fourth sunday of easter † may 3, 2020 - home- st. henry cluster …€¦ · fourth sunday of...

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Pastoral Staff Fr. Bill O’Donnell, C.PP.S. (Pastor) Fr. Jim Smith, C.PP.S. (Parochial Vicar) Br. Nick Renner, C.PP.S. Deacon Jerry Buschur Deacon Randy Balster Deacon Gregg Elking Ofice Staff Pat Stachler Karen Heath Sue Nietfeld Amy Brunswick Rachel Niekamp Joe Hemmelgarn Parish Life Coordinators Sharon Ranly - St. Aloysius Kelly Jo Siefring - St. Bernard Mary Schmitmeyer - St. Francis Carmen Beyke - St. Henry Karen Post - St. Wendelin sthenrycluster.com Fourth Sunday of Easter May 3, 2020 Photo by Darya Tryfanava on Unsplash CLUSTER OFFICE IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED Cluster Address 272 East Main Street | PO Box 350 St. Henry, OH 45883 419-678-4118 | Fax: 419-678-8285 Temporary Mass Schedule streaming online at sthenrycluster.com Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. Saturday 4:30 p.m. Sunday 11:00 a.m. Please join us live in prayer from your computer, television, tablet, or phone. Though we may not be able to gather in person, we can still be together in the midst of being temporarily separated.

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Page 1: Fourth Sunday of Easter † May 3, 2020 - Home- St. Henry Cluster …€¦ · Fourth Sunday of Easter † May 3, 2020 Photo by Darya Tryfanava on Unsplash CLUSTER OFFICE IS TEMPORARILY

PastoralStaffFr. Bill O’Donnell, C.PP.S. (Pastor)

Fr. Jim Smith, C.PP.S. (ParochialVicar)

Br. Nick Renner, C.PP.S. Deacon Jerry Buschur

Deacon Randy Balster Deacon Gregg Elking

Of�iceStaff Pat Stachler Karen Heath

Sue Nietfeld Amy Brunswick Rachel Niekamp Joe Hemmelgarn

ParishLifeCoordinatorsSharon Ranly - St. Aloysius

Kelly Jo Siefring - St. Bernard

Mary Schmitmeyer - St. Francis Carmen Beyke - St. Henry

Karen Post - St. Wendelin

sthenrycluster.com

FourthSundayofEaster † May3,2020

PhotobyDaryaTryfanavaonUnsplash

CLUSTEROFFICE

ISTEMPORARILY

CLOSED

ClusterAddress272 East Main Street | PO Box 350 St. Henry, OH 45883

419-678-4118 | Fax: 419-678-8285

TemporaryMassSchedule

streaming online at

sthenrycluster.com

Monday-Friday 8:30a.m.

Saturday 4:30p.m.

Sunday 11:00a.m.

Please join us live in prayer from

your computer, television, tablet,

or phone. Though we may not be

able to gather in person, we can

still be together in the midst of

being temporarily separated.

Page 2: Fourth Sunday of Easter † May 3, 2020 - Home- St. Henry Cluster …€¦ · Fourth Sunday of Easter † May 3, 2020 Photo by Darya Tryfanava on Unsplash CLUSTER OFFICE IS TEMPORARILY

St. Henry Cluster ParishesSt. Henry Cluster ParishesSt. Henry Cluster ParishesSt. Henry Cluster Parishes Phone ................................................................................... 419-678-4118

Priest Residence ................................................................. 419-925-2075

Fax ......................................................................................... 419-678-8285

Cluster Website...............................................www.sthenrycluster.com

Fr. Bill O’Donnell, C.PP.S. .................. [email protected]

Fr. Jim Smith, C.PP.S. .................................... [email protected]

Br. Nick Renner, C.PP.S. ............................... [email protected]

Deacon Randy Balster [email protected]

Deacon Gregg Elking ...................................... [email protected]

BusinessManager- Sue Nietfeld [email protected]

ClusterSecretary- Pat Stachler ....... [email protected]

BulletinEditor- Amy Brunswick............... [email protected]

