ICC Parish Staff:

Rev. Fr. Tom Kuffel (Pastor) tkuffel@cbna.org 907-434-6117 Office: 907-452-3533 Rev. Mr. Sean Stack, Deacon Rev. Mr. Bob Barnard, Deacon Rev. Mr. Bob Mantei, Dcn (Ret.)

Dcn. Chuck Bowman, iccmaintenance@cbna.org Admin iccsecretary2@cbna.org Michelle Kraus, Rel. Ed. Facilitator iccreligioused@cbna.org Terri Atkins, Bookkeeper iccaccountant@cbna.org Grayce Barnard, Soup Kitchen iccsoupkitchen@cbna.org Carlos Ramirez, Security iccsecurity@cbna.org

2 Doyon Place

Fairbanks, AK 99701

(907) 452-3533 Fax (907) 456-3336

iccsecretary2@cbna.org

http://iccfairbanks.org

Parish Office Hours Tues.-Fri. 10:00AM - 3:00PM

5.10.2020

Parish Information Mass Times:

7:30 AM and 12:10 PM at Sacred Heart Cathedral

Confessions: Saturday 3:00 PM—4:00 PM at Sacred

Or please call the parish to arrange a time or the pastor

Baptism: Call Dc. Sean Stack 907-452-3533 Marriage: Call six months prior to wedding date.

The Royal Priesthood of the Catholic Church Priesthood is different than pastorship; yet many people see priests as merely pastors and not as a priest. Pastors lead a flock, they guard, protect, and serve the members; yet, a priest not only pastors, he also offers prayers and sacrifices for his own sins and the sins of the others. The Old Testament Priesthood was a chosen tribe — Levites — who led the Israelites in their public worship of God. They were ordained to offer right worship to God; offering the different and complex prescribed oblations, offerings, and sacrifices to God on behalf of their own sinfulness and the sins of the Israelites. Though they led the people in right worship, the nation was also chosen by God to be a priestly people and follow the example of the ordained priests so all would love God with their whole heart, mind, body, and soul: the Great Shema! The New Testament is the same. Priests lead the people in right worship of God, offering the prescribed Sacrifice: the body and blood of Christ, so the laity participate fully becoming priestly themselves and ultimately holy!

You are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, a people of his own.”

Status of Operating Fund - (July 1, 2019 - March 15, 2020) Includes CC Donations received

http://giving.parishsoft.com/iccfairbanks

Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house

to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God through Jesus.

Bringing all souls to Jesus through Mary, the Immaculate Conception.

Weekly Budgeted Actual Collection **includes grants received**

$9,059.23 $14,692.00

Over/<Under> Weekly Budget $5,623.77

Year-to-Date Budgeted Year-to-Date Actual

$407,665.35 $316,854.61

Over/<Under> Yearly Budget <$90,810.74>

Expenses Budgeted Expenses To Date

$407,665.35 $430,767.31

If you are in need of a priest, please call Fr. Tom’s cell: 907-434-6117 to set up and appointment or to talk on the phone.

Soup Kitchen: Hours 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Weekdays Please ring the doorbell and someone will answer 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Saturday 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Sunday

The Legion of Mary meetings will resume at 5:30 PM in the Church

Winter Gear Drive. We are looking for the following clothing in good condition for next year: Winter coats, hats, gloves, scarfs, neck gaiters, boots and wool socks, hoodies and warm sweaters. Please note: we appreciate your donations and will use them wisely. If we cannot use them, we will donate them to another organization who may have better use of them.

Thank You! I want to thank all those who generously supported our parish this week. We sent out letters to all the parishioners and received some $13,000 from our campaign. THANK YOU!

(Protocols for meetings are posted: 20 or less in building, face masks required, please do not bring in purses, bags, and backpacks, keep 6 foot distancing. Thanks for your cooperation.)

Please Remember in Your Prayers

Doreen Reed; Helga Savage; Mason Edwards; Ralph Payner; Rocco Vicari; Jim & Sandy Harity; Cathie Dolan; Rebecca Weatherford and family; Edie Del Cecato; all elected officials; Fred; Drew;

Suki Ahn; Phillip Penpraze; Lily; Luna; Bishop Chad and all past, present and future priests of our diocese; Sandra Connelly & family; Dorothy Stella & family; Sally & family; Louella Hupprich; May Walsh; Sr. Patricia Mayer; Jim Cross, Claudia Piatt; Gary Jones; Kitty Siebels; Myrna McGhie; Paulette Russell; Mike Weber; Dave and Brooke;

Charles & Rebekah Addis & Family; Carissa & Natasha; Trace; Ashton Ishnook & Family, Gerry Walsh; and all names and intentions in our Book of Intentions. Prayer Intentions are being refreshed every 2 months.

