The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe November 22 2020

show us how beloved we are to Him. This demands that we also must be actively loving persons, regardless of the response we receive and without regard for who we determine deserves to be loved. Jesus Christ is very clear about this. We are expected to go out of our way to reach out in love especially to those in need—the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the poor and naked, the sick, and those in prison. Nowhere does He say that it matters how they got sick or why they are in prison, why they are poor, or why they are without homes. He teaches and models that these are the people that we are to love most, because they are most in need of the hope and light that we can bring to them. It’s not enough just to fulfil obligations, religious or otherwise. It won’t do to say, “I am a good enough Catholic.”

This is the King we are called to serve, and the way He wants to be served is for us to be filled with care and compassion for His children everywhere. We are called to care for those who are furthest from him and those who are not experiencing the abundance with which he has filled this world. We serve by loving those who are materially, socially, psychologically, morally, and spiritually poor.

Our liturgical worship is the font from which everything else we do in our lives should flow. Receiving the Eucharist at Mass should deepen our sense of the profound connection we have to each other and to all of God’s beloved. If we allow the grace God is offering to extend into our choices each day of the year, we too can be the bearers of the Life, Light, and Love of Jesus Christ, the King. Lisa Fontecha Director of Mission and Ministry

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, which closes out the liturgical year. For Christians, the centrality of Christ in our lives is simply and beautifully represented by our church calendar. Our story begins anew each year with the dawning of Advent and ends with the solemn recognition of Christ as King. If we allow ourselves to enter fully into this cycle, rather than rushing headlong into Christmas, we can open our spiritual lives to new hope and deeper growth for our relationship with Jesus. Advent is an especially appropriate time for determining new resolutions for our spiritual lives. Advent brings with it the excitement of God’s continual invitation to work harder to live as disciples, and steadfast forgiveness when we fail to do so.

This call is why it’s so important to end the year with this feast. The best way to begin a journey is to acknowledge where you are going. We are to be as Christ. Christ is the King. But what kind of king?

Throughout history and, sadly, even today, Christ’s Kingship is unlike any other. The concept of a servant king is all but alien to humanity. It so threatened the very understanding of what it meant to be a ruler in Jesus’ day, that he was condemned to death. The crucifixion was intended to utterly discredit Jesus. After all, a true king and Messiah would choose to save himself first, right? If Jesus could not come to His own rescue by using His power to His own benefit, did that power really exist at all? “If you are the King of the Jews,” the soldiers and the crowd jeer, “save yourself.”

If the destination of our journey is to work to continue Jesus’ mission, then we must understand what the mission is. God loved us so much that he sent His Only Son. In the face of sin and despair, God chose to send Life. He sent Light. He sent Love. Soon we’ll begin our new year in the embrace of hopeful anticipation of life, light, and love in the person of Jesus, whose mission we are sent forth to continue. In this feast, Jesus shows us that we can bring hope, even in the midst of despair. When death stared him in the face, Jesus reached out to forgive another. When we move toward Christ, we move toward life and away from death. The good thief had faith in his darkest hour, even as others doubted Christ, and the Lord responded with life.

As King, did Jesus have the power to come down from the cross and crush His enemies? Does He have the authority to save himself and leave us to the sin he has mournfully witnessed? He most certainly does. But our King chose not to do so, he cast aside His power in favor of mercy, in order that all may be saved. Even in the last few and worst moments of His suffering on the cross, Jesus saves the soul of the repentant thief.

The love of God is a living love, always acting in ways that

The office at St. Peter’s remains closed to walk-ins during this time of COVID-19. Some staff is present during our office hours of 8 to 4 p.m. We will be answering phone calls and emails. Please feel free to contact us at 651-452-4550 with questions or concerns.

PARISH OFFICE REMAINS CLOSED

YOUTH NEWS AND FAITH FORMATION

OFFICE INFORMATION Father Steven Hoffman 651-452-4550 frsteven@stpetersmendota.org Deacon Tim Hennessey 651-905-4301 thennessey@stpetersmendota.org Peter Guzulaitis, Director of Operations 651-905-4307 directorofoperations@stpetersmendota.org Lisa Fontecha, Mission and Ministry 651-905-4304 lfontecha@stpetersmendota.org

Parish Office Hours: Mon-Fri: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Phone: 651-452-4550

BAPTISMS - NEW PARISHIONERS - WEDDINGS Call the parish office for more information.

PRAYER CHAIN REQUESTS Email Lisa Fontecha at lfontecha@stpetersmendota.org or call her at 651-905-4304 or call the parish office.

