EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

 Pop,” yelled grandson Hudson, “I need you to focus.” Frustrated that Pop wasn’t getting the game we were playing, Hudson repeated his mother’s words at those who “just don’t get it” (often Hudson himself)—“I need you to focus.”
Read his lips, and you can almost hear Jesus saying the same thing to a pretty thick crowd in today’s gospel.

I need you to focus; open your eyes; look at me, and see the bread of life.

And they just don’t get it.

Can we really blame them? Pretty tough to look at Jesus and see bread. Almost as tough as looking at bread and seeing Jesus. So, what’s the point of this bread game that we and the crowd seem to have such a tough time getting? The point is this: it’s not the food we eat, but the one for whom we hunger. We just gotta focus!!!

KidsRelig Registration

Getting better!!!

PLEASE REGISTER NOW! Go to the Religious Education Page of the Parish Website where you will find a welcoming letter and important links at the top of the page. There are two links:

• 2012-2013 Registration Form

• 2012-2013 Fees & Payment Options Page with credit card payment program.

Here's the link to the Religious Education Page.  Click here>>>ReligEdPage

For newcomers, it’s quick and easy. For veterans, it’s as easy as ever.

(Bus registration will come later, once we see how many have registered for KidsRelig.)

KidsRelig First-Timers

REGISTER & GET CONNECTED

Are you new to the parish or is your #1 going into First Grade? It is so important that you register as soon as possible. Registration gets you into our email address book, which is the lifeline of communication for KidsRelig. You won’t know what’s happening unless you are connected online.

Sacramental & Enrollment Record

When you register your child for KidsRelig, you will receive a Confirmation Email for each child registered. The email will request that you complete one more form—KidsRelig Sacramental and Enrollment Record. The link to the form is right in the email; click on it and please fill in the form. It takes just a few minutes.

This new form will be a big help in organizing and updating our records.

Also, the Confirmation Email is a way of making sure that we have your most recent email in our KidsRelig address book.

Love,


Deacon Charlie

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

 At the noon Mass this Sunday, Kyle Burton (Seven Bridges 8) will make his First Holy Communion. What a blessing for him, his family and all of us at St. John and St. Mary!

And what better gospel to read on this First Holy Communion Sunday than today’s gospel of John’s story about the feeding of the crowd with loaves and fishes! It is said to be John’s account of the Last Supper. (Remember, the Passover Meal or Eucharistic Institution is not included in John’s account of Holy Thursday events; the action of that evening is in the Washing of Feet.)

We have to smile at today’s miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes. Although Jesus makes it happen, what makes it possible is the gift from a child—5 barley loaves and 2 fish. The little boy’s act of giving up everything in his lunch basket becomes the stuff of Jesus’ action to share his life with everyone. And Jesus shares that life in such abundance that it could not be contained. As much as the crowd ate, there remained so much more. Not leftovers to be thrown away, But more of the very same food to be shared with anyone as hungry as the crowd had been at the first sight of Jesus.

John’s Last Supper is as action-packed as his Washing of Feet, and the action is the same—childlike sacrifice made one with the sacrifice of Jesus, who gave his life so others might have life in such abundance that they would give their lives so others . . .

A meal not to be enjoyed, but to be celebrated; not to make us satisfied with ourselves, but hungry for the sake of others; not to give us more than enough to live, but to give us life enough to live forever.

KidsRelig Registration

Reaches

Good, but we have to do better. It is so important to register now. We have to order books, assign teachers, establish classes and prepare our classrooms. Help us get ready.

PLEASE REGISTER NOW! Go to the Parish Website at www.sjsmrcc.com and click on the Religious Education (CCD) tab on the left. This opens the Religious Education Page with a welcoming letter and important links at the top of the page. There are two links:

• 2012-2013 Registration Form

• 2012-2013 Fees & Payment Options Page with credit card payment program.

For newcomers, it’s quick and easy. For veterans, it’s as easy as ever.

(Bus registration will come later, once we see how many have registered for KidsRelig.)

KidsRelig First-Timers

REGISTER & GET CONNECTED

Are you new to the parish or is your #1 going into First Grade? It is so important that you register as soon as possible. Registration gets you into our email address book, which is the lifeline of communication for KidsRelig. You won’t know what’s happening unless you are connected online.

Love,

Deacon Charlie

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

 

 

 

A miracle on the way to a miracle!

In today’s gospel, Jesus is on his way to a house-call when a woman in the crowd, who has been sick for a long time, touches him, and immediately feels in her body that she has been cured.  Jesus hurries on to the house-call and there touches the body of a little girl, who seems lifeless.  Immediately she jumps up and walks around.  