Please call the office to add and/or remove a loved one to the prayer box.

Sat. May 9 No Mass

at ICC John & Rose Courtney +

William M. Olinger + Fr. Tom Fr. Tom

Mass intentions will be

said privately Fr. Ross Virtual 4:30 PM

Sun. May 10 No Mass

at ICC

Patrick & Cheryl Hammers

ICC

Fr. Tom

Fr. Tom

Fifth Sunday Easter

Mother’s Day

Fr. Tom to Healy and Nenana/

Mon May 11 7:30 AM 12:10 PM

Rose Walsh (Livestream)

Fr. Ross Fr. Tom

Rosary at 11:30 AM prior in church prior to Mass

Cathedral 7:30 Cathedral 12:10

Tue. May 12 7:30 AM 12:10 PM

A. McBride (Livestreamed)

Fr. Ross Fr. Tom

Rosary at 11:30 AM prior in church prior to Mass

Cathedral 7:30 Cathedral 12:10

Wed May 13 7:30 AM 12:10 PM 5:30PM

Sr. Scichilone (Livestream)

Fr. Robert B. Chad Fr. Tom

Rosary at 11:30 AM prior in church prior to Mass

Cathedral 7:30 Cathedral 12:10

ICC 5:30PM

Thur.May 14 7:30 AM 12:10 PM

Monica, Tom, Margaret Roetzler (Livestream)

Fr. Ross B. Chad

Rosary at 11:30 AM prior in church prior to Mass

Cathedral 7:30 Cathedral 12:10

Fri. May 15 7:30 AM 12:10 PM

A. Govednik’s (Livestream)

Fr. Ross B. Chad

Rosary at 11:30 AM prior in church prior to Mass

Cathedral 7:30 Cathedral 12:10

Sat. May 16

4:30 SHC ICC Fr. Tom

Mass intentions will be said privately

Fr. Ross Virtual 4:30 PM

Sun. May 17 9:00 AM 11:00 PM 5:30 PM

Joseph Hammers +

Charlene Sims +

Fr. Tom

Fr. Tom Sixth Sunday Easter

Fr. Tom to Healy and Nenana

Date Mass Intentions of Priest Feast Day Activity Time ICC Parishioners

Mass Schedule May for May 9 - 17 Saturday May 9 4:30 PM Virtual Mass open to 50 persons

Sunday May 10 (All are Outdoor Masses) 9:00 AM 11:00 AM 5:30 PM

All Sunday Masses will be outdoors. We ask you to stay in your cars during Mass.

Reception of Holy Communion will be distributed by the Priests coming to your cars.

Monday—Friday All Masses at SHC: 7:30 AM & 12:10 PM Limited to 50 persons. Keep social distancing

Wednesday May 13 5:30 PM Mass at ICC with Adoration and Confessions following. Limit 20 Persons

Eucharistic Adoration We will end our 1:00—3:00 Eucharistic Adoration in front of the Chancery.

Soup Kitchen This week we served some 30 lunches daily and have received many generous donations from many benefactors. Once again:

Thank You! We are changing the protocols for our soup kitchen and are allowing 10 persons in the building at any one time. If you want to volunteer, we are looking for those who can assist with making lunch bags, fill cups with peanut butter, cut and bag celery and carrots, and other chores that need to be accomplished. If you feel comfortable, please call the office and we will take your name down and call as we need volunteers for different occasions.

Training We are also preparing new training classes for anyone who wants to volunteer. First, if you have not completed your safe and sacred training which takes several hours, please do so. Second, we will have training for soup kitchen volunteers ensuring that we keep the health codes especially with washing of hands regularly, no eating when working, assigned tasks, wiping and washing of surfaces and other protocols to help keep everyone safe and healthy. The training will be required before you can serve. Third, volunteers and workers will abide by CBNA (Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska) and the directives and protocols they require.

Knight Of Columbus: The winners of the bison raffle are: C. Boyer of Homer; R. Estelle of Eagle River; and T. Spoth of Palmer. We want to thank everyone for their participation in this raffle.

Exemplification Degrees: May 19 at 7:00 PM at ICC Church Because of the pandemic, we are offering an exemplification for all those in the Fairbanks Area on May 19 at 7:00 PM at Immaculate Conception Church. We invite anyone to call Alvin Beehler at 907-978-2142 to sign up so we can put you name on our list. Seating will be limited. If you are not a Knight and want to become one, or you know of a person who is interested, please have them call Alvin. Thanks! I want to thank the Knights for their help with our Soup Kitchen as they generously donated $1,000.00 to our efforts to serve the needy. The Knights June meeting will be June 2 via Zoom. We invite all the council members to set aside this date. We will have the Rosary at 6:30 PM and the Meeting from 7:00 - 8:00 PM.

