Saint Peter's Point- The Catholic Blog of Saint Peter Parish, Stevens Point Wisconsin

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church – a summary of the new Catechism in a question and answer format promulgated nearly three years ago by Pope Benedict XVI – offers a beautiful description of this weekend’s Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord: “After forty days during which Jesus showed Himself to the apostles with ordinary human features which veiled His glory as the Risen One, Christ ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of the Father. He is the Lord who now in His humanity reigns in the everlasting glory of the Son of God and constantly intercedes for us before the Father. He sends us His Spirit and He gives us the hope of one day reaching the place He has prepared for us” (132).

“And when the hour came, Jesus sat at table, and the Apostles with Him . . . And He took bread, and when He had given thanks He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my Body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the chalice after supper, saying, ‘This chalice which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my Blood’” (Luke 22: 14-20). Congratulations to our parish children who receive the Eucharistic Lord for the first time this Sunday! May God richly bless them and their families on the occasion of this their First Holy Communion. May our appreciation of this wondrous sacramental presence of Jesus Christ increase and may our participation in this Holy Banquet deepen!

Nearly a dozen young people from our area were part of the youth delegation of our Diocese of La Crosse participating in the Mass with Pope Benedict XVI at Yankee Stadium. Those from our area had made an appeal to your generosity to help them with some last-minute and unexpected expenses associated with the trip. And, of course, you were most generous in your response! Of the experience, Liz writes: “Seeing the Pope made me realize how there are so many people other than just us and our Diocese, and it was eye-opening to see all of the Catholics uniting for one common cause, to see the Holy Father.” Chelsea writes: “We were all very excited when we found out there was an opportunity for us to see the Holy Father. To see it all come together through people’s generosity was amazing. It showed us how Catholics can come together and make dreams come true! Thank you! Getting to see the Holy Father was an amazing experience topped off with great friends, and the love of a caring community. When I saw the Holy Father and all the people there to see him I also saw the great extent of the Church. Seeing so many people there who love their Faith shows us hope for that the Church will continue to grow and spread the Good News.”

In the next five years our parish anticipates having to address a number of issues with regard to our physical plant including the increasingly dangerous buckling of the carpet in the church proper and the sanctuary, the hazardous deteriorating bricks and concrete between the garage and the church, the incredibly wasteful heating system in the rectory, and the security of our magnificent church and school – to name just a few. We will only be able to address these problems if each and every parishioner generously participates in the We Belong To Christ Campaign now being conducted in our parish. In the whole Diocese the We Belong to Christ Campaign has been an overwhelming success as it is at an amazing 92 percent of the overall goal! Indeed, virtually every single parish of the Diocese has met and exceeded its goal or, at the very least, come very close. Please prayerfully consider the generous role you will play in our parish over the next five years. Please complete and return your pledge card at your earliest convenience. For those of you who have not yet picked up your pledge card please contact the parish office so that we may get it to you. If we do not hear from you we will be contacting you personally.

Please keep me in your prayers this week as I will be in Philadelphia (May 7-13) undergoing the final examinations for the certification program in Catholic bioethics sponsored by the National Catholic Bioethics Center. You may recall that I have been diligently working on this since last August, doing extensive reading and research along with weekly homework assignments. If I pass these oral examinations the only remaining thing is to finish my thesis which is due July 15. It has been a difficult and demanding program thus far, but very much worth it. Come, Holy Spirit, come!

Saint Peter, pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

For past issues of Father Louis's Column Strenghen Your Brethren, visit archives at the St. Peter Catholic Church Website.