal....................$9,169 Collected Last Week.................... $8,701* Fr. Alberto worked slowly on the young lawyer, encouraging him to make a thorough confession. After a month of direction, Bartolo was finally absolved and began his United Catholic Appeal Update work of drawing people back to Christ. He stood up in the middle of cafés and stu- 2018 Goal......................................$59,288 dent parties and denounced occult practices. He served the poor and instructed the UCA Total Received.....................$59,412 ignorant; after six years of such work, he pronounced vows as a lay Dominican, on UCA Balance Due.....................Goal Met! the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Then, cleansed and consecrated, Bartolo visited one last séance. He walked in, held up a rosary and called out, “I renounce spiritual- ism because it is nothing but a maze of error and falsehood.” We are excited to be nearing our ordinary income goal. (Continued on next page) Thank you for every gift as we finish our fiscal year! . Parish Life Augustine Institute Kiosk Feature “Desires of the Heart - Receiving the Gifts of the Fa- ther” (CD) Sister Bethany Madonna shares how God wants to give us the desires of our heart and gifts that bring pur- pose, meaning, and hope. Speaking from her own experi- ence, she shows the importance of asking in order to receive H$A SH>Ji V$ANnL99r !!! all the Lord has in mind for us. You are the life of this parish! We appreciate all of you! Formed Feature of the Week The sacrifices you make for the life of God’s Church are a “Awakening Love - An Ignatius Retreat With the Song of beautiful gift. Songs” (Book) Discover God's personal love for you through this Ignatian retreat with the Song of Songs. The Spiritual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner! Exercises of St. Ignatius have had a tremendous impact in the Wednesday, May 8th, 2019 history of the Church, while the Song of Songs is the most - - 5:15pm Mass 5:45pm Social 6:15pm Dinner sublime book of Scripture describing mystical union with Holy Spirit Social Hall God in prayer. Please RSVP to the office! Vern’s Greenhouse Through the living waters of Baptism, Brielle Certificates Support Youth Aluni became a child of God and member of His Vern’s donates 25% of sales from certificates sold Church during the Easter celebration. We wel- after Mass back to our mission trip students! Flow- come her into the Catholic faith and congratu- ers & certificates are sold at the office or May 4th, late her parents. 11th, 18th & 25th after Mass. Thanks for your sup - port and Thank You Vern’s! Save the Date!!! Totus Tuus July 21st - July 26th at Holy Spirit Church. Totus Tuus is a summer Catho- Liturgical Volunteers lic youth program dedicated to sharig the Sat. May 11 4:30 PM gospel and promoting the faith! Registra- Lector: OPEN tion materials available soon! Eucharistic D. Happala, (5) OPEN Ministers: REAL PRESENCE RADIO - 106.7 Mass Servers: S. Beukema, S. Beukema, (3) OPEN RPR acquired a new transmitter! Tune in to fill your day with the Catholic Faith! Usher/Greeter: OPEN Sun. May 12 8:00 AM KofC Men's Group Meeting Lector: OPEN Our next Mens group meeting will be Thursday, May 9th at 6:00! See you there! Eucharistic Cara Pond, (5) OPEN Ministers: E. Spaeth, D. Spaeth, I. Villebrun, T. Pope, Mass Servers: Spiritual Book Club E. Pond Please note the change: we will meet on May 20th, the 3rd Usher/Greeter: OPEN Monday of May. Any questions call Jackie Park 749 -4717 Sun. May 12 10:00 AM Virginia Deanery Council of Catholic Women Lector: J. Tash Eucharistic (6) OPEN CCW will hold their Spring Conference on Monday, May Ministers: 13th at Holy Spirit Church. Registration begins at 9:00 fol- A. Kober, G. Kober, B. Simon, J. Elliott, C. lowed by Mass, lunch and a speaker. For more information Mass Servers: Peterson call Jackie Park at 749 -4717. All women in the Deanery are welcome! Usher/Greeter: OPEN . Sunday May 5 8:00 AM Mass 10:00 AM Mass Monday May 6 8:30 AM Mass Tuesday May 7 8:30 AM Mass 10:00 AM Mass - Virginia Hospital 9:00 AM -8:00 PM Adoration Wednesday May 8 8:30 AM Mass 1:00 PM CCW Meeting 3:30 PM Confessions 5:15 PM Mass 6:00 PM Volunteer Appreciation Dinner Thursday May 9 8:30 AM Mass 6:00 PM K of C Mens Group 9:00 AM -8:00 PM Adoration Friday May 10 No Parish Events Saturday May 11 3:00 PM Confessions 4:30 PM Mass Sunday May 12 8:00 AM Mass 10:00 AM Mass Mass Intentions Monday, May 6 8:30 AM † Vearl & Betty Nelson Tuesday, May 7 8:30 AM † Christine Galager Wednesday, May 8 8:30 AM † Mary Weiss 5:15 PM † Our Parish Family Thursday, May 9 8:30 A M † Steve Hecimovich Friday, May 10 NO MASS Saturday, May 11 4:30 PM † Jon Tekautz Sunday, May 12 8:00 AM † Angie Gangle 10:00 AM † Bryce Kennedy . Father Brandon’s Babblings Continued.... But for all he had been absolved, Bartolo, like most of us, struggled with memories of his past. He felt unworthy of God’s forgiveness, certain that he was impure, permanent- ly marred by his sin.
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    We celebrate the feast of Blessed Bartolo Longo on Oct 5, the same day as St. Faustyna…my friends share many things in common…Therefore we will reflect on Bartolo Longo today since St John Paul II called him the Apostle of the Rosary. ONE Bl. Bartolo Longo was born on Italy's Adriatic coast in 1841. At the age of ten his mother died and Bartolo began to lose his way. During his time in Law School at the University of Naples he completely gave up his faith. In his confusion and emptiness, without God to turn to, he began to visit some of Naples’ infamous mediums. That was his introduction into the occult. Soon, his thirst for the supernatural led him into outright Satanism, where after a period of intense study and rigorous fasting, he was consecrated a satanic priest and promised his soul to a demon. For the next year, he began to preside over satanic services and to preach more boldly against God and the Church — treating them as the real evils. Under the demonic influence the physical and psychological health of Bartolo began to decline rapidly. In his despair, he heard the voice of his deceased father urging him to "Return to God! Return to God!" A good friend and faithful Catholic professor, Vincent Pepe, persuaded Bartolo to meet with a Dominican Priest who was consecrated to Mary and dedicated to the Rosary. The Priest confronted him about his obvious declining mental and physical health - which both knew, in this particular situation, resulted from the demonic obsession.
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