St. James Parish ~ Menomonee Falls, WI March 22, 2009
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
St. James Parish ~ Menomonee Falls, WI March 22, 2009 Welcoming the Stranger – Sunday March 29 th “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” – Jesus in Matt 25:35 On Economic Justice... In our culture welcoming someone involves a process of rec- ognizing and accepting a person into our presence. In the process, we learn something about them. We have concern for their comfort. We offer food, drink, a place to hang their coat, a place to sit down - in short, we recognize and respect them as fellow human beings. In Matt 25 the righteous are known as those who have concern for all people , especially those who are most vulnerable in their community. In our society, loss of a job, health issues, lack of transportation, inability to pay rent or a mortgage payment, poor education are all issues that can lead to vulnerability and the need for help. Our Church teaches that economic justice calls us to help the poor and the vulnerable through meeting their immediate needs of food, clothing and money, but it also emphasizes that we need to fix the social and political problems in society that cause people to become vulnerable, keep them in pov- erty and rob them of their dignity. What can we do as a com- munity to fix the root causes of poverty? Matthew 25 – Welcoming the Stranger Sunday March 29 th Bring personal hygiene products in a zip lock bag [shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, comb], toilet paper, paper plates & napkins, paper towels, Ziploc bags, aluminum foil, plastic wrap,13, 30, 45 lb garbage bags, a pack of Waukesha or Milwaukee county bus passes, or gift cards to Walgreens and Pick-n-Save, for the Hebron House, Interfaith & Repairers of the Breach. Connect with Those in Need Make a social visit, do grocery shopping, house cleaning, help with budgeting/bill paying, or providing transporta- tion to/from appointments for the elderly. Contact Marie Honel, 262-549-3348 at Interfaith Senior Programs or Chris Miles, 262-246-9860 at Sussex Outreach Services. Call Tom Bohmann [parish member coordinator] at 262-628- 8323 for more information on these programs. Wisdom for the Journey Forgiveness and Restoring Justice with Fr. Art and Mary Kay Balchunis As we forgive others, so will God forgive us, (Matt 6.15) but forgiving others or asking for forgiveness is not an easy task, especially when the pain is personal, long standing or in- volves the life of a loved one. Mary Kay Balchunis will join Fr. Art to share her story about the death of her son and her jour- ney to forgiveness toward those who took his life. Sunday, March 29, 12:15 pm in the Cafeteria following the Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast. St. James Menomonee Falls, WI Scripture for the week of March 22, 2009 PEW VIEW 22 SUN 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23/Eph 2:4-10/Jn 3:14-21 or, for Year A, 1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a/Eph 5:8-14/Jn COULD I FORGIVE? 9:1-41 or 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38 Imagine facing the two people found guilty of killing your 23 Mon Is 65:17-21/Jn 4:43-54 child? What would you say to them? Would you be able to 24 Tue Ez 47:1-9, 12/Jn 5:1-16 forgive them? The journey of forgiveness is one taken by 25 Wed Is 7:10-14; 8:10/Heb 10:4-10/Lk 1:26-38 Mary Kay Balchunas as she faced the killers of her son, Jay 26 Thu Ex 32:7-14/Jn 5:31-47 Balchunas. Jay was working undercover as a special agent 27 Fri Wis 2:1a, 12-22/Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 for the Wisconsin Department of Justice when he stopped at 28 Sat Jer 11:18-20/Jn 7:40-53 a gas station for a cup of coffee just after midnight. He was 29 SUN Jer 31:31-34/Heb 5:7-9/Jn 12:20-33 (35) confronted by two suspects, who announced a robbery. Upon discovering his gun, one of the suspects fired two rounds, striking Agent Balchunas in the liver. Jay died one Question of the Week: week later from his wounds. Jay was 34 years old and left behind grieving parents, Sunday, March 29 John 12:20-33 siblings, and a fiancé. The family endured two judicial trials • How are your self-giving relationships life-giving for you? as the verdicts in the first one were later overturned on a mis- trial. Imagine having to relive the horrible experiences of a son’s murder not once but twice. What could one possible say to those who took your child’s life? Mary Kay Balchunas will tell her story