 The miracle moment in each is when the woman and the child feel the presence of Jesus in their lives.  The cure comes later—after the miracle. 

If, like me, you make regular house-calls to the classrooms of KidsRelig, you will always find a miracle on the way to a miracle--teachers and kids feeling the presence of Jesus in their lives.

KidsRelig Registration 2012-2013

KidsRelig Registration for 2012-2013 is up and running. Thanks to all who have already registered.  BUT, there are plenty more out there who need to get on line (or is it online?)

PLEASE REGISTER NOW!  Go to the Parish Website at www.sjsmrcc.com and click on the Religious Education (CCD) tab on the left.  This opens the Religious Education Page with a welcoming letter and important links at the top of the page.  There are two links: 

• 2012-2013 Registration Form
• 2012-2013 Fees & Payment Options Page with credit card payment program. 

For newcomers, it’s quick and easy.  For veterans, it’s as easy as ever.

(Bus registration will come later, once we see how many have registered for KidsRelig.)

KidsRelig First-Timers

REGISTER & GET CONNECTED

Are you new to the parish or is your #1 going into First Grade?  It is so important that you register as soon as possible.  Registration gets you into our email address book, which is the lifeline of communication for KidsRelig.  You won’t know what’s happening unless you are connected online.   

Love,

Deacon Charlie

THE SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

It was a little after 5 AM when the phone rang.

“Dad?”

“Catie?”

“You’re a grandfather!”


By this time, Clare was leaning over my shoulder, squeezing her ear to the phone.

“Cate, are you OK?”

“We’re both fine, Gram. He’s a boy and his name is Hudson.”

Clare and I looked at each other, and without saying a word, our faces asked the same question, His name is what?

A scene that has been played out countless times and in countless families since today’s gospel drama of Elizabeth and Zechariah and their boy John. “Graced by God”—that’s what the boy’s name means in Hebrew. And that’s what was chosen for him. But the real story is found in the last line of today’s gospel, “The child grew and became strong in spirit.”

Hudson has grown into his name. He couldn’t possibly be anyone else except Hudson, especially to his once quizzical grandparents. So it was with John the Baptist; he grew into the name chosen for him and became the one graced by God.

There’s the importance of KidsRelig. With your help and support, we give our kids a Name to grow into—Christ-ian.

KidsRelig Registration 2012-2013

KidsRelig Registration for 2012-2013 is up and running. Thanks to all who have already registered. BUT, there are plenty more out there who need to get on line (or is it online?)

PLEASE REGISTER NOW! Go to the Parish Website at www.sjsmrcc.com and click on the Religious Education (CCD) tab on the left. This opens the Religious Education Page with a welcoming letter and important links at the top of the page. There are two links:

• 2012-2013 Registration Form

• 2012-2013 Fees & Payment Options Page with credit card payment program.

For newcomers, it’s quick and easy. For veterans, it’s as easy as ever.

(Bus registration will come later, once we see how many have registered for KidsRelig.)

KidsRelig First-Timers

REGISTER & GET CONNECTED

Are you new to the parish or is your #1 going into First Grade? It is so important that you register as soon as possible. Registration gets you into our email address book, which is the lifeline of communication for KidsRelig. You won’t know what’s happening unless you are connected online.

Love,


Deacon Charlie

ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

It was the year 2000—the turn of the century and the beginning of a new millennium (maybe?). The Class of 2012 was moving up from kindergarten to the big time of 1st Grade. They were definitely seedlings, who have now grown into giant plants, and, in some cases, towering trees.

Growth has meant big achievements and giant steps. All of these we will applaud this weekend as we pray at Baccalaureate and cheer at Graduation. But growth is simply what happens to us; maturity is what we make happen.

The mustard seed in this Sunday’s gospel grows big and becomes a giant plant. Its size, however, is not the sign of God’s Kingdom. After all, monsters get big enough to become giants. The sign of the Kingdom is in the last line of Jesus’ parable—“’and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’” It so happens that the mustard seed grew big, but, more importantly, the mustard plant became mature enough to make something extraordinary happen and to make it happen for others. Imagine--room for everyone, no matter what sky they fly and a welcome that says, “You’re home.”

To the Class of 2012, grow; don’t worry, it happens. And always mature; make it happen for others.

KidsRelig Registration 2012-2013

KidsRelig Registration for 2012-2013 is up and running. Almost 80 kids have already been registered.

PLEASE REGISTER NOW! Go to the Parish Website at www.sjsmrcc.com and click on the Religious Education (CCD) tab on the left. This opens the Religious Education Page with a welcoming letter and important links at the top of the page. There are two links:

• 2012-2013 Registration Form

• 2012-2013 Fees & Payment Options Page with credit card payment program.