Phase II We are moving forward to stabilize our parish. We will begin opening up our Church with limited access as we have serious concerns of our vulnerable population who come to pray and worship. May 13 we will have evening Mass at 5:30 PM with Adoration to follow and confessions heard in the pastors office. Seating will be limited to 19. If you want to attend please sign up. For the Month of May, we will have outdoor Sunday Masses at the Cathedral: 9:00 AM; 11:00 AM; 5:30 PM Fr. Tom will be traveling to Healy and Nenana and offer Masses there. We are discussing keeping the bag lunch program until July 1st as this virus is a real threat and also an abnormal threat as our scientific expert tells us. As the State relaxes some of the protocols this week, we need to keep the following protocols mandatory:

Wear Your Mask When in a Meeting.

Social Distance at the Church

Thank you for your

cooperation!

Priesthood: New Testament Paul tells the Corinthians we are ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor 5:20). Using political language, Paul describes we are Christ’s representatives, just as any political ambassador represents, that is speaks in the name of the leader. He or she has the authority to enforce and impose directives and mandates of the Caesar. We who have been baptized are clearly called sons and daughters of God, Our Father; and when we speak and teach, that is evangelize, we do so in the name of Jesus as we are anointed at our baptism as his priest, prophet, and king (rulers).

Worthy are you to take the

scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your

blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and

nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to

our God, and they shall reign on the earth (Rev 5:9 – 10).

This is the common priesthood into which we are all baptized, but there is another priesthood within the common priesthood in which Jesus specifically calls certain men to serve him first and to preach to others so they too may want to seek his kingdom. This is the ordained priesthood as Peter explains to his fellow elders.

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as

a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not

under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your

charge, but being examples to the flock (1 Pet 5:1 – 3).

Elders, presbuteros in Greek, means overseer: one who has charge of the household. Paul talks about “Those who are over you in the Lord” (I Thess 5:12). Jesus established a hierarchy of priests from the disciples. He wants to ordain certain men to closely follow him, and those who are his apostles are these elders or presbuteros or episcopoi. These are the ones who are over us.

Why are they over us? The difficulty to understand the difference between the ordinary priesthood that comes from our baptism in which we are anointed priest, prophet, and king, and that of the ordained priesthood, which comes from being consecrated – set apart – is revealed in the focus of each particular priesthood. As the book The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant explains so simply:

I think I understand. God gives the businessmen (laity) the

resources to help fulfill the calling of the (ordained) priests, who have given their own time and

resources specifically to serving God and to blessing the

businessmen.” That’s right. It’s a very special sort of partnership. (Terry Febler, The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant, p. 37)

The book of Revelation reveals this simple partnership in which Jesus is the Firstborn of the dead. This firstborn term roots itself in the very firstborn son – Adam. He was the firstborn human son of God, created in his image and likeness. Being a son meant that your attributes and characteristics did not come from yourself, but from your father. Adam’s Father was none other than God. He is the firstborn son though he is the first to die due to his sin. Adam, if you read carefully, is given authority over creation to serve and guard the garden (for about this read: https://sbts-wordpress-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/equip/uploads/2018/10/SBJT-22.2-Adam-as-Priest-Beale.pdf) To serve and to guard were priestly roles and Adam, acting as a priest, was to keep the Law and protect the Temple, that is the Garden. These words, “To serve and guard,” were terms used to describe the priestly roles in the Old Testament as they served and guarded both the Solomonic and Herodian Temple. Interestingly, many readers of the Scriptures fail to realize that if one entered the Temple area they would also see the great motifs of creation in stunning artistry and colors. The temple was an artists dream creating the heavens and the stars which were placed on the veil that separated the Holy of Holies.

For it remains a mystery, even to myself. How does one

explain the ways of God? Yet, I know that, at a certain point in

my life, I became convinced that Christ was saying to me

what he had said to thousands before me: 'Come, follow

me!' There was a clear sense that what I heard in my heart

was no human voice, nor was it just an idea of my own. Christ was calling me to serve him as

a priest.

John Paul II

Adam, as Rabbinic teaching reveals, is the priest of God in the Temple we call the Garden of Eden, and Adam is King of all of creation but most importantly, he is husband to Eve and is commanded to multiply and subdue the earth. He is to beget sons in his image and likeness (Gen 5:1 – 3) as he was begotten by God in his Image and Likeness. Being the firstborn human son of God, Adam fathers Seth in his own image and likeness. In the Old Testament, the firstborn sons received a double portion of their father’s inheritance and also became the head of the family after their father’s death as Seth would do. To be the first born in an Israelite family was not merely the birth order, but the one who would become the head. That is why Esau and Jacob fought, for Jacob stole the birth right from Esau with the help of his mother, Rebecca. Because of this Jacob became the descendent of Abraham, and he is the one who was literally anointed the priest, prophet and king. Esau realizes this and after the deception wants to kill Jacob for stealing the firstborn birth right. Yet God approves Jacob’s deception, blesses him and he becomes Israel after his wrestle with God.