DirectorofYouthMinistry .......................................... 419-678-4118

Joe Hemmelgarn..............................joseph.hemmelgarn@focus.org

CoordinatorofChurchMusicMinistry ................... 419-678-4118

Karen Heath.................................sthenryclusterliturgy@gmail.com

ParishLifeCoordinators

St.Aloysius- Sharon Ranly ..................................... 419-678-3227

[email protected]

St.Bernard- Kelly Jo Siefring.................................. 419-852-9884

[email protected]

St.Francis- Mary Schmitmeyer ............................. 419-336-7745

[email protected]

St.Henry-Carmen Beyke........................................... 419-678-0172

[email protected]

St.Wendelin- Karen Post .......................................... 419-375-2380

[email protected]

Religious Education Religious Education Religious Education Religious Education RachelNiekamp419-678-3811/ [email protected]

Facebook:St. Henry Catechetical Center

JillGelhaus ............... 937-459-6771 / [email protected]

Precious Blood ResidencePrecious Blood ResidencePrecious Blood ResidencePrecious Blood Residence 1509 Cranberry Road, St. Henry OH 45883

Bulletin DeadlineBulletin DeadlineBulletin DeadlineBulletin Deadline Deadline for bulletin information is Monday of each week at 12:00 noon. Notices should be in writing or emailed to

[email protected]

Address, Phone & Email changesAddress, Phone & Email changesAddress, Phone & Email changesAddress, Phone & Email changes Please contact your Parish Life Coordinator or the Cluster Of=ice at

419-678-4118 if your address, phone numbers or email has

changed so we can keep our records up to date. Thank you.

Archdiocese of Cincinnati, has released a

statement extending the temporary

suspension of all publicly celebrated

Masses and liturgies through May 29. Please see the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s website (catholiccincinnati.org) for more information. Click on “COVID-9 Response”.

BaptismsBaptismsBaptismsBaptisms Please contact the Saint Henry Custer of=ices if you would like to schedule a baptism. The previously announced schedule for baptisms is impacted due to the suspension of

public masses in the Archdiocese. MarriageMarriageMarriageMarriage To schedule a date or for more information contact the Cluster Of=ice. The Saint Henry Cluster requires at least 6

months before the date to begin the wedding process. An initial meeting is required before a date will be scheduled at

the church for your wedding.

First CommunionFirst CommunionFirst CommunionFirst Communion First Communion dates will be announced once public masses and social gatherings are permitted.

Anointing of the Sick | Hospital NotificationAnointing of the Sick | Hospital NotificationAnointing of the Sick | Hospital NotificationAnointing of the Sick | Hospital Notification Please contact the cluster of=ice if a member of your family is need of an anointing. At this time, hospitals and nursing

homes are signi=icantly limiting visitors to address the spread of COVID-19.

Mass Streaming OnlineMass Streaming OnlineMass Streaming OnlineMass Streaming Online St. Henry Cluster offers live-streamed masses online now. The streams are available on the cluster website, our pages

on Facebook, YouTube, and Streamspot. The links are:

tinyurl.com/StHenryFacebook tinyurl.com/StHenryYoutbe tinyurl.com/StHenryStream

Air Force

MSgt. Danielle Kremer (SH)

TSgt. Darren J Siefring (SB)

Army

Sgt. Austin McClure (Reserves) (SH) Lt. Col. Charles (Chuck) Whitsett (SH)

Marine Corps

LCpl Randy Albers (SH) LCPL David Dennings

SSgt. Adam Wolters (SA)

Navy

AN Zachary Miller (SB)

National Guard

PV2 Timothy Burrows (Army) (SH)

SrA Austin Clune (Air) (SH) Sergeant Klint Hemmelgarn (SH)

Major Matthew Lauber (SA) Sgt. Cory Mescher (SH)

Sgt. Christina Moore (SH) PV2 Jake Schlarman (Army) (SH)

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Today is the fourth Sunday of Easter. It is something called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” That is because in all three cycles of the Liturgical Year, the Gospel presents us with an image of Jesus as the shepherd and we as the

sheep. Now preaching on this Sunday has its challenges. This was driven home to me several years ago while

helping out at Holy Redeemer Parish in New Bremen. After the Sunday mass, a parishioner came in the sacristy

with a criticism. She said, “I know its scriptural and all that, but I don’t like being compared to a sheep. Sheep are

dumb animals. They have very little initiative or energy, and they are easily led around by whoever would want to manipulate them. Is this image of being a sheep really a useful image for a disciple in the twenty =irst century?” I

thought the feedback was valid and I have pondered it every year since when we celebrate Good Shepherd

Sunday during the Easter Season.

