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A Note from
Fr. Pisut
Friday, January 12, 2024
Dear Parishioners,
As they say, once again it is hard to believe that Christmas is over. The season came to a close after the feast of the Baptism of the Lord on Monday evening. It is after this feast that we normally take down our Christmas decorations. However, this year we jumped the gun by one day since we thought it best to get our exterior Christmas decorations down before the storm hit Monday night so we wouldn’t have to contend with the snow and wintry weather all week. I hope you survived the storm ok. Too bad we didn’t have the snow earlier for Christmas. Hopefully, we will next year.
Now that the Christmas season is over, we return to what we call Ordinary Time, or as it is traditionally called, Sundays after Epiphany. While to many people it may seem a bleak time of year and nothing particular is happening, it can still be a fruitful time for us as we walk with the Lord in our daily lives. The choice is up to us, that is the life of a Christian after all. However, Lent will be upon us before we know it. Ash Wednesday is on February 14 this year and we are already preparing for our annual Mardi Gras celebration on Tuesday, February 13. So, if you are looking for something to do different for SAINT Valentine’s Day this year treat your beloved to an evening of food and festivity at our Mardi Gras celebration and then witness your faith together on Ash Wednesday.
For the immediate future, however, join us this Saturday night as the Knights of Columbus will once again be having their (mostly) annual Chili Cookoff. If you have that special chili recipe that you think no one can touch here is your chance to show it off. If you don’t have anything to enter, feel free to come anyway and sample the many offerings that will be on display. They run the gamut from the traditional to the contemporary, to shall we say creatively unique. Come and enjoy the camaraderie as you vote for your favorite chili while also helping to support the Foodbank of Iowa. Check the bulletin for more details.
This Sunday at the 10:00 am Mass we will be commissioning new Stephen Ministers. This is a ministry of the parish dedicated to helping people during difficult times of transition in their lives. Stephen Ministers (named after the deacon St. Stephen) are regular parishioners who have been trained to accompany people during the early stages of their grief or adjustment to a difficult phase in their life. While this is not intended as a long-term plan of care it is a way to present a caring face from our Catholic community to those in a time of need. There are small brochures around the various entrances in the church if you are interested in knowing more.
This Saturday, January 13 is the feast of St. Hilary (d. 367). He was a convert from paganism who became bishop of Poitiers in what is now France. He was a leading opponent of the widespread heresy of Arianism, which taught that Jesus was not divine. He is known for his work De Trinitate, On the Trinity. He is a Doctor of the Church. As a convert from paganism, Hilary is an example of how people so far away from Christ can really change. Think of St. Paul or our own St. Augustine.
Wednesday, January 17 is the feast of St. Anthony. This is not the 13th c. St. Anthony of Padua beloved by Italians who only lived to be thirty-six that you are most likely thinking of but rather the Egyptian abbot who lived to be 105 (d. 356). His Egypt was that of over three centuries before Islam was born in the seventh century and conquered North Africa and the Middle East. He was a hermit and founder of religious life and thus is called “Patriarch of Monks.” He aided St. Athanasius of Alexandria in combating Arianism, at the same time that the above-mentioned St. Hilary of Poitiers was as well.
Now come let us walk with the Lord. While the festivity of the Christmas season may be over the joy of being a Christian is always with us.
Fr. Pisut
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