July 23, 2017
six teenth Sunday in ordinary time
The Church of
the St. albert great Since 1935, a welcoming, caring Catholic Community of Faith o n E. 29 t h S t re et a t 3 2n d A ve nu e. S . in Mi n nea po li s , M in ne sot a
PARISH OFFICE: 2836 33rd Ave. S. Minneapolis MN 55406 612-724-3643 FAX 612-722-9726 Email:
[email protected] Office staffed T thru F, 9 am - 3:30 pm MASSES: Saturday ...................................................... 5:00 pm Sunday ........................................................... 9:30 am Mon, Tues, Thu, Fri.............................. 8:15 am (preceded by the Rosary at 8:00 am)
“Let anyone with ears, listen!”
Eucharistic Adoration First Friday of each month, 9 am to noon in the chapel. Individual Reconciliation by appointment. Community Reconciliation & Healing services held quarterly. Call the Parish Center for information on Baptisms, Confirmation Marriage, Funerals (RCIA) Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults Faith Formation programs for children, youth & adults. We support the quality, faith-based K-8 education at Risen Christ Catholic School 1120 E. 37th St. in Minneapolis. 612-822-5329 Call the Parish Center at 612-724-3643 to learn more about this special ministry of sharing God’s caring presence.
Find us on Facebook and visit our website:
www.saintalbertthegreat.org
We choose
love and peace. Amen! Alleluia!
Church of St. Albert the Great This week at St. Albert’s
(Masses and intentions are in BOLD type)
Pray the Rosary at 8:00 am before weekday masses. Saturday, July 22 5:00 pm Mass Ray Warren (celebrating July 19 birthday) Sunday, July 23 — BUS 9:30 am Mass Noah Robert Runman † 10:30 am refreshments in the Social Hall 1:00 pm Third in our summer concert series with Maud Hixson and Rick Carlson performing favorites from the 1940s. $20 at the door. All are welcome. Monday, July 24 — Parish Office closed 8:15 am Mass Ronald Bach † Tuesday, July 25 8:15 am Mass Molly Gillespie †, Jim Kieser † Wednesday, July 26 3:30 pm Mass at Trinity Apartments 5:00 to 5:30 pm Rummage Sale wrap-up meeting (before Bingo in Social Hall.) 6:00 to 9:00 pm Bingo Rama in the Social Hall Thursday, July 27 8:15 am Mass Patricia Broat Friday, July 28 8:15 am Mass James Donohoe † 8:00 pm Friday Friends AA, Social Hall Saturday, July 29 — BUS 5:00 pm Mass Jacquie Balfe † Sunday, July 30 9:30 am Mass Jim Kieser †
Comfort the grieving. St. Albert the Great’s Rosary Altar Society offers a Funeral Lunch Ministry for the families of those whose funerals and memorials happen at our parish. In order to provide that Tender Loving Care without burning volunteers out, coordinator Gloria Fahnhorst is looking for some additional people to help. · · · ·
You need not work the entire luncheon. You could simply help with set up or clean up, or do the serving. If you work during the week but could help on weekends, we do occasionally have funerals on Saturdays. If you agree to be called occasionally to donate a salad (pasta, greens, fruit, Jell-o) or a dessert (bars, cake, cookies), Gloria would love to hear from you. Contact Gloria at 612-724-8691 or
[email protected] Minneapolis, MN In our prayers
We remember those who need healing, including Bernice Stuart, Damian Ziegler, Jerry Charipar, Lori Margolis, Peter Sheppard, Dennis Smith, Kathy Susag, Ed Volker, Nick Hamel and Michelle Nies. Please add a prayer for those who have died, including Jim Schmidt (brother of Flor Entzel) and Evelyn Henry (sister of Lois Falk.)
Be a leader for our Ice Cream Social!
