From the Desk of : Deacon Jeff Austin
We Deacons are truly blessed, in that we have not one but two patron saints: Saint Stephen (Dec. 26th) and Saint Lawrence (Aug. 10th). So, what is a deacon and why do we have them? In the Acts of the Apostles is the story of the founding of the order of deacons. Chapter Six tells us that the Apostles were unable to both preach the Gospel and serve at table. Seven men were presented to them from the body of the Church and by the body of the Church. These seven men, including Saint Stephen were given the task of serving the poor and proclaiming the Word of God. These two tasks remain the primary focus of deacons to this day. At every Mass, it is the Deacon who proclaims the Gospel and assists the Priest or the Bishop at the altar. If a permanent deacon or a transitional deacon is not present then the priest (who was ordained to the diaconate) performs these functions. Remember, Father Jim was ordained a deacon before he became a priest, Bishop Callahan, Cardinal Burke and yes, even Pope Francis began their ordained lives as deacons. Once a deacon, always a deacon. It is also important to remember what the word “deacon” means. Deacon comes from the Greek word, “Diakonia” meaning simply servant. A deacon then, any deacon, is nothing more than a servant: God’s servant to the poor, to the bishop, and to the priest. We have as our symbols: the dalmatic; the outer garment worn at Mass. This garment originated in the Roman Province of Dalmatia and was worn by the servants serving dinner at table. The dalmatic has sleeves so foot washing would be easier. Our stoles are worn from left shoulder to right hip to indicate that we are not priests. The wash bowl, towel and basin remind us that we are servants performing the most menial of tasks. On August 10th we celebrate the feast of one of our most beloved brothers, St. Lawrence who was blessed with the crown of martyrdom on this day in the year 258, four days after Pope Sixtus II and four other deacons were martyred at the entrance to the catacombs in Rome. Lawrence had been spared execution because he was the treasurer of the Church and was ordered to bring the treasure of the Church to the Roman magistrate. He did so on this date in 258, presenting the poor, the sick, the lame, the widow and the orphans of Rome to the magistrate with the words, “Behold the treasures of the Church.” He was cooked alive on a griddle and is reported to have said, “You may turn me over, I’m done on this side.” Don’t you just love a smart aleck? On a more serious note, I have been blessed to serve Christ the King and St. John the Baptist parish families for these past nine years. Earlier this year, I turned 70 which means we will be needing a new deacon in the not too distant future. If you know anyone you believe would make a good deacon, please talk to them and to Father Jim about them seeking ordination. It is a five year program and the next class starts in two years, so time is of the essence. Any man who is interested may feel free to talk with me at any time. I can only say that the joy, the awe, the wonder are beyond compare. Your brother in Christ, Deacon Jeff
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Holy Day of Obligation * The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary * Thursday August 15th with Mass times at Christ the King are: 8:30a.m. and 12:10 p.m. Ministry participants are needed Thursday for these masses. Sign-up sheets have been placed on back table in the gathering room of church. Your help is greatly appreciated. From the Church
She prayed: “Please, Cardinal Newman, make the bleeding stop!” It did. Immediately. “‘Please, Cardinal Newman, make the bleeding stop.’ Those were my exact words. Just then, as soon as I finished the sentence, the bleeding stopped.” Read More.. Registration and first night of class (for grades 1-8) is Sept. 4 and grades 9 & 10 will begin classes on Sept. 12. Catechists are needed for the upcoming school year! Please contact Deb if you are will to help: In-Service is Aug 28 Growing up in a modest household we didn’t have money for a lot of frills. We never went without, and relied on good ole fun to keep us busy, playing outside whenever we had free time. After college and the Army, I started working for Saturn, and it was the first time I ever made real money. By real, I mean good money. I bought my first house, new car, my BMW motorcycle and began to travel some. Along with those toys came payments, and plenty of them. I found that the true joy I had as a kid growing up, into college and the Army had been taken over by materialism. I was happy, but I had so much more stress in my life than I had ever had in previous years. I began working more hours in hopes of making more money.
