March 26, 2021
Dear Friends,
During the season of Lent, Fr. John and I have asked our staff to reflect on the Stations of the Cross. We will be praying for all of you during this holy season.
Love,
Fr. Tim
The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross
“The Lord emerges like a hero, like a warrior he inspires himself for battle; he shouts, yes, he yells, he shows his enemies his power. I have been inactive for a long time; I kept quiet and held back. Like a woman in labor I groan; I pant and gasp.” Isaiah 42:14,15
“Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last.” Mark 14:37
I like to consider Jesus’ last cry on the Cross. Jesus sucked in everyone including myself and all sins, all emotions, all lows, all problems into his sacred body on the Cross. It hurt him. And then he released it in his loud cry and death, once and for all. Like a hero he faced all our sins and their consequences and overcame them. Like a Mother he gave birth to a new me, a new people and a whole new world which has yet to fully come to fruition. The Lord was a warrior of patience; one with relentless determination. He kept his eye on the prize which was me and you. Throughout my life, whatever happens, deep down I have always felt that all is well. This can only possibly happen because I have this moment of Jesus on the Cross. No matter what happens no one and nothing can take that away from me or any of us. And this is a great source of courage.
I also think that I should be joyful when I see Jesus on the Cross or participate in the liturgy of Good Friday. Yes this is a terrible day. And yet, I firmly believe that God would not have had it any other way. If there is ever such a mysterious concept as destiny, Jesus dying on the Cross is it. He once told a mystic saint that he would die on the Cross a million times over for us. Jesus wanted to do this for us in spite of how sinful we may have once been or continue to be. This is his way of showing us and proving to us who and what he is. I remind myself of this especially on Good Friday. Jesus wanted to do this.
And so I hope and pray we may all more and more come to live and bathe in that moment of Jesus dying on the Cross for us. May we live in his light and love forever. Amen.
Nicholas Corrao, Sacristan & Maintenance at Old St. Mary Parish
The Thirteenth Station: Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
“If at times our efforts and works seem to fail and produce no fruit, we need to remember that we are followers of Jesus…and his life, humanly speaking, ended in failure, in the failure of the cross.” Pope Francis
While there is value in developing benchmarks, setting measurable goals and analyzing outcomes, we ultimately believe in a God in whom concepts like “success” and “victory” are subverted. So much of the Christian life is not measured in these categories. Jesus shows us that his ultimate commitment is fidelity to God and to us, not success as we might define it. Fr. Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries reflects on this fidelity when he writes, “I suppose Jesus could have chosen a strategy that worked better (evidence-based outcomes) – that didn’t end in the Cross – but he couldn’t find a strategy more soaked with fidelity than the one he embraced.”
How does the passion and death of Jesus comfort you in your own seeming failures?
When has your fear of failure kept you from doing what you felt called to do?
Chad Griesel, Pastoral Associate
The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
“We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.” Romans 6:4
St. Paul tells us that we are buried with Christ in Baptism. In some churches, the baptismal font is in the shape of the cross or even a coffin. Entering into life with Christ requires that we die: die to sin and selfishness, die to desires that are not based in love, die to unhealthy attachments to wealth, pleasure, power and honor. Becoming a Christian means leaving some things behind so that we can embrace the new life of self-emptying love. The past year has offered many of us an opportunity to examine what is essential and life-giving and what are being called to die to as we renew our baptismal promises at Easter.
What needs to stay in the tomb as you emerge from this Lent?
What old ways of living need to remain in quarantine as we move out into a new world?
Chad Griesel, Pastoral Associate
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Video Mass for Sunday, March 28th. Here is the recorded Mass for this upcoming Sunday (Palm Sunday). 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 Meggie Moyer, and our cantor Amy Sobczak for their efforts in making our prayer as beautiful as possible.
Holy Week Schedule. We’d love to have you worship with us in person during Holy Week! Just as with weekend Masses, registration is necessary to attend in person. Spaces are filling up and registration closes April 1 at noon. The schedule and registration links can be found on the Mass Times page of the parish website. Please also review the safety guidelines found on the Reopening page. The links to those pages are also included every week at the bottom of this newsletter.
Holy Week at Home. Please see the Holy Week at Home page on our website, with resources for how to celebrate Holy Week in a different, but still special way. Some of the resources include links to the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist’s livestreamed Holy Thursday and Good Friday liturgies, an at-home Holy Week newsletter from Terri Balash, our Director of Pastoral Care, virtual Stations of the Cross, and links to our online Sunday Masses.
Lenten Almsgiving. Would you like to learn more about our Lenten Almsgiving partner, the Archdiocesan Ministry Center at All Saints? If so, please watch our most recent Lenten YouTube recording entitled, “Lenten Almsgiving 2021 Panel Discussion - Archdiocesan Ministry Center at All Saints.” In this video, you will hear from a number of individuals connected with the ministry center, including representatives of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, All Saints Parish, a neighbor and former volunteer of the All Saints Meal Program, a representative of Catholic Charities, and representatives of our own Family of Four Parishes. You can view this uplifting video at https://youtu.be/MQJm9phmbC4. Remember: please give generously for your Lenten Almsgiving! Your giving will help beautify the outside of the ministry center, providing an inviting space of encounter between community members and the ministry center. Checks can be written out to your parish with “Lenten Almsgiving” in your memo line. Thank you!
Lent Webpage. Visit our Lent webpage at ssppmilw.org/lent-2021 for details on this year’s theme, almsgiving project, events, and more. Updates will be posted throughout Lent to support prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as we find hope in the possibility of encounter.
Bulletin. Please be sure to read the Family of Four Parishes Bulletin to get this week’s updates! Click here to view the bulletin or click the picture below.
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 Fr. Tim (Cell: 414-762-7986; kitzket@archmil.org) or Fr. John (Cell: 414-305-3824; jbaumgardner@ffpmke.org) if you need anything! Be assured of our love and prayers.
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Click the picture below to view the bulletin.
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Learn more about the Archdiocesan Ministry Center at All Saints in the video below.
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