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

Thank you to all of those who took part in the filming of television Masses last week. Thanks to the lectors, altar servers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, Patrick Burkhart and all the musicians as well as those who made up the congregation. Look for us on TV as the Masses will be broadcast on August 31 and September 7! Thank you, too, to the men who took part in our inaugural event in observance of the Jubilee Year of Saint Paul (June 28, 2008-June 29, 2009). Our recent gathering geared specifically to men began with the praying of Evening Prayer and listening to an extended homily on Saint Paul and how he is a model for living the vocation of being a "real" man, a man of God, as well as a husband and father. Phil Lawson then gave some very practical suggestions how men can prayerfully observe this Pauline Year. We then adjourned to Emy J's for ice cream and good conversation! Keep an eye on the bulletin as we will soon have a similar event specifically geared towards the women of the parish.

Thank you for your prayerful support during this past year as I participated in the certification program in Catholic bioethics sponsored by the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has proven to be a very rigorous program – much more demanding and time-consuming than I had anticipated. Recently they sent me my grades for the "classroom" (via the internet) portion of the course (94 out of 100) and the final oral examinations (190 out of 200). This week I will turn in the last of the course requirements – my thesis on the moral evaluation of in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET). By the end of the summer the Center will notify me if I passed and thereby receive their certification as a bioethicist.

As I have mentioned to you before, I keep track of the number of confessions I hear – a habit I got into thanks to Father J. Floyd Dwyer who was Rector of the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman, my first priestly assignment. During the period of July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008, I heard at Saint Peter Parish an amazing 3679 (that is not a typo!) individual confessions. It is a joy to be kept so "busy" reconciling sinners to God and His Church!

Recently something happened that I have never experienced in 19 years as a priest. As you will recall, each parish is required to have a Fund for Works of Charity, an account that is separate from all other parish accounts and that is not commingled with other parish funds or with the Mass Offering Account. Into this Fund are deposited gifts that parishioners specifically designate for this purpose. But the bulk of money in this Fund comes from the offerings that parishioners make on the occasion of the celebration of the sacraments (for example, Baptism or Matrimony) or other sacred rites (for example, funeral) apart from the Mass offering or "intention." In turn, I disburse monies (but never cash) from this Fund to assist the many needy people who come to the rectory each week seeking help. So many times over the years those who received assistance assured me that they would return shortly to repay what was given to them. Not one person has ever kept their word and come back to return to the Fund that which was given them. That is, until this past week! A parishioner had an unexpected and substantial expense with regard to his vehicle and I arranged for payment of the bills through the Fund for Works of Charity. At the end of the month, as he had promised me, he returned to the rectory and repaid in full what had been given him. No doubt the Lord will bless this young man for his honesty and integrity!

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 (which is very obvious now in the humidity of our Wisconsin summer), 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 (which has been vandalized three times in recent weeks!) – to name just a few. We will only be able to solve these problems if each and every parishioner generously participates in the We Belong To Christ Campaign now being conducted in our parish. Complete and return your pledge card right now. If we do not hear from you we will be contacting you personally.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Father Kevin C. Louis