It’s not too late to volunteer for the annual parish fish fry! Adult and student (grade 6 & above) volunteers are needed every Thursday to prepare food (adults only), pre-pack take-out side dishes and set up the dining room in Farmer Hall. Adult volunteers are needed on Friday afternoon to prepare food and pre-pack take-out side dishes. Adults and students are needed every Friday evening to serve dinner, welcome guests, take orders, pack take-out orders, and assist with the curbside pick-up lanes. All volunteers must pre-register and are assigned specific duties. Please return this form no later than Monday, February 13. No experience needed! Training sessions will be held on Sundays, February 12 at 1:00 pm and February 19 at 2 p.m. in Farmer Hall at St. Catherine of Sweden Church for all Friday volunteers. Please consider supporting the Fish Fry by sponsoring one of our many items or placing an ad on our placemats. Sponsor and advertising information can be found on the reverse side of the volunteer registration form. Please return sponsor and advertising information by Monday, February 13.

Navigating the Bible is a five week course presented by Gary Fristch. This is based on Dr. Edward Sri's book, The Bible Compass. It begins January 9th at 7 p.m. located in St. Richard Social Hall or Wednesdays at 9:30 am at St. Catherine in Farmer Hall. It is $10 per person.

In 1 Samuel, God advises the prophet Samuel not to observe as men see but as God sees. He tells him to “look to the heart.” This is the movement of this Sunday’s Gospel reading. “Beware the scribes,” Jesus advises. He points out their public greetings and “seats of honor,” which stands in sharp contrast to their private greed. For the Jewish people of Jesus’ day, honor resides at the top. Power and prestige created a high profile back then as it still does today. After his warning, Jesus turns his disciples’ attention elsewhere: a poor widow...

One Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated for our grouping at 9:30 a.m. at St. Richard Church.

“Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.” (Luke 13:10) With these opening words, the Gospel for Monday’s daily Mass pressed home the agony and suffering of the previous Saturday. The heinous attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue must serve as a call to all Catholics to remember that our very spiritual roots stem from the Tree of Life—in more layers than I realized when I first sat down to write this letter...

A heartfelt thanks to all of you for the warm welcome Fr. Chris and I received on our first weekend in the parishes. You are so vibrant! We are so delighted to celebrate the love of the Lord with you!...

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Words cannot express the gratitude that I, Father Bob Vular, your new administrator, and Father Chris Mannerino, your new parochial vicar, feel after the warm welcome we have received at Saint Richard and Saint Catherine. Though we all find ourselves in the midst of transition, your example of hospitality and eagerness is a testament to your faith in Jesus Christ, and of the fine shepherds who have served you through the years. Father Chris and I can only pray we are able to respond in kind! We all have questions. Indeed, we all have fears. But let us also be full of hopes! For, “we know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Christian author C.S. Lewis once wrote that Christianity is not so much about being nice people but in being “new men.” We see this contrast in today’s Gospel. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus first answers in the predictable way. Follow the commandments! “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” Perhaps for some of us it’s easy to answer this way. “I’m a good person!” he seems to reply. Does he truly follow all the commandments he professes to follow? Does he - in word and deed - check off all the boxes of the moral law? Perhaps. Whether he’s being honest or fudging the truth, Jesus accepts his answer at face value with compassion. “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.”

It was good to have Fr. Andre this past weekend. He helped us keep our problems in perspective. People in his part of the world struggle to have safe drinking water. Our problems do not seem so big compared to theirs. Yours in Christ, Fr. Vince

As we go about our days, we necessarily label, classify, and prioritize. What’s “in” and what’s “out” on our priority list? Because humans are social beings, we tend to do the same thing with people. We can only invite six people to the dinner party. Our young child wants to invite certain friends to her birthday, but we’re keenly aware of who the parents are, and the prospect of spending several hours with them is enough to give us pause.

The Oscars. The Super Bowl. TV talent shows. Your son’s Little League championship. We live in a culture set on competition. The desire to “be the best” goes beyond hobbies and into politics, the corporate world, and parenting comparisons at the park. This desire is as old as the human race, and it surely arose in Jesus’ day. While Biblical society was significantly less open and upwardly mobile than our own, power was attractive. From what we know, many of Jesus’ disciples had come from lowly backgrounds. Now they followed an increasingly popular rabbi who seemed primed to do something big.

Jesus has many who love His Kingdom in Heaven, but few who bear His Cross (Luke 14:27). He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. He finds many to share His feast, but few His fasting. All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to suffer for His sake. Many follow Jesus to the Breaking of Bread, but few to the drinking of the Cup of His Passion. Many admire His miracles, but few follow Him in the humiliation of His Cross. Many love Jesus as long as no hardship touches them. Many praise and bless Him, as long as they are receiving any comfort from Him. But if Jesus withdraw Himself, they fall to complaining and utter dejection.

“Jesus ... went by way of Sidon ... into the district of the Decapolis.” For most of Jesus’ ministry, he remains in Galilee and areas with a predominantly Jewish population. Today, however, we see Jesus traveling through a heavily pagan area. This makes the utterance of faith in today’s Gospel all the more astounding. “He has done all things well.”

The range of emotions that most of us have felt in the past two weeks over what has been covered by the media about our Church is vast: Anger, Shame, Sorrow, Disgust and Dismay to name a few. What can the average person do to make any difference? As someone who has read extensively on the subject, I can say that the answers are not so simple, but the response each individual person can make is very powerful.

Excerpts from my Homily of 8-19-18 If someone asks you, “Why do you stay in the Catholic Church?” after the previous week, you might  look at what the Apostles experienced in the life, betrayal, trial and passion, death and resurrection of Christ, to find an answer.