December 30, 2020
“And we, who have always thought of happiness as rising, would feel the emotions that almost overwhelm us whenever a happy thing falls.” (Rilke)
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! Please know of prayers and blessings as we begin another chapter of life together!
The Feast of Epiphany has a star rising to announce that something powerful has fallen upon the earth. Divinity is joined to humanity; eternity to timebound; limitless to limited; heaven to earth!
After a year of so many limits, God is asking us to dream of possible renewed happiness, even in seemingly unworkable circumstance and unresolved issues.
God is asking us to let happiness descend in our belief in Jesus Christ, who descends to earth not to bring fear or destructive judgment, but to bring HOPE.
God is asking us to accept happiness not as a packaged product, but as an enlivening gift that helps us to see possibility. And even more than an insidious virus or poisonous injustices, it will spread, if we, like Jesus, take every opportunity to share it with others.
Be happy. Live it. Share it. A New Day has dawned, named Jesus Christ.
Video Mass for Sunday, January 3rd. Here is the recorded Mass for this upcoming Sunday (Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord). We provide a worship aid to help you better enter into the prayer of the Mass. Please know that we will continue these recorded Masses indefinitely. We are so grateful to DV Productions, our Liturgists Mary Robertson and Brian Eggers, and our music ministers for their efforts in making our prayer as beautiful as possible.
Coping With the Holidays Booklet. With the loss of a member of your family, holidays and special occasions will be difficult. Holidays are often filled with traditions and memories of closeness. As we face these days without our loved one, the empty space they leave behind looms large in our hearts. By creating new traditions and understanding the common difficulties faced with the holidays, they can be easier to cope with. The Coping with the Holidays Booklet has been created to help in the healing process. Be gentle with yourself, and know of our prayers for you. Please feel free to contact Terri Balash, Director of Pastoral Care, at 414-469-6173 or balasht@archmil.org.
Luba Lukova: Designing Justice. Next week on Tuesday, January 5th, we will have our first session looking at the art and activism of Luba Lukova through a partnership with the Jewish Museum of Milwaukee! During this first session, we will take a virtual tour of the exhibit and learn about Lukova’s work. Join us as we think critically and creatively about the world around us. You can learn more or sign up for this online series (that will take place on the four Tuesdays in January from 7:00 - 8:00 pm) by emailing Laura Hancock at hancockl@archmil.org. You can explore the curriculum at jewishmuseummilwaukee.org/education/designing-justice.
A NEW discernment and planning committee for racial healing will begin in January to plan parish events to help us learn, grow, and engage in the ongoing work of racial justice. If you’d like to shape how the parishes engage in this important work, please email Laura Hancock or fill out this Google form to sign up. We need many perspectives to make a change in the world, so please join us! All are welcome!
One Percent Prayer. The beginning of 2021 is right around the corner, and we want to encourage you to start off this New Year by getting closer to Christ. The offices at the Archdiocese have put together this simple initiative for you to take one percent of your day for 30 days to get to know Jesus better in personal prayer and daily scripture reading. You can find out more information at www.archmil.org/one-percent-prayer.
Scam Emails or Texts. You may have heard about or even received emails or text messages from someone claiming to be Fr. Tim Kitzke asking for help or to purchase something. Please DO NOT respond to these; they are not from Fr. Tim! We will never ask you to purchase something via an email or text message.
Parish Financial Support. We continue to be humbled by your financial support of the parish during these tender and tenuous times. Thank you so much, it has been amazing to witness the generosity of so many! Please mail in your envelopes and contributions to our parish office (SS Peter & Paul Parish, 2491 N Murray Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53211), and our parish staff will process these.
Please do not hesitate to contact me (Cell: 414-762-7986; kitzket@archmil.org) or Fr. John (Cell: 414-305-3824; baumgardnerj@archmil.org) if you need anything! Be assured of our love and prayers.
Sincerely, with love,
Fr. Tim
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