That’s why it was good that in the midst of our “social distancing” I came across an article about sheep farmers. Each year Unites States sheep farmers bring in sheep shearers from Australia and New Zealand to

remove the wool from the sheep. But because of the present economic environment fewer and fewer sheep

shearers have been willing to come to the United States. Therefore, farmers have begun to train Americans to

shear the sheep. The newspaper interviewed a number of the trainees who insisted that the traditional image of

the sheep as being peaceful and docile is way overblown. Sheep will indeed, allow you to shear them but only if you know what you are doing, only if they trust you. If they do not trust you, they will assert themselves and run

away. And when a hundred-pound sheep decides to run away, it takes a great deal of experience and muscle to

hold them where you want them.

Now I thought that this new information for me might be used to enlarge and deepen the traditional image

of sheep. Sheep are peaceful for sure, but they can also be assertive and strong. These two qualities together provide a very useful image for discipleship in the twenty-=irst century and during the disruption in our lives

caused by the pandemic. We are called by Christ to be disciples who are not only peaceful but also assertive, not

only docile but also strong.

Our call to be people of peace comes directly from the Scriptures. Peace characterizes God’s kingdom.

Isaiah dreams of the day when the swords will be beaten into plowshares, and Jesus promises us a peace the world cannot give. So as followers of Christ we must be people of peace. We must be people opposed to violence.

Indeed, we must understand that although choosing violence appears to deliver what we want, it instead

contributes to a cycle which can destroy us. This is true both culturally and personally. Every time we as a nation

use our military might to bend another nation to our will, instead of using dialogue and negotiation, we choose an

option contrary to the kingdom of God. Every time we support a social solution based on violence, whether it be the violence of abortion or the violence of capital punishment, we take a step contrary to what God intends. Every

time we act personally out of anger or vengeance, every time we use our position of authority in the workplace or

home to coerce someone to do what we want them to do, we show that we are not acting as Christ’s disciples.

Violence is not the answer. We must be people of peace. But at the same time, we must be people of strength. The gospel does not call us to be wall=lowers or

doormats. We are not doing Christ’s will when we avoid taking a stand against evil and injustice. We are not being

faithful disciples when we follow the manipulations of our world, the dishonesty and confusion of our

government, the =laws of our culture. We are not following the gospel when we accept abuse in the workplace or

in our home, imagining that such acts of violence are acceptable – or, even worse, something which we deserve. It is part of our mission to oppose evil, to assert ourselves against those forces which can harm us and harm the

ones we love.

So, if Christ is the shepherd and we are the sheep, it is important to know what a sheep is: a peaceful

animal but one who is willing to assert itself against the evil which surrounds it. We are called to be people of

peace but also people of strength, willing to commit ourselves in non-violent ways to oppose the evil in the world, willing to stand against violence even as take steps to protect ourselves and our families. Now this mixture of

peacefulness and strength is an uncommon and delicate balance. But it is the balance of the gospel. And we who

are called to follow the shepherd commit ourselves to =ind that balance and to proclaim it with our lives.

Fr. Bill O’Donnell, C.PP.S.

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CollectionUpdate(through04/26)

St.Aloysius Good Friday ................................... $30.00 prior to Easter ........................... $985.00 04/12 ........................................$1,150.00 St.Bernard Good Friday ................................... $10.00 prior to Easter..........................$1,210.00 04/12 .........................................$2,010.00 Candles ......................................... $159.75 Capital Imp. ..............................$1,250.00 St.Francis Good Friday ................................... $60.00 prior to Easter ............................ $940.00 04/12 ............................................ $575.00 Candles .......................................... $30.00 Capital Imp. ..............................$2,530.00 St.Henry Good Friday ................................. $290.00 prior to Easter ...................... $12,923.00 04/12 ...................................... $11,125.00 Candles ......................................... $405.00 Capital Imp. ................................. $150.00 St.Wendelin Good Friday ................................... $20.00 prior to Easter............................. $585.00 04/12 ........................................... $290.00 Candles ........................................ $234.00

