HLIV COLPP BRISTOL Catholic Church WILMOT www.holycrosscatholicchurch.net Masses: Bristol: Saturdays 4:30 pm Sundays 10:30 am September 20, 2020 TwentyVLifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Wilmot: Sundays 8:30 am Fridays 8:00 am Parish OfLice 262V857V2068 18700 116th Street, Bristol, WI 53104 Pastoral Ministry Dr. Sandi Schmitt, Parish Director B (262) 857V2068 / W (262) 862V7244 Email: [email protected] Fr. Dennis M. Witz, Assisting Priest Staff Connie Smith, Dir. of Admin. Services Parish OfLice: (262) 857V2068 Email: [email protected] Shelby Miller Cor. Christian Formation Formation OfLice: (262) 857V9032, Email: [email protected] Jim Schneeweiss, Dir. of Music and Liturgy Email:[email protected] Kim Allen, Bulletin Editor, Email: [email protected] Bob Gillmore, Bristol Maintenance Allyn Durbin, Wilmot Maintenance Ed Weis, St. Scholastica Cemetery Sexton (262) 857V2477 Bill Mellen, Holy Name Cemetery Sexton (847) 561V7213 Parish Trustees Paul Horak and Connie Anderson Pastoral Council Diane Pauletti, Chair Pam Kirsch, Secretary Rose Rayner John Manarik John Clements Bill Soens Finance Council Ed Roach, Chair Connie Anderson Paul Horak John Manarik Bill Soens Chris Verzal Catholic Schools Burlington Catholic Grade School (262) 763V1515 Catholic Central H.S. (262) 763V1510 Paul Nachowicz CCHS Board of Directors Parish Representative A note from the Parish Director... Catholic Central HS Historical Fact Dear Parishioners, "The choice of name for St. Mary's/Catholic Central's annual To those with us at Mass for the first time since March, wel- yearbook, The Marian, was handed down by former classes, come back! You have been missed! implying devotion to the Virgin Mother Mary. Through the ages, Mary has been the inspi- We have worked diligently to make our Sunday Mass experi- ration of the arts: literature, ence safe by adhering to the archdiocesan directives for par- music, painting and architec- ish operations and ministries. The archdiocese regularly up- ture. Above all, Mary is our dates the directives as conditions allow. We are currently on inspiration in the art of Chris- the sixth revision. tian living." The most recent update on September 14 increased capacity from 25% to the number of households each parish can safely accommodate while maintaining social distancing. Seating for Good and Evil Mass is now on a first come basis. You will also notice that Question: doors are locked five minutes before Mass begins. It’s a good If God is good, why is there evil in the world? idea to plan on arriving early the next few months. Our church buildings are disinfected after every Mass. Thank Answer: you to our parish volunteers who take care of this each The problem of evil is perplexing. If God is all-powerful and week! You are appreciated more than you know. We could all-good, why doesn’t He stop bad things from happening? He use a few more hands to help disinfect. If you would like to must either not be all-powerful, or perhaps He’s not very help, sign up on the parish website or contact the parish of- good after all. Human beings have faced the possibility of evil fice. since the very beginning of our existence. In granting us free will, God gives us the ability to make free choices. God does Financially this has been a challenging time for us all. It is not force us into moral perfection. We are not forced to through the generous contributions of those who continued love Him or to love our neighbor. We must make the deci- to support Holy Cross with their time, talent, and treasure sion ourselves. This means, of course, that we have the abil- these past six months that we are here today. Thank you for ity to choose against love. being a faithful steward of God’s gifts. Your love for Christ and his Church shines brightly! One small decision of selfishness, jealously, or pride may not May the Lord bless our parish community as we navigate seem so bad. But every decision — good or bad — is like a these challenging times together. Christ is with us and will stone dropped into a still pond. The ripples extend much see us through. farther than the original stone. When decisions against love begin to compound, they affect families, neighborhoods, and Grace and peace in Christ, nations. This is all the more reason for Christians to be faith- Dr. Sandi ful to our baptismal call to love one another as Christ has loved us! Join us for an informational High This week's question School night where we will share #5 What Catholics believe about Eucharist . what is how SJCA offers an educational ex- the name for the Catholic belief in the mystery of bread and perience like no other in the area, wine changing into the Body and Blood of Christ: transubstan- integrating Catholic values with aca- tiation, virtual presence, pure symbolism, consubstantiation? demic rigor and an embedded com- mitment to service. Last week's question #4 Those who sincerely try to do what is right but Meet our staff and hear from our have no opportunity to learn about Christ receive students. what we call: 1) an implicit baptism of desire, 2) a Families that attend and enroll a new baptism of water, 3) an explicit baptism of desire, 4) a high school student will receive $50 baptism of blood. The answer is an implicit baptism of de- off their 2021-2022 registration. sire. The Church teaches that those who try to do what is right and respond to the Holy Spirit but have no opportunity To sign up for this great event, visit: to learn about Christ can be saved. EVERYDAY STEWARDSHIP - RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS Important Notice Be Sure to Look the Part I used to coach my oldest son in soccer when he was young- Saturday, October 3 at 4:30 pm er. As he got older, he would go to tryouts for select and Masses will resume at Holy Cross Wilmot high school teams. I was no longer the coach, but I always shared with him one piece of advice before any tryout: Be sure to look the part. I told him that if he showed up looking like a soccer player, there was an increased chance of him GOSPEL MEDITATION being seen as a soccer player. If he showed up looking like a kid that plays soccer in video games as opposed to the real If I work for five hours, I expect to get paid for five hours. If thing, he might not be taken seriously. As he grew older, that I work for two, I expect to get paid for two. What if we same advice was then applied to getting a job. It’s advice I worked for a company that paid everyone the same amount have heeded myself all my life. You can even say it is like an- regardless of how long they worked? How would we feel other common phrase: “Fake it till you make it.” going home with the same pay for working eight hours as As disciples of Jesus Christ, we certainly do not want to fake my co-worker did for working only two hours? Secular wis- it, but we do need to look the part. The world looks at those dom would have a huge problem with this and a visit to the of us who proclaim to be Christians to see if there is any- Labor Board would quickly pursue. But this is God’s wis- thing to this way of life. If they see us looking and acting like dom and God’s ways. people transformed by Jesus Christ, they will be more likely to take Christianity seriously. If they look at us and see noth- We sometimes think that if we pray more, better, or more ing different, then they can easily conclude that there is noth- fervently and go over and above with the practice of our ing different about Jesus Christ. He just becomes simply an- faith, God will somehow reward us and present us with other religious figure of history. Can the world see the pow- some kind of merit badge. We are so wrong. Spiritual prac- er of Christ in you? How will do you look the part? tices have only one true purpose: to deepen our love for – Tracy Earl Welliver ©LPi God. In deepening our love for God, we also increase our ability to see God’s presence around us, living life more purposefully and contemplatively. What if God chooses to treat someone who has come on the scene of faith later in life the same as someone who has devoted their whole lives to it? Does it really matter? If we have the merit badge no- Ron Cates tion of faith, we can find ourselves feeling a little arrogant February 23, 1939 ~ September 13, 2020 and even jealous of folks who have not followed the same path that we have. We can even see ourselves as the privi- Ron was a longtime parishioner of Holy leged few who have a corner on the faith and fully possess Cross, Wilmot, where he served as a eucharistic minister and it. lector. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus. Jesus Our Risen Savior, Your son, Ron, is now gone from his That thinking doesn’t square with God. God is all about earthly dwellings and has left behind those who mourn his mercy in abundance and is ready to take anyone to himself absence. Grant that as we grieve for our dear brother in regardless of when they come.