Holy Cross Catholic Church June 2016 Bulletin
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Holy Cross Catholic Church June 2016 Bulletin Deacon’s Corner The Obstacle of Discouragement Psalm 42:3-4 We all have expectations. And whether they are reasonable or illogical, when our hopes fail us, we feel disappoint- ed. There's nothing wrong with this response, in and of itself--in life, some disappointment is inevitable. Discourage- ment, however, is a choice, and a dangerous one at that. In this state of mind, we allow our circumstances to con- sume us. Then we stop striving for the goal and miss achieving our potential. Another consequence is a divided mind. As we're distracted from tasks at hand, we easily make poor decisions and then feel tempted to blame others for our predicament. Anger can lead to retaliation and depression. All the while, we are drifting spiritually. Obviously, it's important to resolve disappointment quickly. Consider what the Lord experienced in the garden of Gethsemane. He not only faced a gruesome death the follow- ing day; He also knew He would be separated from His Father for the first time in all eternity. His words in Matthew 26:38 reveal profound pain: "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death." Needing encouragement and sup- port, He asked the disciples to pray and stay awake with Him. And yet, they fell asleep. Jesus must have felt let down and alone, but He didn't allow hopelessness to distract Him from His purpose of procuring our salvation. When life deals you a painful blow, remember Jesus' response and realize you, too, can choose to cling to the Father for hope. Have you allowed disappointment to rob you of focus and joy? Pray for God to keep you from discourage- ment. God Bless, Deacon Jim Event Calendar Confessions will be heard on July 2 and 3, (6:00 p.m. on Sat. 8:30 a.m. on Sunday). Summer Saturday masses begin June 18 at 5 p.m. Rosaries will be on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at Holy Cross. The Jubilee Year of Mercy began on Dec. 8th, 2015. Welcome pilgrims to our Holy Door. Parish Directory Door of Mercy at Holy Cross Church Holy Cross One of eight “Holy Doors of Mercy” within the Diocese of Gay- 37860 Kings Highway lord, Holy Cross Church on Beaver Island is a designated Pil- Beaver Island, MI 49782 grimage site. Those who make a pilgrimage to and pass 231-448-2230 through a Door of Mercy at any of the pilgrimage churches Sacramental Ministers will obtain a Jubilee Indulgence. Fr. Matthew Wigton Fr. John Paul Bashe After passing through the Door of Mercy, one should stop in St. Mary’s Parish prayer, fulfilling the following actions: Charlevoix, MI Make a Profession of Faith. 231-547-6652 Parish Administrator Pray for the Holy Father and his intentions. Deacon Jim Siler Pastoral/Finance Council Pray the Prayer for the Jubilee by Pope Francis and conclude Bev Cantwell with an invocation to the merciful Lord Jesus. Jacqueline LaFreniere Tina Morgan NOTES Jim Wojan Are you aware that you can request copies of the Sunday Mass Requests Homily? If you would like a copy e-mail us at [email protected]. June 18– Nancy Cull Also bricks for the Memorial Garden are available for sale, June 19– Janet O’Donnell the forms are next to the entrance of the Church. June 25– Nancy Cull Anyone who wishes to receive this bulletin via email, please June26– Janet O’Donnell contact Jacque LaFreniere at [email protected] Anyone wishing a complete financial report, contact Deacon Jim at HolyCross@ tds.net Holy Cross Financial Report Prayer List The financial year for Holy Cross is July 1 to June 30 Emmalee Antkoviak Maureen Bussell of the following year. If anyone wants to see a com- plete financial report please send an e-mail to Steve Walgus Mary Kenwabikise [email protected]. Phyllis Moore Susie Fisher For the month of April Kelton Hunter Phil Becker Income: Offertory and Loose……$3509 Jamie Martin Kathy Speck Hall, Convent Rental and Cemetery Income….$0 Bernie Miller Jo McNew Expenses……$30,363.70 (includes $20,000 capital outlay for improvements) Sr. Mathilda McDuffie Glen Felixson Tom Whitman Avery Devereaux Net Income…..($26,654) Liz Lanier Joyce Bartels Balance Sheet Assets: $261,281 Lynn “Chick” McNamara Blue Liabilities….$8319.86 Fund Balance….