The Holy Eucharist will be distributed after daily Mass under the carport ***** Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday - Friday *** from 8:40 a.m. thru 8:50 a.m.
0 Comments
To celebrate Mother’s Day, Fr. Barry is inviting all mothers to come for a blessing and a flower! The celebration will commence under the carport on Sunday, May 10th from 11am-noon. Happy Good Shepard Sunday! This is a week in which we are reminded just how blessed we are from a God who guides and walks with us. In our second reading from St. Peter, we are told “If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God.” And I know all of us are suffering as we go through this pandemic. We are separated from our loved ones, we are going stir crazy confined to our homes, we are missing being able to attend Masses and receiving the Eucharist. This is also I time that we need to unite as a Church community and support one another. Phone calls, getting groceries or medicine for those most vulnerable, or sending a card to someone who might need their day brightened. Our Gospel passage from John tells us the story of a Shephard protecting his sheep that have been entrusted to him. Being the One who will watch over, guide and shield/defend against harm. “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” Jesus as the “gate” is an interesting image. And it “works” as an image in two obvious ways. First, a gate provides security for those within the enclosure. It keeps them safe. It keeps them together. It keeps them sheltered and protected. And there are times when that is desperately needed, specially times like we are in now with the corona virus. And this wasn’t just for animals, but for us too, the times when our God needs to be our refuge, our place in which to rest and feel secure. But not all the time. Not if there is something we need outside the fence. Not if there is something beautiful and meaningful and life-giving on the other side of the wall. Secondly, in those cases, we need a gate, an opening to green pastures, an opening to a life of true freedom ... a life free from everything that holds us back from the incredible life that God wants for each of us ... the life won for us through the saving acts of Jesus. If you have a fenced-in yard you know that going through the gate isn’t the ONLY way out of the yard. Over the fence, under the fence, up a tree, off the roof ... there ARE other ways one might go from inside to outside, from confinement to freedom, from barren ground to green pastures. And the Church of today no longer speaks in strict or narrow terms about salvation. The Second Vatican Council addressed this situation head-on, articulating the Church’s belief that we can never put any limits on God’s mercy. And so, we would say that the salvation of the world absolutely comes through the saving acts of Jesus, our God who died for all and for all time ... whether we are aware of it or not, whether we believe it or not. And believing in that deep truth is a complete game-changer, a life-changer, an indispensable source of joy and peace and meaning of life to the fullest. What a God we have! And so the gate is there not to LIMIT who comes and goes, but to provide the easiest access, the best path. To provide the best way for us to embrace the new life won for us by Jesus, provide an avenue to life-giving green pastures which begin in this life and continue into eternity. And so, if we see salvation in a very narrow sense, if we see following Jesus as something we “have” to do or are “obligated” to do otherwise we are in serious trouble, we will really never be able to live our lives full of joy and meaning and goodness and beauty. Our faith will become a chore, a burden, something we only do begrudgingly or out of misguided or exaggerated fear. But if we trust that God is not looking for ways to punish us or pounce on us, but rather simply wants to love us, save us, redeem us, lead us to the greenest pastures imaginable, then listening to his voice and walking through the gate is all we will ever want to do. My sisters and brothers in Christ, don’t allow this current situation to get you down. Spend time with your Shepard, allow him to shed his infinite grace upon your life. Allow him to sooth and calm you. Allow him to do what he does best, LOVE you. Have a blessed week and know we are all here if you should need anything. I’ve been lighting a candle each week for all of you! Fr. Barry REMINDER to Parishioners * 24 Hour Eucharistic Adoration for 2020 - First Friday – May 1 thru May 2 Starting at 9 am on Friday an ending at 9 am on Saturday) Note: There will be a prayer petition book placed out the week prior to our First Friday Eucharistic Adoration. Anyone wishing to have petitions offered during Adoration may enter their petition into the book and they will be prayed for. Attention: Church doors are locked @ 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. if you are coming to pray during this time please knock on door (under carport) 5 minutes before the start of each hour and you will be let in by person already inside of church. We may still only have 10 (or less) people in church, but you are welcome to come spend time with Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament ***** Donations needed for King’s Community Food Pantry items ***** needed are: Peanut Butter * Cold Cereal ( Kellogg’s Frosted Strawberry Mini-wheats, Frosted Blueberry Mini wheats , Cheerios, Fruit Loops , Sugar Crisp, Frosted Flakes) * Hot Cereal * saltines, Ritz & graham crackers * Noodles * Spaghetti Sauce * Laundry Detergent * Toilet Paper (4 roll packs, please) * paper towels * Butter * Cheese * Monetary gifts are always welcome to buy the perishable items needed. Make check out to: KingsCommunityFoodPantry. If you would like to donate food items, please bring to church dining hall on Monday from 10 am until 2 pm or anytime you see “OPEN” flag placed out that church is open. There is a need during this time of uncertainty, in our community, as families are practicing social distancing and unemployment is happening. Thank you for supporting this area food pantry. God’s blessings. From the desk of Fr. Barry: It’s been five weeks now of being under the “Stay at Home” order, and there’s still an uncertainty to when it will really end. I have to say, I’m pretty tired of it. I need a haircut, haven’t been able to see my family in Rapids, can’t visit parishioners in the hospital or nursing homes, and most of all, miss seeing each of you at Mass. I’ve struggled with coming up ways to stay more in touch. I’ve doubted my ability of being creative in ways that reach out. I’ve wondered what more can I be doing! Then I read the readings for this weekend. The Responsorial Psalm tells us, “Lord, you will show us the path to life.” And through all of this I see we have to look past what