May3,2020

St.Francis:

AnnII:AndreaWatercutter, St. Francis, daughter of Steven & Mary Watercutter - ZacheryBaltes, Ithaca Ohio, son of Monte & Beverly

Baltes (5/16/2020)

St.Aloysius:

AnnII:AarenHemmelgarn, St. Aloysius, son of Wayne & Kelly

Hemmelgarn - KelseyCommager, St. Joe, Maumee, Ohio, daughter of

Roger & Julie Commager (5/16/2020)

THANK YOUTHANK YOUTHANK YOUTHANK YOU

for your continued support

of the mission and ministry

in St. Henry Cluster

Mass IntentionsMass IntentionsMass IntentionsMass Intentions Duetopublicmassesbeingsuspended,Massintentionspreviously scheduled for thisweekwill be assigned toanother date. If you would like to make changes toscheduledmassesorhaveanyquestions,pleasecontacttheClusterOf�ice.

Adoration Schedule Adoration Schedule Adoration Schedule Adoration Schedule Due to public masses being suspended, weekday

Adoration schedule is suspended. Churches in the Saint

Henry Cluster will be open throughout the week for

prayer. The Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the

tabernacleforadoration.

Cluster Office Hours ChangeCluster Office Hours ChangeCluster Office Hours ChangeCluster Office Hours Change

Effective immediately: Saint Henry Cluster of�ice areclosedduetothestay-at-homeorderfromthegovernor.Foranyemergenciesoutsideofthesehours,pleasecallthe Cluster Of�ice (419-678-4118) and follow theinstructionsonthevoicemail.

Mary “Kay” Dippold April 18 St. Henry

Becky Rammel April 20 St. Wendelin

James Wehrkamp April 24 St. Henry

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Psalm23

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FourthSundayofEaster

FirstReading Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed: “Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you cruci=ied.”

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every

one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far

off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” He testi=ied with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his

message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.

ResponsorialPsalm Psalm 23

TheLordismyshepherd;thereisnothingIshallwant.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.

He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley

I fear no evil; for you are at my side. With your rod and your staff that give me courage.

You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes;

You anoint my head with oil; my cup over=lows.

Only goodness and kindness follow me All the days of my life;

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.

SecondReading 1 Peter 2:20b-25

Beloved: If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example

that you should follow in his footsteps. Hecommittednosin,andnodeceitwasfoundinhis

mouth.

When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he

handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been

healed. For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

For daily readings, please visit:

usccb.org/bible/readings/index.cfm

Sunday’sReadings

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Gospel John 10:1-10

Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the

shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own,

he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice

of strangers.” Although Jesus used this =igure of speech, the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before

me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and =ind pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more

abundantly.”

TheSheepgate © Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com

Readingscontinued

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Biblical faith gives believers a particular pattern by which to judge the truth of their own

experience. We see that service may be the way to greatness, poverty may be the key to freedom,

weakness may be the path to strength, death may be the gate to life. The Bible con=irms all these

suspicions, and while it may not make them any easier for us to act upon, at least it gives us courage

to go on when everything seems stacked against us. For those rooted in Christian memory and fed

by Christian hope, nothing in life is simply what it seems. Equipped with the paradoxical images and

stories of our historic faith, we see things differently than we would without them.

One of the hardest things I do is to celebrate communion at a local nursing home on the poor side of

town, where most residents spend their days strapped in wheelchairs against the walls of the

television room. Once a month, nurses roll ten or =ifteen of them into the sun room and park them in

a semicircle around a small table. Some of them complain as I prepare the elements - “Get me out of

here! Take me back to my room right now!” - while others doze or stare or drool. Few stay awake

through the whole twenty-minute service. When it is time for them to take communion I go from

chair to chair, patting them awake and asking them if they want the bread and wine. About half let

me press the elements to their lips; the rest refuse to be roused or else they look at me as if I am a

burglar. It is one of the hardest things I do because I sometimes doubt the power of the sacrament

to break through their fog. I say all the comfortable words and wonder if anyone hears them. I stand

there with my arms raised over the bread and wine and suspect that I might as well be =lying a kite.

