THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
~John 15:13
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.” ~G.K. Chesterton
Summer is marching right along!
The month of July is traditionally dedicated to meditating on the Most Precious Blood of Jesus and the remarkable gift He made of His life for our sake and our salvation; as the scripture above reminds us, He laid down His life for us and in so doing, He made us His friends.
I hope you have a blessed celebration of Independence Day this coming week as we give thanks to God for the great freedoms which we enjoy and which have been the fruit of so many sacrifices by those who have served our nation, past and present. Still more than celebrating a declaration of independence from Britain, we celebrate freedom for a right relationship with God and the freedom that allows us to live our Catholic Faith. Holy Mass on Tuesday, July 4th will be offered exclusively at St. Hedwig at 10 am. It is a wonderful day to come to Mass and savor the gift of Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice on our behalf.
As many of those in our Polish community do this time of year, Fr. Cyprian is currently enjoying an extended time away in Poland and Ukraine. His trip is timed to coincide with his parents’ celebration of fifty years of marriage on July 15th. Let us pray for his parents, Antoni and Jadwiga Czop. I know that I am looking forward to spending some time with my family this coming week in rural northern Wisconsin. While we will be staying on the mainland, we hope to get out to visit at least a couple of the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior. I am grateful to Fr. Justus for generously ‘holding down the fort’ at the parish this week while both Fr. Cyprian and I am away.
Rummage Sale donations are pouring in. The much-anticipated sale will take place the last week of July. This year there will not be a second sale to coincide with SeptemberFest, so be sure to drop off your donations sooner than later and plan to come shopping in Kolbe Hall at the end of this month. You can find some real treasures.
On the topic of SeptemberFest, we have recently announced that a three-day festival will take place from September 8-10. Please save the dates and keep an eye out for Raffle Tickets and other ways to get involved. I am thankful to our co-chairs, Kelly Dziedzic and Noah Balego. We need everyone’s assistance to make it a success and we have special cause for celebration this year as the Holy Cross church building will be 95 years old this September— the dedication of the current church took place on September 16, 1928. Additionally, the St. Clement church’s cornerstone was laid 110 years ago this September 7. You might recall that we celebrated the 100th anniversary of St. Hedwig church just a few years ago.
Lastly, I have taken time to preach the past few weeks about a seven-week series called Discovering Christ which will take place from September 12-October 24. Half-sheet flyers are available in each of our churches, and I encourage you to ponder now who might make sense to invite to participate. This will really be a primary focus as we head into the fall. Of course, families with children should keep their eyes out for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Faith Formation and Sacramental Preparation registration which will take place in August. It won’t be long and we will be heading back to school, but for now, let’s enjoy the wonderful gift of summer!
United in gratitude for Christ’s Precious Blood poured out for us,
~Fr. Howe