Merry and Bright

You may have read in Father Reckers article last week about how Christmas continues either up until today with a celebration of the Epiphany or up until the Presentation of the Lord on February 2. He was making the point that Christmas continues and indeed this is a very good thing. Because it means that as the winter drags on that the church gives us reason to continue in hope and joy. So that we can make this time of year, merry and bright with the light of Christ.

There is a good reason to rejoice and have hope right now, as can be seen in what we experienced in Advent and into the Christmas season. Confessions were frequently heard throughout the Advent season. At the Saint Michael Day of Grace, we had a steady stream of confessions for 12 hours! Then at the Ss. Peter and Paul Morning of Mercy, we went over by an hour, because so many people were coming to confession. What a wonderful thing that so many received our Lord‘s mercy in the sacrament of Reconciliation!

Unfortunately, Fr Mondiek was sick for a few weeks, but this experience made me even more grateful for having a Family of Parishes with a team of priests and why a Family of Parishes is such a good thing. Because the priests worked as a team, we were able to ensure Sunday Masses were celebrated as scheduled. If all of our parishes were by themselves and a priest got sick, there is a good chance that with Fr. Mondiek’s illness Sacred Heart may not have had a full schedule of Christmas Masses. Praise God that Fr. Dan Schmitmeyer and Fr. Ethan Moore were able to help us out and cover a number of Masses over the Christmas weekend and Fr. Thomas Steinke also helped us over the past several weeks while he was here visiting.  I am thankful that Fr. Reckers and Fr. Aaron were both willing to flex over a stretch of several weeks as each of us (Fr. Reckers especially) had to make adjustments in order to make everything work with a sick priest. So, thank both Fr. Reckers and Fr. Aaron for their willingness to roll with the punches.

There are a lot of other wonderful things that took place over the Advent and Christmas season that would take a novel length bulletin to detail. But it is important to look at all the hopeful and beautiful stuff that the Lord has been doing in St. Joseph, Pillar of Families. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17)

A reminder to all First Communion parents that we will have our first sacraments retreat coming up over the next few weeks and that this is required for all parents and their children who will be receiving the sacrament of First Reconciliation and First Communion. This is because we want to help parents and their children to prepare as best they can to receive the graces given to us in First Communion and the sacrament of Reconciliation. Parents are the primary educators of their children in the Catholic Faith and we at St. Joseph, Pillar of Families want to help and support parents in this duty.

Thank you again to Fr. Dan Schmitmeyer, Fr. Ethan Moore, and Fr. Thomas Steinke for their help during the past few weeks and over the Christmas weekend. We are so incredibly blessed that in the Lord’s providence we were able to receive the help of these wonderful priests.

Peace in Christ,
Fr. Jarred Kohn