We’re looking for people, especially teenagers, willing to take leadership roles in the annual Ice Cream Social, particularly the day of the event. This year it’s Sunday, August 6 right after mass until about 12:30 pm on the plaza and street in front of the church. Most of the set-up needs to take place in the morning when we’re allowed to close off the street. Oversee and recruit helpers for: · set-up and take-down of tables and chairs · the Bouncy House · Root Beer Float stand · Hot Dog Grill & Stand · Popcorn Corner · Ice Cream Carts from Big Bell Ice Cream · plan and run Kids’ Activities · manage trash and recycling Any other ideas? Share them! Chat with Janelle, Erin or Robin, or leave a message at 612-7243643.
Financial Stewardship Weekend of July 9, 2017 Regular envelopes & Feast Days Loose cash & checks Legacy envelopes Risen Christ donations “We Care” Outreach Ministry donations
$3,974 656 190 330 140
Weekend of July 16, 2017 Regular envelopes & Feast Days Loose cash & checks Legacy envelopes “We Care” Outreach Ministry donations Risen Christ envelopes Heating & Cooling envelopes Donations toward summer concerts
$5,504 784 26 50 80 10
Thanks for a “High Five” An extra $5 a week helps us meet our ongoing obligations for utilities, salaries and operating expenses.
“The Kingdom of God could be like a run down and abandoned farm.” There was the wonderful story about the priest who visited a young parishioner who had recently purchased a run-down and abandoned farm. The place was an absolute mess with overgrown weeds, ramshackle buildings and huge rocks in the fields. The priest blessed the place and said: “May you and God work together and make this farm a success.” Six months later the priest stopped in and was absolutely amazed at the changes that had taken place, starting with repaired and painted buildings, cleared fields and beautiful flower beds everywhere. He said to the young farmer: “Look what you and God have accomplished together!” The young man thanked the priest and said: “Father, don’t forget what the place looked like when God was working the farm alone.” And the moral of the story? Give credit, where credit is due. And yes, it is true that God helps those who are willing to help themselves. Story telling was an art cultivated by Jesus and became the basis for disseminating the Word of God. While a story can be funny or sad, the storyteller can embellish the details to illustrate a point and surprise the listeners with laughter and a moral conclusion. In the story about the priest and the young farmer, it is the farmer’s observation, “Don’t forget what the place looked like when God was working the farm alone” that offers both insight and laughter. The joy of a good story (parable) provides a healthy catharsis and an insightful perspective. Finding the right words (images) to illustrate a hidden meaning becomes the basis for theological insight through the use of a parable (story). Searching for transparency amid mystery becomes the on going challenge of revelation, and the parables of Jesus became a source of light amid darkness. As we will see in the three parables used in today’s gospel (Matthew 13:24 -33), Jesus illustrates what the kingdom of God is like through the use of the everyday images of weeds in a field, a mustard seed and yeast in baking bread. Jesus’ use of parables was a fulfillment of a prophecy found in the Prophet Isaiah (6:9-10): “You will indeed listen, but never understand and you will indeed look, but never perceive. for this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears hard of hearing, and they shut their eyes, so they might not understand that I have come to heal them. But blessed are your eyes when you see and your ears when you hear.” Jesus would speak in parables as a way of challenging his disciples to dig deeper into their imaginations for the sake of revelation. Building upon the parable of the “Sower and the Seed” from last week’s gospel (Matthew 13:1-23), Jesus continues to “explain” what the Kingdom of God is like: “The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field, but in the night an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat.” “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed it with three measures of flour until it was all leavened.” “The Kingdom of Heaven is like mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of seeds, but when it grows, it is the greatest of shrubs.” Fulfilling a prophecy found in Psalm 78:2-3, Jesus would proclaim what was hidden from the foundation of the world and make it known through the use of parables based upon the contextual understanding of his followers. Exploring the use of agrarian metaphors and the everyday images of planting, fishing, eating and baking, Jesus’ imaginative preaching would