next week Sunday, March 29 th , at 12:15 p.m. in the cafeteria. Fr. Art will intro- duce the one-hour program with a presentation on forgive- MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE ness. Don’t miss this powerful and moving Lenten program. FOURTH WEEK OF LENT (Participants are invited to attend the Knights of Colum- bus breakfast in the Community Center immediately before coming to this program.) Monday, March 23 8:00 am † Jessie Ruffalo & Ed Skibbie (Eleanor Skibbie) MATTHEW 25 – BUNDLE SUNDAY Tuesday, March 24 Our Matthew 25 Lenten Program will conclude on the weekend of April 4 th and 5 th with a focus on “Clothing the 8:00 am † Norman Knetzger (Nola Knetzger) Wednesday, March 25 Naked.” The St. Vincent de Paul truck will be in our parking 8:00 am † Flo Knueppel (Dee Ooton) lot to accept your bundles of old clothing. We are asking that Friday, March 27 at this time you focus only on cleaning out your winter cloth- 8:00 am † For St. James Parishioners ing and putting it in bags (bundles) for this drive. Please save Saturday, March 28 all other clothing and all other household items for the parish (Sunday Liturgy) Thrift Sale, which will begin collecting items in May. 5:00 pm † Sgt. Bill Swift (Bill Swift) The items collected in this drive will be taken to the St. † Sgt. Chris Swift Vincent de Paul Store in Waukesha. Store items are sold to Sunday, March 29 the general public with the funds used to support the opera- 8:15 am † For Deceased members of St. James Parish tion of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. When clients of a 10:15 am † For Deceased members of St. James Parish conference are discovered to have a need for clothing or other items, they are often given “vouchers” by the confer- ence, which enable them to shop at no cost to them at the St. Vincent de Paul Store. OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHY More details next week on “Bundle Sunday.” For now, We express our sympathy to Janet begin cleaning the closets. Save winter clothes for SVdP and and Wayne Block and family at the all others for the parish Thrift Sale. Either way, your dona- death of Janet’s father, John Benne, tions are helping good causes and are greatly appreciated. Jr. and to Pat Knuth and family at the death of her mother, Laura Bridgeman . May they find peace and happiness with our Lord Jesus in heaven. Daryl Olszewski Pastoral Associate 2 Fourth Sunday of Lent March 22, 2009 STATIONS OF THE CROSS AAACOLYTES & D& D ISTRIBUTORS You are invited for the Stations of the Cross on Fridays during Lent at 6:15 pm in SSSCHEDULES ARE RRREADY FFFOROROR PPPICKICKICK UPUPUP !!! the Church. Join us as we journey around the Church, praying, reflecting and con- necting our lives to Jesus. The Stations If you normally receive your should last around 45 minutes. All are welcome! schedule via US Mail please pick it up at the Distributor Sign-In Station. If you are on email your schedule was COMMUNAL CONFESSIONS sent out on March 21st. To help prepare for Easter the Four Saints and A Good Shepherd Cluster Parishes will have two Communal Recon- ciliation Services. They will take place on: Calling all Prayers! • Saturday, March 28th at St. Agnes Parish—12801 W. The children in the CF program have a special place Fairmount Avenue in Butler at 10:30 am where they are putting their prayer intentions this • Saturday, April 4th here at St. James at 10:30 am in Lent... “The Prayer Wall”. It is located in the hallway church of the school building. Please join us in praying for the needs and concerns of the children in the CF pro- grams, as well as, the needs of our world. “Rich is the person who has a praying friend.” Next Fellowship Weekend ~Janice Hughes~ April 4 th & 5 th . This is a wonderful opportunity to visit, after Mass, with old and new friends while enjoying some delicious bakery and treats. Easter Egg Drive Families whose last names start with Marissa Lastrilla and Mariah Bazile, of Girl Scout Troop K thru M #2569, are collecting Easter Egg coloring kits, and money for are on the docket to bring the treats; bakery or cheese, eggs, to donate to the Sussex Food Pantry. This is part of their service project for the Bronze Award. They are collecting sausage and crackers; etc. th these items the weekends of March 21/22 and 28/29 . Dona- Those of you, who would like to bring something every month, tion Boxes will be set up in the gathering space. The girls will be present after all the masses on the weekend of March bless you and please do.