$252,931 Al Hagerman Geroline Meyers Saints of the Day in June Each Month, we will include on the calendar some of the saints of the day recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. In this spot, we will write a short history of those saints. There are many each month, but we will choose a few to write histories about. For a complete list of the saints of the day, visit www.americancatholic.org from which this information was taken. June 3: Sts. Charles Lwanga and companions: d. 1886. One of 22 Ugandan martyrs, Charles Lwanga is the patron of youth and Catholic action in most of tropical Africa. He protected his fellow pages (aged 13 to 30) from the homosexual demands of the Bagandan ruler, Mwanga, and encouraged and instructed them in the Catholic faith during their imprisonment for refusing the ruler’s demands. For his own unwillingness to submit to the immoral acts and his efforts to safeguard the faith of his friends, Charles was burned to death at Namugongo on June 3, 1886, by Mwanga’s order. Charles first learned of Christ’s teachings from two retainers in the court of Chief Mawulugungu. While a catechumen, he entered the royal household as assistant to Joseph Mukaso, head of the court pages. On the night of Mukaso’s martyrdom for encouraging the African youths to resist Mwanga, Charles requested and received Baptism. Imprisoned with his friends, Charles’s courage and belief in God inspired them to remain chaste and faithful. When Pope Paul VI canonized these 22 martyrs on October 18, 1964, he referred to the Anglican pages mar- tyred for the same reason. June 6: St. Norbert 1080-1134: In the twelfth century in the French region of Premontre, St. Norbert founded a religious Order known as the Praemonstratensians or the Norbertines. His founding of the Order was a monumental task: combating rampant here- sies (particularly regarding the Blessed Sacrament), revitalizing many of the faithful who had grown indifferent and dissolute, plus effecting peace and reconciliation among enemies. Norbert entertained no pretensions about his own ability to accomplish this multiple task. Even with the aid of a goodly number of men who joined his Order, he realized that nothing could be effectively done without God’s power. Finding this help especially in devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, he and his Norbertines praised God for success in converting heretics, reconciling numerous enemies and rebuilding faith in indifferent believers. Many of them lived in central houses during the week and served in parishes on weekends. Reluctantly, Norbert became archbishop of Magdeburg in central Germany, a territory half pagan and half Christian. In this position he zealously and courageously continued his work for the Church until his death on June 6, 1134. June 9: St. Ephrem 306-373: Poet, teacher, orator and defender of the faith, Ephrem is the only Syrian recognized as a doctor of the Church. He took upon himself the special task of opposing the many false doctrines rampant at his time, always remaining a true and forceful defender of the Catholic Church. Born in Nisibis, Mesopotamia, he was baptized as a young man and became fa- mous as a teacher in his native city. When the Christian emperor had to cede Nisibis to the Persians, Ephrem, along with many Christians, fled as a refugee to Edessa. He is credited with attracting great glory to the biblical school there. He was ordained a deacon but declined becoming a priest (and was said to have avoided episcopal consecration by feigning madness!). It is surprising to read that he wrote hymns against the heretics of his day. He would take the popular songs of the heretical groups and, using their melodies, compose beautiful hymns embodying orthodox doctrine. Ephrem became one of the first to introduce song into the Church’s public worship as a means of instruction for the faithful. His many hymns have earned him the title “Harp of the Holy Spirit.” He preferred a simple, austere life, living in a small cave overlooking the city of Edessa. It was here he died around 373. June 11: St. Barnabas: Barnabas, a Jew of Cyprus, comes as close as anyone outside the Twelve to being a full-fledged apos- tle. He was closely associated with St. Paul (he introduced Paul to Peter and the other apostles) and served as a kind of mediator between the former persecutor and the still suspicious Jewish Christians. When a Christian community developed at Antioch, Bar- nabas was sent as the official representative of the Church of Jerusalem to incorporate them into the fold. He and Paul instructed in Antioch for a year, after which they took relief contributions to Jerusalem. Later, Paul and Barnabas, now clearly seen as char- ismatic leaders, were sent by Antioch officials to preach to the Gentiles. Enormous success crowned their efforts. After a miracle at Lystra, the people wanted to offer sacrifice to them as gods—Barnabas being Zeus, and Paul, Hermes—but the two said, “We are of the same nature as you, human beings. We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God” (see Acts 14:8-18). But all was not peaceful. They were expelled from one town, they had to go to Jerusalem to clear up the ever-recurring controversy about circumcision and even the best of friends can have differences.