We see the same story with Joseph and his brothers who sell him because he was the favored – the firstborn – son of Rachel the favored wife, only to find out that in selling him, they fulfilled God’s will and Joseph ultimately rules over his family not only as the first born son but as prime minister of Egypt. Moses, 400 years later, leads the Israelites out of Egypt, though he is not the firstborn son. However, his brother Aaron is and Aaron, as we know, became his spokesman – prophet –and was priest being the first born. At Mount Sinai when Moses receives the blessing of God and the Law after he led the Israelites out of Egypt into the desert to begin their short journey to the promised land, Aaron, his brother and priest, commits idolatry allowing the Israelites to mold a golden calf out of the gold they stole from Egypt. Moses, in all his fury, breaks the Stone Tablets of the Law as a symbolic gesture of what the people did:

They broke the covenant with God. Here is a shift in priesthood. No longer is the priest the firstborn son of the family, because patriarchal history of the firstborn son of the family usually did not keep the covenant any better than did Aaron (See Ex 13 and the redemption of the donkey). The tribe of Levi inherit the priesthood usurping it from the firstborn for they are the ones who executed the judgement of God upon the revelers and slew 3000. Moses then had the people grind up the golden calf and pulverize it only to drink it as a punishment for their idolatry. The whole purpose of this punishment was to purify their hearts from their weakness to commit idolatry. They sought to worship the created things of this world rather than worship the creator of the world. It did not work, and God’s “punishments” never did work throughout the whole of the Old Testament.

The Israelites sad history of conquest and destruction of their culture continued until 70 AD when the Herodian Temple was destroyed and never rebuilt. The reason being the Israelites and, sadly, so many Christians too, turn to idolatrous worship, despite the promises God makes:

Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his

place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. It is he

who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule

on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be

between them both. (Zechariah 6:12 – 13)

The term Branch is another expression used for the Messiah. Thus a branch or shoot will come from the stump of Jesse, and so this Branch will construct a new Temple not made with stone and hands, and He, the Branch, will be the priest of this new eternal temple. As King and Priest He will give a new law because the Israelites could not keep the Old Law. St. Augustine reveals why the Messiah had to come and give a new law: You gave the Law, so Grace they would seek; You gave the grace

so the law they would keep. In reality, the Law of Moses was given to reveal the weakness of our human spirit to do what we know is good and true. Experiencing our inability to keep the Law, we would seek God all the more to give us the grace to keep what He commanded.

Paul explains this simple yet difficult teaching:

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do

what I want, but I do the very thing I hate (Rom 7:15).

Jesus is the first born of Mary and many miss the real reason of this phrase. It is not that Jesus is Mary’s firstborn son in birth order: the one who opened the womb, though in a literal sense He is, but it must be read typologically in the backdrop of the Old Testament. Jesus is going to restore the Temple – the Garden of Eden; He is going to become the New Adam as the Old Adam could not keep the Law; whereas Jesus the New Adam does keep the Law and fulfill the will of the Father. In so doing, Jesus restores the priesthood and puts back the order that the Firstborn Son is the priest of the family. Most importantly, Jesus will reveal that He is the firstborn divine Son of Man Who comes from the heavenly Father to lead Israel and the rest of the nations into the new promised land: the heavenly Jerusalem. Here we dwell in God, for heavenly temple is the Divine Presence: the Holy of Holies.

Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the

blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us

through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, since we have a great priest over the house of

God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water

(Hb 10: 19 – 22).

The firstborn human son is Adam. Israel as a nation is identified as a first born as the nations are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My

steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. I will establish his offspring forever and

his throne as the days of the heavens (Ps 89:27 – 29).

Israel as a nation is considered by God as his firstborn son. Finally, Jesus the true Son of God is the Firstborn Son begotten consubstantial to the Image and Likeness of the Father, and is also the firstborn human son of Mary (for more about this https://davidschrock.com/2018/03/22/adam-as-prophet-priest-and-king-and-the-bible-as-the-story-of-three-sons/). Mary’s firstborn Son, as the Psalmist reveals, is the descendent of David, for Jesus is of the tribe of Judah as both Mary and Joseph are of his tribe. Jesus is also divine as Isaiah expects us to understand from his prophecy, for no virginal conception is miraculous unless it is a divine intervention and not merely a human consummation. Jesus then is both human and divine, for by his very nature He is Divine, and by his incarnation, He is fully human. Jesus Himself alludes to this as He often calls Himself the Son of Man. He fulfills the prophecies of the new King and the Messiah, but He is more than just an earthly king and messiah; He is also Divine, for that is what the title Son of Man means. How do we know this title depicts divinity? Caiaphas the high priest demonstrates this for us as he tore his garment. Tearing garments was forbidden by the Mosaic Law (Lv 21:10), but Caiaphas rips open his tunic when Jesus states, You have said so (Mt 26:64), after being put under oath by Caiaphas adjuring Him by the living God, “Tell us if you are the Son of God” (Mt 26:63). Jesus responds oddly to Caiaphas, however. Listen carefully, Jesus does not refer to Himself as the Son of God; rather He claims to be the Son of Man.