The last time I went was late on a Monday afternoon. One of the volunteers warned me that

everyone’s medication was wearing off, which was a mixed blessing. My congregation were more

awake than usual, but they were also more vocal. I could hardly make myself heard over the din in

the room. One woman sang, “Row, row, row your boat” throughout the beginning of the service,

bouncing so hard against her restraints that her chair lurched toward me as I read the opening

prayers. In a bid for attention, I clapped my hands and asked them to choose the gospel lesson for

the day.

“What shall I read from the Bible this afternoon?” I asked them. “What part would you like to hear?”

The commotion lessened long enough for one old woman’s broken voice to be heard above it.

“Tell us a resurrection story,” she said. I never saw who it was, but as her words settled down over

the room the movers and shakers held still for a moment and the sleepers opened their eyes. “Yes,”

someone else said, and then someone else. “Yes. Tell us a resurrection story.”

The Bible tells us the stories we need and want to hear—stories to help us live, stories to help us

die, and stories to help us believe we shall live again. Listening to them, we are called into

relationship with the One who tells them to us. Believing them, we are changed. The living words of

God heal our hurts and soften our hearts; they clear our vision and guide our feet. Like a lifeline

strung from the beginning of time to the end, they show us a way through all the storms of culture,

nature, and history. They show us the way to the Word beyond all our words, in whose presence we

shall be made eloquent at last.

Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopalian priest, author, and professor. This was originally published in ThePreachingLife, 1993.

TheStoriesWeNeed&WanttoHear

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Let’s talk about fried rice. I don’t mean that overly brown, greasy pile of abused grains, peas, and carrots that my pro=iteering people sometimes pack into takeout boxes and label “fried

rice.” I mean the homemade dish that I grew up on. It’s amazingly versatile. Assuming you have the right leftovers in your fridge—obviously, you need some rice and maybe a remnant of that

roast chicken you got at Costco last week—and an egg and some vegetables, you can produce a decent version that testi=ies to new life wrought from old things…

I am insufferable, only =inished seminary last spring, and will talk about resurrection until

kingdom come. (I think we’ve got time, but who knows?) The key word here: “metaphor.” Stretch any metaphor too far and it breaks. Just as you should not overthink your fried rice,

please don’t overthink my fried-rice metaphor. My late grandmother is partly to blame for the meaning I invest in this dish. Hers was the =irst fried rice I remember. She had this old, hand-

hammered wok, and when I close my eyes, I can hear the clack-clack-clackof her metal spatula hitting that pan. To me, it still sounds like love. She’d take rice left over from the night before

and bits of meat from some container in her refrigerator. (That fridge and its contents undoubtedly violated numerous food-safety standards, but I’m still alive.) She’d cut green onions from the pot where she regrew them from old stems and roots. Then she’d toss it all into

the hot pan, crack an egg over it, and add soy sauce and sesame oil. She’d let a crisp bottom crust form, and then she’d dish up my breakfast, admonishing me to remember to pray before I

ate.

My grandmother’s frugality went back to her childhood poverty and the hardship of war. A

missionary’s eldest child and only daughter, she helped care for her eight brothers. During World War II, as the Japanese invaded southern China, she and my grandfather, who taught at a

Bible college in Canton, =led westward with their young kids and some students. She had to feed this ragtag band, and I imagine her throwing together fried rice, a dish that transforms humble

scraps into a satisfying whole.

I’ve made fried rice from all manner of leftovers: Thanksgiving turkey, a half-eaten pork chop,

honey-baked ham (the sugary bits work surprisingly well in the savory rice), even Spam (guilty pleasure). Lettuce too sad and limp for salad can come back to life in the wok. Half-shriveled

mushrooms, yellowing chive (I can never use all the herbs in a supermarket packet), the glum half of a bell pepper languishing at the bottom of the produce drawer—all have found

resurrection in my fried rice. I’m =ixating on fried rice right now because it’s my ultimate comfort food. The word “comfort” has acquired a self-absorbed air in modern America, but its

roots are in mutual encouragement and exhortation; comfort was always meant for sharing. Whenever I visit my parents, my mom always packs a container of fried rice for me to eat on the

plane. Fried rice comforts me because it carries the hope of restored relationship. It reminds me that I’ve been loved well before, especially amidst dif=icult circumstances. It exhorts me to try

to love well too.