create a sensuality that would enhance his disciples’ ability to “see, hear, touch, smell and taste” the humanness of the Kingdom’s presence in their lives. Breaking down the barriers of denial, bewilderment and confusion: “Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the Prophet Isaiah: I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.” Maintaining the freshness of Jesus’ parables remains a challenge, especially when we examine their remoteness from our everyday experiences. Most of us do not have a clue about comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed, enemies sowing weeds in fields or even to the use of yeast in baking bread. However, as mysterious and quaint as the parables of Jesus might seem, finding a place in the stories is critical to salvation. The gospel writers included these colorful stories of Jesus as “quick insights” into the surrounding impact of the Kingdom of Heaven. What do you make of Jesus’ parables? Do they make any sense to you at all? How do you live with the “weeds” that surround you? What will be the “yeast” that will enliven your life and help you to rise to occasions of goodness? What little “mustard seeds” of grace will surprise your ability to grow into moments of greatness and generosity? Searching the parables for points of insight and connection remain a challenge for all of us. Discovering God’s presence demands that we use our imaginations. Paying attention to God’s ever-fresh and disconcerting ways of acting in our midst becomes the on going task of revelation. Hearing the Word of God demands that we discover the Word within us. To live our lives as if the Kingdom of Heaven mattered, we must cultivate humility and trust as the soil where the seeds of God’s truth might take root. Unlocking the deeper meaning of the Kingdom of Heaven, the parables of Jesus remain timeless. Opening our hearts and minds to the generous gift of salvation, Jesus initiates an invitation to us daily to seek the growth of the Kingdom within us. Given the freedom to choose between good and evil, we are, also, given the option of praying for the grace to make right choices. It was Saint Augustine who was fond of saying: “I pray as if everything depends upon God and work as if everything depends upon me.” Maybe our lives are more like the young farmer’s response to the priest’s observation, “Look what you and God have accomplished together.” With a wry conclusion, the farmer noted, “Don’t forget what the place looked like when God was working it alone.” If the Kingdom of God has become like a run down and abandoned farm, it is up to us to restore it to a place of beauty where justice, mercy and peace are rooted and flourish. The really Good News is that God needs us just as much as we need God.
Peace, Fr. Joe Gillespie, O.P.
Catholic Charities Counseling is closing
Catholic Charities’ Counseling Services will close on September 1st, 2017. The program, based out of Seton at 1276 University Avenue West, St Paul, MN 55104, will close due to shifts in funding and changing community and market dynamics. They will be working with clients to provide for a smooth transition and we will maintain records for 7 years at Seton. For more information about how to access your records and learn about other nearby counseling programs please visit our website at https://www.cctwincities.org/ locations/counseling-services/.
The legend continues!
Saturday, August 26 is the date for this year’s Salsa making extravaganza, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm in the Social Hall kitchen. Closer to that date, coordinator Mary Clawson will be putting out a call for helpers for that day. In the meantime, she’s collecting used (clean) pint canning jars. “If folks would leave jars for me in the kitchen, I'll pick them up each week or so,” says Mary, who appreciates the support and enthusiasm this project always receives.
Please add to your prayers for the dead: Ron Bach, Alexander Saice
WAMM 35th Anniversary
Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) has been a pillar of peace and justice throughout our community since 1982, when a group of like-minded women gathered to discuss the impending threat of nuclear warfare. Believing in “Never a meeting without an action,” the first WAMM action was planned, a protest against nuclear weapons. 35 years later, the conversation is as vital as ever. There is a need to keep the pressure on to ban nuclear weapons, and bring an end to a culture of war and militarism. There will be a celebration of “WAMM—35 years, Then and Now” at Surly Brewing Company, 520 Malcolm Ave SE in Minneapolis’ Prospect Park neighborhood, on Monday, July 31 starting at 6:00 pm. Raffle prizes, peace & justice trivia and light hors d’oeuvres, along with the ability to order from the Surly Brewery bar menu and find their well-crafted beers at a cash bar. All ages are welcome.
You needn’t go far to protest nukes Parishioner and Peace & Justice Committee member Mickey Patterson will be available this weekend and next at Sunday Masses, in the Gathering Space. She will have available postcards addressed to Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, asking them to encourage government leaders to stop the trillion dollar modernization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, take nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert, and to ratify the nuclear test ban treaty. A petition in support of the 123 nations which have signed the treaty will also be available.