What is the difference?

“You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the

right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of

heaven” (Mt 26:64). More than not, Jesus titles Himself as the Son of Man. What does Son of Man mean? Daniel of course tells us exactly what the Title Son of Man means:

Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all

peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass

away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed

(Dan 7: 13 – 14). This Son of Man was given all the divine attributes: dominion, glory and a kingdom, revealing that Daniel reveals the One who is coming is not merely a human king or messiah, but a Divine Messiah Who is King and High Priest. In fact, the nation of Israel as we know is the firstborn son of God, and it is from God’s chosen race that all nations are blessed. And all nations who thwart God’s design, that dominion, glory, and power come through Israel and not through the false gods that plague Israel, are his footstool; while all those who embrace Israel, embrace Jesus the new Adam as the firstborn Son of God, are blessed.

Grants and Donations

I have been busy at ICC writing grants for help with the sack lunches we are handing out daily (Sunday thru Saturday).

ICC has received the following grants so far:

1. Bill Stroecker Foundation $7500.00 For immediate Soup kitchen needs due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

2. United Way of Tanana Valley COVID-19 fund $2,000.00.

3. St. Nicholas Catholic Church $1,370.00, donated their Ash Wednesday collection to help our Soup kitchen.

At this time, we do not let people in the building, so we can’t serve hot meals, therefore the food is costing us more money.

Father Tom also wrote a letter to local businesses asking for their help.

From our letter writing campaign to local business to help with the soup kitchen we have received to date:

Grace Minder Realty, INC. $250.00 for regular expenses and $250.00 for the Soup Kitchen.

Mt McKinley Bank - $300.00 to help with the Soup kitchen

Knights of Columbus - $601.32 for help with the Soup kitchen

DDS W Lee Payne - $500.00 to help with the Soup Kitchen

Anonymous Donors - $6,900.00 for helping the Soup Kitchen and salaries of those working the Soup Kitchen.

Terri (bookkeeper)

Thank you to all who have donated to help us feed the homeless and needy in our

community. If I missed any business or individual, it is

not intentional. This list contains only

individuals who donated $500.00 or more in one

transaction.

Parish Updates:

As we have not had a finance council meeting nor a parish council meeting for some time, I would like to update everyone on our parish and plans.

Finances

We are doing well at this time, due to many donations to help offset the added expenses and lack of Liturgies.

Parishioners and contributors have been very generous at the outset of this pandemic; however, we expect that the economic downturn to affect our parish for the next 12—18 months as the economy cycles through the downturn. Uncertain waters are ahead, as the finance world tells us.

To deal with this forecast, we have cut hours of our employees and we have reduced our staff by one. We expect to have volunteers fill the position as sacristan and house keeping.

Building Projects: Front Doors

We are still focused on replacing the front doors of the church. We had a door manufacturer in place to make the doors, however that is no longer an option. As of now, we sent out proposals to four contractors for the door project and have only heard from one.

Without a comparison bid, we will not move forward with the project and are looking for other contractors to bid the job.

The money for this project is from the building fund.

Security System

We are still in the market for a new security system and have asked a local contractor and Siemens to give us a bid. However, we have yet to receive these bids at this time.

We will contact them again. Kitchen

We have an opportunity to update our kitchen as it is not in use at least until June 1 if not later.

We will be painting the kitchen and putting in new flooring (someone has generously donated for this project).

Serving Food

We have made adjustments to our soup kitchen and are serving meals through the windows. We had to put up shelves outside the windows to serve the meals.

Mail Box

We also put up a new mail box so if you want to drop off a letter or donation you can do so on the outside of the building by the handicap parking area.

Religious Ed and Liturgy

At this time, we do not have any scheduled classes and I ask parents to continue the religious education at home. If you need resources please call the office.

We have not scheduled any of the Liturgies for the Sacraments. We will arrange for them when mandates are re-evaluated and clarified that we can have gatherings larger than ten.

Ministries

We continue our soup kitchen ministry at this time. The legion of Mary continues to help especially with the adoration from 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM daily at the chancery.