For newcomers, it’s quick and easy. For veterans, it’s as easy as ever.

(Bus registration will come later, once we see how many have registered for KidsRelig.)

First Time Registrants

REGISTER & GET CONNECTED

Are you new to the parish or is your #1 going into First Grade? It is so important that you register as soon as possible. Registration gets you into our email address book, which is the lifeline of communication for KidsRelig. You won’t know what’s happening unless you are connected online.

Thanks for Responding to the Invitation to Join Us

Our invitation to join us as new teachers, new substitute teachers, new assistants, new helpers in the office and the hallway has already inspired responses, and we are so very grateful. We need as many of you as possible. Not just to do the jobs that have to be done, but to create a wider and deeper community of parishioners sharing in the awesomeness and joyfulness of KidsRelig. Please give it some serious and prayerful thought. It’s you we need, and you and you and you. Say “yes,” and contact me at

kidsrelig@optimum.net

Love,

Deacon Charlie

SOLEMNITY OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHIRST

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, we hear the gospel story of the Last Supper as told by Mark. I counted the lines of that story as it is printed in the Gospel Book. There are 17 lines about preparation and 14 about the celebration itself. More than half are about getting ready.


The disciples ask Jesus, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you?” And Jesus tells them to look for a guy with a water jar, who will lead them to an upper room furnished and ready. That’s where they are to make preparations. And the disciples found it just as he had told them, “and they prepared the Passover.”

As I meet with teachers to review last year’s KidsRelig, launch this year’s registration, order new books and materials, prepare curricula, form classes, search for new teachers and other volunteers, publish next year’s calendar and more, I realize that we only celebrate because we prepare, and we only prepare because we celebrate. In fact, that’s what KidsRelig is all about—preparation for the celebration and celebration of our preparation. Sunday, we celebrate; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we prepare. Without Sunday, the other days become empty promises; without the other days, Sunday becomes shallow words.

KidsRelig is not just midweek gospel story-hour. It is the hard work of getting a guest room ready for Jesus himself “to eat the Passover with his disciples.” And the equally hard work of getting our kids ready to drink the cup of discipleship—the lifeblood of the covenant, which is established and sustained by sacrifice for others.

KidsRelig Registration 2012-2013

KidsRelig Registration for 2012-2013 will be live and on-line this Monday, June 11, 2012. Go to the Parish Website at www.sjsmrcc.com and click on the Religious Education (CCD) tab on the left. This opens the Religious Education Page with a welcoming letter and important links at the top of the page. There are two links:

• 2012-2013 Registration Form

• 2012-2013 Fees & Payment Options Page with credit card payment program.

For newcomers, it’s quick and easy. For veterans, it’s as easy as ever.
(Bus registration will come later, once we see how many have registered for KidsRelig.)

Register for KidsRelig Now

Please, Please, Please, Please!!!

Come, Join Us

New teachers, new substitute teachers, new assistants, new helpers in the office and the hallway. We need as many of you as possible. Not just to do the jobs that have to be done, but to create a wider and deeper community of parishioners sharing in the awesomeness and joyfulness of KidsRelig. Please give it some serious and prayerful thought. It’s you we need, and you and you and you. Say “yes,” and contact me at

kidsrelig@optimum.net

Love,

Deacon Charlie

TRINITY SUNDAY

On this Trinity Sunday, what does the God-story say to us? Jesus, the Preacher of that story in Word and Flesh, tells us that our God is a family. We are invited into that family. And if we live in that family, the one who invites us will be with us always.




I couldn’t help but think that this is a perfect time of year to celebrate Trinity Sunday. It is a time of weddings, First Communions, graduations; it’s a time of family vacations and family reunions. This has already started in my family, and here at St. John and St. Mary, we are between First Communion and Baccalaureate. I have been blessed lately to be with all our kids and grandkids and their great-grandparents. I have been equally blessed to have been with the kids we teach every week and see them with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins—a scene to be repeated at Baccalaureate, except written larger.

As good and strong and loving as we make our families, we reveal the fulfillment of the promise that God is with us always and that our God is a family.

KidsRelig Registration 2012-2013

Watch for the announcement of next year’s registration here in the bulletin, in your email inboxes and on the KidsRelig Blog. We are going to start early this year, and we really hope to finish early.

Come, Join Us

New teachers, new substitute teachers, new assistants, new helpers in the office and the hallway. We need as many of you as possible. Not just to do the jobs that have to be done, but to create a wider and deeper community of parishioners sharing in the awesomeness and joyfulness of KidsRelig. Please give it some serious and prayerful thought. It’s you we need, and you and you and you. Say “yes,” and contact me at

kidsrelig@optimum.net

Love,

Deacon Charlie