After many years, when I began to discern the call to priesthood, that big question kept creeping into my mind. “Do I really want to sell everything I own?” “What if things don’t work out, what will I do.” After a long eighteen months, I remember sitting in my living room after my last garage sale, my friends and I had just finished doing the final cleaning. As I sat on the carpet, I remember this huge weight that had been lifted off of my shoulders. Those questions didn’t seem to matter anymore, I just knew that everything had worked out just like it was supposed to. Those material things had begun to be a road block for me to see the true face of Christ. I valued them more than I valued my relationship with God. They distracted me from pursing that intimate relationship we are all called to have with Christ and I wasn’t allowing the Holy Spirit to guide me, instead I was the one doing all the guiding. It wasn’t until I fully surrendered to God’s will that I felt that peace. Today’s Gospel passage allows us to see that regardless of how many things we store up, how much money we have, nothing goes with us to heaven except our holiness. Our merits. Our developed relationship with our Savior. Are we making good use of our time here on earth? Are we nurturing our relationship with God the Father, with the Son, with the Spirit? Or are we waiting to start that tomorrow? With God’s blessing, Fr. Barry Holy Day of Obligation * The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary * Thursday - August 15 with mass times at Christ the King are: 8:30 a.m. and 12:00 pm (noon). Ministry participants are needed on Thursday for these masses. Sign-up sheets have been placed on back table in the gathering room of church. Your help is greatly appreciated. Mass times at St. John’s / Mfld. Wednesday - August 14 @ 6 pm and Thursday - August 15 @ 7 am and 12:00 (noon) From the Church
The community, which has a special devotion to Saint Benedict and Saint Theresa of Lisieux, first got the idea in the 1980’s. It started with a friendship. Line was on a spiritual search of her own and felt a calling to work with children. Véronique is a young woman with Down syndrome who felt a vocation to the consecrated life. Line is now Mother Line, Superior of the Little Sisters Disciples of the Lamb (Petites Soeurs Disciples de l'Agneau). She explains: "I visited several communities that welcomed people with disabilities, but I saw they could not find their place in these communities because they were not suitable for them". "It was the encounter with Véronique, a girl with Down syndrome that gave us the idea for a new beginning. I told myself I had to help her realize her vocation”. Read More... Save the Date! There will be a free family event on Sunday, August 18th 11 am -7pm called Mercy Day. All are welcome! There will be swimming, inflatables, food, a relay race, and three speakers who will share about God's mercy. It will be held on the property of Dale and Judy Garfield in Marshfield. 9908 County Hwy N in Marshfield. Judy Hehr, Sister Mary Veronica, and our own Fr. Barry will speak. MORE ON VIRTUE Last week I shared with you a way to grow in virtue. After writing this, I came across an article by John Clark (http:// www.setonmagazine.com/dad/olympic-virtue, 07/20/19) in which he tells of advice from a priest friend, Fr. Frank Papa, who has passed away. In this article, John offers the advice given by Fr. Papa, advice that I believe can compliment what I wrote of last week. When reading this article, I was reminded of one of the basics of Dave Ramsey’s financial plan, and that is attacking the smallest debt first. Ramsey teaches that we need to see success in whatever field we are in, and if getting our financial house in order is our immediate task, list all debts. Then, rather than tackling the largest or highest interest debt, attack the smallest. This way we get an early victory, and that can lead us to a greater effort to keep on task. Fr. Papa’s advice, when seeking spiritual advancement, is to get better at your best virtue. This approach to growth in our spiritual life comes from another angle. In my article last week,I wrote of identifying the sin that may be impeding your spiritual growth. This is still important. If we were looking at our financial program, Ramsey doesn’t teach that you only look at the smallest, but to do an inventory and list all debts and assets. In the spiritual life, we look at our sin and virtue, in order to grow in our love for God and how we live that in service to our neighbor. Fr. Papa teaches that for most of us, there is a particular virtue that is very consuming and difficult to practice- chastity, charity, empathy, faith, patience, kindness, hope, forgiveness, humility. But often, at the same time, there is one that is not so difficult. Fr. Papa’s advice is to identify that one virtue, and get better at it. This is where it gets similar to a financial program. We need victories in our spiritual life. When we do this, we do not ignore the other virtues, but strive to bring the practice of one to a high level. Then the practice of this virtue radiates out to the other virtues. Excelling at one makes it easier to improve how we live the other virtues, even the one that is most difficult. But to make this work, we need to be honest in our approach. Pick the virtue you are truly good at, not necessarily the one you desire to be best at. Ask your spouse or another who will be brutally honest with you. Identify this virtue and explore ways to become better. This is where the practice I wrote about last week comes into play. It is not easy, and will make demands upon us if we are really striving to become a more virtuous person. It will stretch us and challenge us, but this is the path of growth in all things. Help Your Virtues Grow Stronger Some ideas that may help get started in the process:
Registration and first night of Religious Education (for grades 1-8) is Sept. 4 and grades 9 & 10 will begin classes on Sept. 11. Catechists are needed for the upcoming school year! Please contact Deb if you are will to help: In-Service is Aug 28 |
MASS SCHEDULE
Tuesday - Friday: 8:00 AM Saturday: 4:00 PM Sunday: 8:00 AM & 10:00 AM RECONCILIATION
Saturday: 3:15 - 3:45 PM OFFICE HOURS
Monday - Thursday: 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Friday: 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM Stay Connected with Our ParishWelcome from Our PastorWelcome to Christ the King Catholic Church! Ever since 1938 this parish has been assisting souls in their quest for deeper union with God. Our mission statement is essentially found in the stained glass window above the main altar: “For Christ our King.” Insofar as God made us and we belong to Him, we have come to... Read More
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