Liturgy and Sacraments

At Masses certain things will change when we return:

1. No greeting at the beginning of Mass.

2. No Holy Water fonts. If you want holy water we have bottles for personal use.

3. No Sign of Peace.

4. Music will be at a minimum.

5. I encourage reception of communion to be on the hand. (We may be using tweezers to distribute communion.)

6. There will be no distribution of the Precious Blood.

7. We ask that persons purchase the missalette for your own use (please take them home and bring them to church). Cost $20.00

8. We will have only the priest on the altar.

9. We want people after Mass to greet each other in a social distancing way.

10. Confessions will be heard in the downstairs confessional.

Finance Council Meeting

At the finance council we discussed and approved the up coming budget.

We have cut our staff to help with payroll.

We have cut the hours of all the employees for the upcoming year to help save on payroll.

We have instituted purchase orders to buy everything so as we ensure that we are keeping to our budget.

We have had many donations since March and now all monetary donations will be going into our savings account as we have sufficient funds for the next 2 months.

Opening up of the Church:

We have had individuals ask when the church would be open. This week we will begin opening the Church for our Wednesday 5:30 PM Mass and Adoration.

Limit is 20 Persons

Please call to sign up

Once Mass begins the doors will be locked

The reason why we need to keep the doors locked is that many vulnerable people come to our church for a place of refuge and we want to protect those coming into our church for our liturgies or ministries.

With this reasoning, we will keep the doors locked unless there is an event and only then we will have the doors open for those coming to the event. We will re-evaluate that decision at the end of May.

If you are coming to an event please arrive 15 minutes before hand as an act of courtesy to those who securing the door.

Celebration of Sacraments

First Communion

We are arranging with the families and teachers at this time to set a date. We most likely have First Communion at Sacred Heart as they have a more space to keep the social distancing protocols.

We may have to limit seating.

Confirmation

We will have Confirmation on May 31 at 2;00 PM at Sacred Heart Cathedral with Bishop Chad. At this time, there will be limited seating. So please expect that the parents, sponsor, confirmandee are invited. Others may or may not be allowed into depending upon the number of people

Building Projects:

We will continue our plans for a security system and are still waiting for bids to come in.

We are working on the front doors to the church. We are developing a proposal and want to send it out to all the contactors who may be interested in the project.

Both of these projects are security projects and at this time, we want to focus on keeping our building, patrons, and parishioners safe.

Soup Kitchen

We have extended our bag lunch program till July 1. with our consultants: one a virologist and the other who works with CDC both employed by the university, they highly recommended that we be extremely cautious concerning this virus as it is abnormal.

With their recommendation and consulting the council members, will be serving sack lunches at least until July 1st and re-evaluate this issue in June.

Change:

As we have had enormous changes and many of these changes are difficult to accept, we pray that our hearts do not become hardened, but that we trust in the Lord to lead us through this difficult times.

Note, we weekly consult various experts who have a very different source of information than what is public. These experts have access to studies and other groups who do not have any agenda except the dissemination of information.

These decisions of course challenge all of us, but the underlying reasoning is pro-life. Anyone of us can become a victim of this disease and anyone of us can become a victimizer as we do not know if we are a carrier.

So we pray daily that our hearts do not become bitter or hardened, but that we as King David did and accept your most holy will so that our hearts are like your heart and that your heart is like mine. :

Praying for humility is one of the most difficult aspects of the spiritual life, but also the most necessary.

Humility can be a scary virtue to pray for. It means that we will be humiliated at some point, with our pride cut down from under us. While it may not be a public event or even noticeable by anyone, our own heart will suffer the loss of our pride and we will understand how much we rely on God.

Yet, even though it is a difficult intention, praying for humility is a necessity. If we truly want to become saints, and enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we must imitate as closely as we can the life of Jesus. He humbled himself greatly, allowing himself to be crucified by his creation. It is truly a profound mystery to meditate on and reminds us of the love that God has for us.

St. Therese of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun of the 19th century, understood this reality and prayed on a regular basis for humility. It was not easy for her either, but she wanted to become a saint and knew that the road to it was marked with humility. She composed the following prayer, which can become part of our own daily prayers, acknowledging the beauty and majesty of God and our own small role in the world.

O Jesus!

When You were a Pilgrim on earth,

You said:

“Learn of Me for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find

rest for your souls.” O Mighty Monarch of Heaven, yes, my souls finds rest in seeing You, clothed

in the form and nature of a slave, humbling Yourself to wash the feet of

Your apostles.

I recall Your words that teach me how to practice humility:

“I have given you an example so

that you may do what I have done. The disciple is not greater than the Master … If you understand this,

happy are you if you put them into practice.”

