Dear Friends in Christ,

As you read this our students at St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School will be entering into their fourth week of school. Time is flying by! We had an Open House on Friday, August 9^th and many parents came by with their children to show them their classrooms and meet their teachers. It was a day filled with excitement and anticipation.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Family Honor is a non-profit organization that presents parent-teen and parent-only programs on chastity, family communication, and Theology of the Body. They also provide half-day seminars and weekend continuing education courses and develop resources for parents and ministry leaders. Family Honor was created in 1988 in South Carolina by parents who envisioned something better for their children in the area of sex education other than the negative and harmful approach the current culture was offering. For over 30 years, Family Honor has provided a Catholic framework on the truth and meaning of sexuality, love, and family.

Dear Friends in Christ,

God’s Word, as well as the Eucharist, is the repast that feeds our soul. It would be reckless not to faithfully take part in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that Christ has left for us:  Bread from heaven and the Word of God.  The Gospel enlightens our mind; the Eucharist nourishes our soul.  Christ’s promise makes a new light shine within us: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Catholic Church is here to stay. She will outlast every government, every culture and every human institution. Indeed in St. Matthew’s Gospel, our Lord told St. Peter, “¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.” (Matt 16:18) The Catholic Church may get smaller in the immediate future as some have predicted, but she will be here until the Second Coming of our Lord.

Dear Friends in Christ,

As I write this, I have been attending my 55^th High School Reunion in Red Lake Falls, MN. It’s so beautiful up here! It’s been a while since I have been up here in the summer, and I am struck by the beauty of the crops this year. Everywhere there are vast fields of wheat, barley, potatoes, soybeans, sugar beets or corn, all in a lush shade of green or gold. The topsoil here in the Red River Valley is about six feet deep and the crops feast on that rich soil.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today, we contemplate how both human and supernatural love can grow in us, given that we use the same heart to love both man and God.

Generally speaking, love starts to grow in the human heart with the progressive discovery of that which is attractive in the other person: their friendliness, their goodness. This is the case of the “boy who has five barley loaves and two fish” (Jn 6:9). He gives Jesus all he has with him, the bread and the fish, because he has let himself be won over by his attraction to Jesus. —Have you truly been won over by Jesus?

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today, the Gospel invites us to discover the importance of resting in the Lord. The Apostles were returning from the mission on which Jesus had sent them. They cast out demons, cured the sick and preached the Gospel. They were tired and Jesus told them: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” (Mk 6:31).

Dear Friends in Christ,

Yes....I am going to ask for money...

First, let me say thank you for your generosity and support of St. Mary’s! Our parish has always enjoyed a reputation for its generous support of our parish and our ministries, and this past year has not been different. Your financial support makes all of our efforts possible, stretching our reach and bringing the God’s mercy to so many who need it. It provides for the upkeep of our buildings and literally keeps the lights on in this divine enterprise. It allows us to pay our employees a decent and fair wage. Your gifts do this!

Dear Friends in Christ,

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house” (Mark 6:4)

Through his life and words, a prophet always brings an air of novelty, a new plan, which if taken seriously puts our old habits and false securities in crisis. That is why he makes many people uncomfortable. Jesus arrives in Nazareth after a long journey of apostolic work and amazing miracles, but in his hometown, he finds opposition from his relatives. They reject his message and even the messenger. It’s the carpenter’s son! “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him?” (Mark 6:2)