The best fried rice I’ve cooked was a version I made last year with brisket that Tristan bought

at our favorite barbecue place in Austin and lovingly carried back to New Jersey. The brisket’s fat rendered in the wok and coated all the rice. I diced up extra yellow and orange bell pepper

Food,Memory,&GracesGettingUsThrough

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This weekend was originally scheduled to be First Communion for our students and their families in St. Aloysius, St. Henry, and St. Wendelin. Please include in your prayers this

weekend our 2nd graders in the cluster preparing for this sacrament.

Charlotte Fortkamp

Frank Albers Paul Albers

Aubrey Bishop Camden Boeckman Hannah Broering Cameron Buschur

Karsyn Cooper Nora Cordonnier Audrey Cramer

Carson Feltz Rudy Garman Luke Hartings

Collin Holdheide Savannah Holdheide

Emme Homan Faith Horstman

Kasen Kaiser Kate Klenke Evan Knapke

Cy Kremer Isaac Lammers

Cruz Lange Bennet Lefeld Gavin Lefeld Ross Lefeld

Braxton Miller Owen Moeller Reid Moeller

Lane Niekamp Wade Niekamp

Evan Nieport Dominic Ranly

Aliyah Roessner Louis Schwieterman

Libby Speck Haden Stachler Halle Stammen

Macy Uhlenhake Vincent Van Skyock

Lindon Wendel Jack Woeste

Emma Brunswick Luke Sudhoff

as well as onion to balance the rich bits of brisket; sriracha helped too. That dish sang of our little Texan + Chinese household in a way that nothing else I’ve cooked has. Just thinking of it

recalls the many graces that have gotten us this far.

Tristan cautioned me not to make these letters too long, but just let me say this: Easter Sunday

wasn’t easy for me this year, but it was necessary. Death, loss, and grief have left their bloody claw marks on the past twelve months. Celebration, joy, and praise— my brain knows they

exist, but my heart has struggled to summon them. Especially throughout this Easter season, I need to remember the story of Jesus’s rising from the dead and the promise it holds for us…

Fried rice helps me remember. It helps me remember all I learned from my grandmother as well as the divine pledge of resurrection. It helps me remember how God has promised to

renew all things. It helps me remember how meals—meals received, meals prepared, meals served, meals shared—have nurtured me as well as allowed me to nurture others. And it helps

me remember that I believe in a greater feast to come.

Jeff Chu is an author and recent graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary. He currently serves as

Teacher-in-Residence at Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, MI.

2020FirstCommunionStudents

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Some of the most affected at this time are our parishioners in our nursing homes. Please hold the following persons in your prayers this week.

For up-to-date information from St. Henry Cluster, please visit the Facebook page, tinyurl.com/StHenryFacebook.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio, chaired by Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of the Archdiocese of

Cincinnati, has released a statement extendingthetemporarysuspensionofallpubliclycelebratedMassesandliturgiesthroughMay29.

AnnaMarieBertke

WilburBertke

MaryEverman

BettyGarke

MarieGlass

BarbGuggenbiller

MadonnaHart

MaryKunk

RosemaryBensman

LavernBruns

EileenDelzeith

JerryDroesch

ClemEvers

PamFeltz

RitaGehl

IvoGoettemoeller

TheWeekAhead

InOurPrayersatThisTime

LIVETHELITURGY-INSPIRATIONFORTHEWEEK

When you wake up in the morning, whose voice is the =irst one you listen to? Your own?

Someone else’s? Or God? We all listen to someone and follow some sort of guidelines and principles. If it

is a secular voice that propels us to get up in the morning and take up the task of the day’s agenda, then

we may =ind ourselves off track. The advice found in the Acts of the Apostles was as true then as it is

now, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Most of what we listen to in secular voices is off

the axis of truth and distorted. It may sound attractive, but it is deceptive at best. Many have gone

astray like sheep and need to return to the Good Shepherd. Only Jesus can offer us the gate of life, and

only Jesus as the Good Shepherd can really motivate us to take on the challenges of life. If we don’t

recognize his voice, we can risk facing destruction.

©LPi