Lord, I do understand these words that came from Your gentle and humble

heart and I want to practice them with the help of Your grace.

I beg You, my Divine Jesus, to send me a humiliation whenever I try to set

myself above others.

I know, O my God, that You humble the proud soul but to the one who

humbles one’s self You give an eternity of glory.

So I want to put myself in the last rank and to share Your humiliations so as

“to have a share with You”

in the kingdom of Heaven.

But, You know my weakness, Lord.

Every morning I make a resolution to practice humility and in the evening I recognize that I have committed again

many faults of pride.

At this I am tempted to become discouraged but I know that discouragement is also pride.

Therefore, O my God, I want to base my hope in You alone.

Since You can do everything, deign to bring to birth in my soul the virtue I

desire.

To obtain this grace of Your infinite mercy I will very often repeat:

“O Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, make my heart like Yours!”

In seeking God’s help to cast out our sins of pride we are in tune with our Lord’s famous Gospel message “He who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles

himself will be exalted”

When we talk about pride, we talk about the deadliest of sins, the pride which causes haughtiness, jealousy, or anger over slights or insults.

Jesus consoles us with the thought that when we are persecuted for His sake we should

“Rejoice and exult, because your reward is great in

heaven” (Matt 5:12).

Jesus Himself gave His life for us in the most poignant example of humility we can imagine! The Creator of the Universe took on our flesh and our sins for our salvation, to be born in a manger and die on a cross between two thieves! As St. Paul wrote,

“He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming

in human likeness; and found human in

appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, death on a cross.

Because of this, God greatly exalted him” (Phil 2:7-9).

Conflict Creations

Are you the cause of all your own problems and the cause of other people’s problems? If you are not sure ask the following questions:

Do I experience some kind of conflict almost every day?

Do people often rub me the wrong way?

Do bad things just naturally happen to me?

Do I have few friends and wish I had more?

Do I always seem to say the wrong thing?

If you are in a hole, if you are causing problems stop digging the hole. Admit you have problems and second, change your attitude.

Learn to be positive. For every positive statement we receive, we hear 10 negative ones. Instead, learn to put things in the positive so we can overcome our negative attitudes.

A MOTHER’S HAND CARESSES A FEVERED BROW

A MOTHER’S HANDS ARE GENIE AND THEIR TALENT IS TO KNOW HOW

HOW TO HEAL AND HOW TO FEEL THE THINGS THEY NEED TO SEE

AND A MOTHER IS THE ONE WHO IS THERE FOR YOU AND ME

A MOTHER’S HANDS ARE NEVER IDLE THEY ARE ALWAYS AT A TASK

THEY FASHION FOOD AND DARN A SOCK AND EVEN A HALLOWEEN MASK

HOW TO BE THE BEST THEY TRY TO DO THE RIGHT FOR YOU

AND A MOTHER IS THE ONE WHO YOU ALWAYS TELL YOUR PROBLEMS TO

A MOTHER’S HANDS CHANGE DIAPERS AND WASH A DIRTY FACE

THEY SMOOTH THE LOVELY WEDDING GOWN OF THEIR DAUGHTER’S LACE

HOW THEY STROVE TO BRING ABOUT A PERSON STRONG AND TRUE

A MOTHER’S HANDS HAS DID THEIR JOB AND GUIDED EACH OF YOU

A MOTHER’S HANDS ARE ALWAYS THERE TO LEND A HELPING HAND

THEY GUIDE FIRST STEPS AND STEADY YOU WHEN YOU LEARN TO STAND

AND LEARN TO STAND ALONE YOU DO AND THEN TO WALK AWAY

A MOTHER KNOWS THIS AND SHE DREADS THAT FATEFUL DAY

A MOTHER’S HANDS FOLD IN PRAYER AT A SICK CHILD'S BED

A MOTHER’S HAND IS THERE TO THE PATH THAT YOU ARE LED

HANDS OF A MOTHER ARE STRONG AND SURE HER HEART AND YOURS IS TOUCHED AND

PURE A MOTHER’S HANDS GROW OLD AND WORN AND IN YOUR HEART YOUR LOVE IS TORN TORN TO BE AT HER SIDE TORN TO OPEN

YOUR ARMS WIDE BECAUSE THIS MOTHER EVEN WHEN SHE IS

GONE IS THERE AT YOU SIDE SO REMEMBER HER HANDS AS THEY BRAIDED

YOUR HAIR OR COMBED IT NICE AND FIXED A SKINNED

KNEE ’CAUSE SHE DID CARE A MOTHER’S HANDS ARE GOD’S GIFT TO YOU

FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT THEY DO WITH LOVE!

Month of May: Mary’s Month

True Devotion to Mary is more than pietism, it is heroism. Many people refuse to surrender to God’s will as we all are born into Original Sin which inflates our pride and hardens our ego so that we become impious.

