• http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/12/haiti.earthquake/
• http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/haiti/

We will be taking up a second collection at all of the Masses this weekend (1/17/10) and next weekend (1/24/10) to provide assistance through Catholic Relief Services and our own Archdiocese. If you wish donate directly to Catholic Relief Services follow the link here to donate directly to them using your credit card:

• http://crs.org

If you are unable to offer anything financially at this time, please keep our Haitian brothers and sisters in your prayers over the next few weeks.

In Christ,

Fr. Todd

1. Sunday evening Bible Scripture Series begins January 17. These weekly sessions will focus on the papal encyclicals. Come study and discuss facets of our faith which were written by various popes through the years, from Pope Leo XIII to our current Pope Benedict XVI. Come to one session or attend all. This class meets at 7 pm in the St. Augustine room. Call Bob Beyke at 299-5278 for more information.

2. MOMS (Ministry of Moms Sharing) is a program that has touched many women, young and those not so young. Weekly sessions begin January 12 in Classroom 16 in our school and will follow the set guidelines from the MOMS program which will include praying, journaling, sharing, and celebrating friendship. There is a $25 fee for the book.

3. Don’t panic now, but Lent is just around the corner (Ash Wednesday is February 17) and many of you might want to join with other parishioners in small groups to better focus on this holy season with prayer, reflection, and fellowship in your homes. The sign up for these groups will be the weekends of January 16-17 and 23-24. There will be a $5 fee for this program. The commitment is minimal, only 6 weeks, yet it will offer another opportunity for increased personal spirituality.

Peace,

Fr Todd

Q: What do you know about the sister parish now, and how did you learn it?
All of the above. Additionally, I have recently spent some time with the pastor there, Fr Miguel who came for a week long visit. It was very interesting to talk to him and discover that there were quite a few similarities in terms of ministerial duties, joys and struggles. We pray for our sister parish once a month and take up a collection as well. I think there is an annual trip in June, which I may join this year.

Q: How would you describe the sister parish relationship?
The leadership continues to express their desire to emphasize relationship, and from that seems to flow the assistance we offer. This not a bad way to think about it, as long as we are careful that we are seeking to equip them as best we can to be a strong and dynamic Catholic community. Personally, I think this is more the goal of a twinning relationship, helping resource a “sister” parish to be the best it can be. This also is what makes the relationship mutual. While St. James does not offering financial and medical resources, they would if the roles were reversed. As they are, they call us to deeper conversion by making our community focus outward on others. This always makes a community better, since this is what the Gospel calls us to do.

Q: Do you think both parishes give and receive equally, and what do you think they give and receive?
Yes, but in obviously very different ways. Let’s take the example of a mission trip, a popular thing to do is visit your sister parish. When a group goes down and comes back from a mission trip, inevitably, almost without fail, the comments are that the ‘experience was powerful’ and that the ‘roles were reversed for them.’ They may not be able to say why, but in general the mission team will always feel that they received more than they gave. This feeling is consistently heard. I think this is the main reason why the trips are important for us. Frankly, they are right. Generally, sister parishes don’t need you to come down and paint their houses, build them wells, and do their construction work. What they do need is to see that we generally care, that we have an interest in seeing them thrive, in empowering them to do these things themselves, with or without us. This is the manner in which we give and the sister parish receives. In that same situation, we receive, in a powerful and in your face kind of way, the challenges poverty presents. We are pretty spoiled in terms of wealth…clean drinkable running water is generally a given even for our poorest. This is not true in most of the rest of the world. It is good for us to see this. It should call us to something, to live our lives differently. I received this in my first sister parish visit to St. Anne’s in Limonade, Haiti. I have personally struggled with it ever since. This is good for me. It pushes me to see God and the world outside of myself. It challenges my Christian understanding of self and neighbor. We have the option to choose poverty so that others may have basic necessities. Many, who discover this, find it to be challenging but incredibly grace-filled.

Q: Do you think the sister parish relationship works to unite people in different countries in the Americas to bring them together as one America? (If you’re familiar with the apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America, that’s sort of where I’m getting this question – I’m trying to tie the idea of sister parishes to that document and see if it can function that way, if you have any thoughts on that.)
It is possible I suppose, but my concern is more focused on the relationship amongst Catholics and Christians. If our desire to evangelize and be in relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ brings the Americas closer together, I guess that would be great.

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day Mass Schedule Thurs. Dec. 24, 4:00 pm., 6:00 pm., Midnight (Vigil Service begins at 11:30 m.)
Fri. Dec. 25, 10:00 am., 12:30 pm. Spanish

Mary Mother of God Mass Schedule
(Holy Day of Obligation)
Thur. Dec. 31, 4:00 pm., 6:00 pm. Spanish
Fri. Jan. 1, 10:00 am., 12:30 pm. Spanish

Participants painted homes as part of the Coat of Many Colors, made “care packages” for the homeless and needy (which were distributed to parishioners after Masses last weekend), watched a movie about homelessness, and gathered around a fire pit for warmth as they discussed various Catholic social teachings.

The centerpiece of the 28½ hour experience was the choice for all participants (and eight adult chaperones) to sleep overnight in large boxes (lovingly donated by parishioners Mary Ann and Fred Madsen) in our outdoor courtyard, as a way for these teens to recognize that homeless people are every bit as valuable and loved by God as we are.

The temperature dropped below 30 degrees, but, to their credit, the teens did not complain about their conditions, for they knew that, unlike the daily homeless experience for others, the teens’ Saturday night challenges were temporary. (Last year’s group numbered only sixteen, so this was a BIG step forward for many of our teens, and for our Youth Ministry Program.)

The overall message of the participating teens to their fellow parishioners is this: “Pray for the homeless person and, if time and safety permit, get to know them, for they (along with us) make up the Body of Christ.”