is currently going on, the Lord still has a plan for all of this, he is still showing us that path! In our Gospel passage from Luke, we hear the famous Road to Emmaus Walk, Jesus is walking with two disciples who don’t recognize him. The journey together leads them to discover how their hearts burned with them but only after Jesus departs them, only after they break bread together. But this story is deeper than it might seem on the surface. You see, in many ways, this story teaches us truths about the spiritual life. First, our spiritual life is a kind of journey, an active thing, a moving down a path toward a destination. Secondly, on this journey we are not alone --- we have each other, but most importantly, we have Jesus, our God, who is making the journey with us, whether we are aware of it or not. And thirdly, this Jesus we call our Savior, wants nothing more than to commune with us, be with us, teach us, guide us and help us connect the dots of our own individual stories with his. He wants us to know he is with us and will always be. That my friends is the hope that has pulled me out of the stooper I have been in. The hope that our Lord does in deed walk with us each and every day. In the good, and in the not so good. In time of difficulties and in the joys we celebrate. As we have been livestreaming our daily and weekend Masses, I see that he does indeed walk with us. Before all this happened, our normal daily Mass attendance was between 15 to 30 people. When we finish Mass now, we have 50 to 80 people watching live, and by the time I go to bed we have over 300 that have viewed the Mass. That to me is proof that Christ is among us! On another positive note, construction is full speed ahead. The basement and garage have been poured and by the end of the week, you’ll see frame work going up! God’s hand is in this my friends, everything has gone so smoothly. We didn’t sign a contract until March thinking that we wouldn’t be able to start till after spring, but with cancellations we were moved first in line. That is no coincidence! My friends stay positive, look for Christ in those places you wouldn’t have before. He is there, HE HAS RISEN, and his comforting each of us, is what will get us through this. God Bless, Fr. Barry Contributions may also be made by mailing it to parish office at our new address: 306 S. LaSalle Street Your continued support is so greatly appreciated. Happy Easter! I am now hosting youth ministry meetings weekly online through Zoom, Wednesdays at 3:30pm. All teens are welcome to join us. One positive aspect of meeting online is that it is easier to join with other youth groups and have guest speakers from long distances. Please contact me to sign up for the weekly reminders and instructions on how to join the Zoom call. You can also join with any landline phone. We are using a waiting room to ensure security on Zoom, so please let me know in advance if you are attending for the first time. We are also participating in ProjectYM live, a Catholic online event featuring guest speakers such as Fr. Mike Schmitz. Each broadcast is an hour long and includes games, music, and a teaching from one of the top Catholic youth ministry speakers in the country. Teens/families will be able to watch the live stream from any device – and be part of the BIGGEST Catholic youth night ever! This is held on Sunday nights from 7-8pm. The link to watch is https:// live.projectym.com/ Don't forget to check out the new content Formed has to offer. Did you know you can download movies or shows to your iOS or Android device to watch later? Download the formed app. On the video of your choice, tap the offline sync button to start downloading the video or videos to your device. Log in at www.formed.org From the desk of Fr. Barry: I hope this finds everyone well after our Easter Day celebrations. Christ has truly risen! Alleluia!! As we continue to move through this Easter Season (till Pentecost), Sacred Scriptures will show us much zeal for our faith, but will also show doubt as in this weekends Gospel passage from John. Thomas, after hearing Jesus had appeared to the disciples says “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Seeing is truly believing, and when Thomas is able to see for himself, out comes those famous words, “My Lord and my God”. These are the same words I say at every Mass when I genuflect after holding up the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ensuring that this mystery before me is acknowledged for what it truly is. “Seeing is believing”, it seems to hold true for many of us. Yet, so many times throughout our lives we go with our gut feeling or even what society tells us to think. Some may think that abortion is ok if it doesn’t affect me and it’s someone else making the decision. Church is something I believe in but if someone else doesn’t, well that’s ok. Or what about the sacraments? The Eucharist is fundamental to our faith, yet some Catholics only see this as a piece of bread that has no tie to the actual Body of Christ, or confession as being something that can be done in private without participating in the Sacrament of reconciliation. What’s the point of believing if it doesn’t change us on the inside, if it doesn’t actually shape how we live, how we love each other, or how we treat one another? What’s the point of believing if we reduce it to just words, or ideas that simply rattle around in our heads? In other words, the depth of our belief is reflected in the depth of our love. It is in the action’s that we take to bring Christ into this world, to make our Lord visible in the lives we live. I feel that so many of you are doing just that through your support of the new rectory/offices. Helping Christ the King grow into the future. If you have driven by the Church you’ve probably seen that we have broken ground! The basement walls and floor, as well as the garage floor has been poured. This coming week you’ll see the floor joists will be going in and the exterior walls will go up next, then the roof! In this case, seeing is believing, and yes we are growing and making our community stronger! Thank you everyone for all you have done, being that light of Christ to our faith community. God Bless, Fr. Barry From David Alcott
I am now hosting youth ministry meetings weekly online through Zoom, Wednesdays at 3:30pm. All teens from Christ the King are welcome to join us. Please contact me to sign up for the weekly reminders and instructions on how to join the Zoom call. You can also join with any landline phone. Some of the small groups are still meeting online. If your small group is currently not meeting, I would encourage you to continue striving for 15 minutes a day of person- al prayer. At least we can be united in prayer! |
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
Archives
February 2021
Categories
All
|