Mary surrendered completely to God’s will despite the prophecies that proclaimed that her Son would suffer and die (Is 53; Ps 22).

As she endured the birth pangs of motherhood while watching Jesus die on the Cross, so too, we suffer our own birth pains as we die to sin and allow grace to fill us with divine strength.

We honor Mary not merely because she said Yes, but because of her Yes, God could accomplish the greatest act of mercy ever: the salvation of our souls.

When we say Yes to God, we allow God’s grace to penetrate deeply into our lives so He again can accomplish great things through our humility.

Schedule of Events:

May 9 4:30 PM Virtual Mass

May 10 9:00AM; 11:00 AM; 5:30 PM Outdoor Masses SHC

May 10 5:30 PM Legion of Mary Meeting in Church

May 13 5:30 PM Mass followed by Eucharistic Adoration (19 people only)

May 15 11:00 - 1:00 PM Outdoor BBQ for the needy

May 15 6:30 PM Voices in Wilderness in Church

May 17 Sunday Outdoor Masses at SHC 9:00 AM; 11:00 AM; 5:30 PM

May 19 6:30 PM Knights Exemplification begins at 7:00 PM

May 24 Confirmation at 2:00 PM Sacred Heart for St. Nicolaus

May 31 Confirmation at 2:00 PM at Sacred Heart for ICC and SHC

UP COMING EVENTS Voice in the Wilderness

Charismatic Prayer

Friday Night 6:30 PM

Healing comes to us through prayer.

Prayer ministry is powerful for those suffering from

isolation and desolation. Learning to pray through

music and meditation brings healing and comfort.

Legion of Mary Meetings 5:30 PM

Mondays

Being Legion of Mary inspires us to fill our souls with the Holy

Spirit as did Mary at the Incarnation

The Legion of Mary inspires legion members to pray daily. Having prayed, Legion members may want to become active and evangelize others.

Are You Called?

Knights of Columbus: Charity, Unity, Fraternity in our Lord

The World’s largest Catholic Fraternal Service Organization.

Do you want to become a Knight? It promotes

• Life from conception till natural death.

• Assists the sick, homeless, and needy

• Prayer and virtuous lifestyle by example

• It supports our parishes and diocese Guided by the principles of charity, unity,

and fraternity, members of the Knights of Columbus work to overcome the hardships that people face in their

parishes and communities. Joining your local council of the Knights of Columbus can change your life.

Leadership: Trust vs. Distrust Trust is the foundation of every relationship. Children have absolute trust in their parents because children have no one else or no other reference point. Sadly, we have to question parents today and their ability to be trustworthy, and ensure, we who are now adults, our own trustworthiness. Trust as the foundation stone of every relationship looks beyond predictability. So many trust another; they think they know what the other will do before they do it. This is predictable trust and based upon a habitual behavior, knowing what the other regularly does. True trust, however, is not predicable. It is vulnerable. Vulnerability exposes one’s weakness to the other; and in that exposed position, the other feels safe, secure, and supported. In vulnerability to one another, our relationship becomes solid and trustworthy because it is based in truth. True trust not only exposes ones own weaknesses or failures, but confronts another, exposing the faults, failures, and dysfunctions. This is not to shame and embarrass the other, but to hold the other to a higher standard: to heal the brokenness.

If you want to be trusted, BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF! Families build trust when each person is honest; accepts the correction of another humbly; or offers a correction to the other charitably. Perfectionism, narcissism, and manipulation are three actions that absolutely destroy trust; whereas, honesty, integrity, and sincerity build trust. A crisis reveals the cracks and fissures in any relationship. But those fractures are an opportunity to strengthen our trust!

Curry’s Corner

Grocery, Gas & Liquor

At the Junction of Chena Hot Springs Road and the Old

Steese Highway

Open from Noon until 8:00 p.m.

7 days a week

907-457-1268

ICC Bulletin Advertising - Please Support Our Local Businesses

Facebook "Catholic Engaged Encounter-Fairbanks" For marriage support services Natural Family Planning information

contact Marc & Ann Lee at denaliprints@gmail.com

Fairbanks Catholic Engaged Encounter "A Wedding is a Day, A Marriage is a Lifetime."

Comprehensive Marriage Preparation Weekends Contact 907-452-3701 or cee.ak@hotmail.com to register or volunteer

Academic Excellence for PreK through 12th Grade

Call for a tour – 907.456.7970

www.catholic-schools.org

Why choose the Catholic Schools of Fairbanks?

WANTED TO BUY:

Old Dragline Buckets

(4 yard and up in size)

ALASKA LICENSE PLATES

Wil Courtney 907.458.0911

engineco1@gmail.com