FAITHFUL SHEPHERD CATHOLIC SCHOOL

AND TRI-PARISH CENTER

St. John Neumann * St. Peter * St. Thomas Becket 3355 Columbia Dr Eagan MN 55121

651-406-4747 www.fscsmn.org

FAITHFUL SHEPHERD CATHOLIC SCHOOL Academic excellence, a faith-based education and a supportive community that engages the whole family are just a few reasons why our families love Faithful Shepherd. Financial Aid is Available. To arrange a private tour, please call Jen Claude

at 651-262-2898. We look forward to meeting and sharing our school with you!

Learn more about our Preschool Program at Faithful Shepherd Catholic School! Our NAEYC Accredited and 4 Star Parent Aware programming is for 3-5 year olds and offers flexible, customized schedules. We still have space for the 2020/2021 School year! Our Catholic-based program offers teaching to the Whole Child: social, emotional, academic, and spiritual. Learn more, view our COVID-19 Response Plan, and schedule a tour at www.fscsmn.org.

ST PETER’S RE/FF TEAM To learn more about Faith Formation at St. Peter’s, click this link: www.stpetersmendota.org/faith-formation

St. Peter’s Religious Education/Faith Formation Team

Kathy Raible Grade 1-5 Program Reconciliation and First Eucharist 651-905-4311

Elizabeth McCanna Grade 6-8 and Confirmation 651-905-4312

Beth Halbert Preschool Coordinator Liturgy of the Word for Children 651-905-4313

Karen Cronin Catechesis of the Good Shepherd 651-905-4314

FAITHFUL SHEPHERD CATHOLIC SCHOOL PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

Did you know that the Relevant Radio App has podcasts of all your favorite shows? Did you also know that you can download Relevant Radio

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K OF C HOLD FUNDRAISER FOR LOCAL SEMINARIANS

Please help the Eagan Knights of Columbus support our local seminarians, while enjoying fabulous, hand-made, sweet and/or savory strudel, from Ruhland’s Strudel Haus. The ultimate convenience food, strudels go from the freezer to the oven; then, in about 45 minutes you have “love on a plate” for your holiday meals. Strudels include chicken pot pie, Italian, apple, and blueberry lemon.

Orders are due by Dec 5. You can pick up your orders at St. John Neumann on Saturday, December 19, at 9am. Delivery is also available. To order, please visit: eaganknights7604.com. Proceeds will go towards supporting local seminarians. If you have questions, please email eaganknights@gmail.com.

During this unprecedented time, stay in the loop with a Catholic perspective on local, national, and world news. Email Rita Holien at rholien@stpetersmendota.org to receive a free subscription to the Catholic Spirit.

ADMINISTRATIVE NEWS * STEWARDSHIP * COMMUNITY NEWS

Our annual Christmas sale has begun. Items will be available for purchase until Saturday, November 21, at 10am. So you can shop all week! It is first come first serve, so hopefully you will be able to check in at 2pm to get your first choice! All the proceeds will go to the operating budget of our parish. Here is the link to the site: www.stpeterchurch.givesmart.com.

You will be able to pick up your items during these times: · November 21, 9am - 6:30pm · November 22, 9am - 2pm

YOU MUST PICK UP YOUR ITEMS DURING THESE TIMES. ANYTHING NOT PICKED UP WILL BE DONATED.

Thank you!

“ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS” SALE

SUBSCRIBE TO THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

This year, we are making changes to our Giving Tree ministry, that we hope will make it easier for you to participate! The Giving Tree is up in the Gathering Space, and you are able to choose dolls for purchasing gifts, as in the past. It is also possible for you to choose gifts online, by using our Sign Up Genius link on our website. New, unwrapped gifts may be returned to the tree with the doll tag attached, or you may take advantage of three curbside drop offs, on Sunday, November 22, from 9 to 10am and November 29, from 11am to 12pm, and Saturday, December 5, from 9 to 11am. All gifts need to be in by Sunday, December 6, at 12 noon. Please make every effort to have them here by the deadline.

Thank you for your generosity in advance. Questions about specific gift requests can be directed to Lisa Fontecha at 651-905-4304 or lfontecha@stpetersmendota.org.

Other helpers are also needed. The more the merrier! There are small tasks with limited time commitments for adults and young adults, and the rewards are huge! Please consider spreading some Christmas cheer, by helping with this very important project! Call Carol at 651-356-2970 for more information or to sign up to volunteer. Thank you!

GIVING TREE

October 2020 COLLECTIONS Oct 2020 Oct 2019 Year over Year Fiscal Year to Date Prior Year thru

Oct Year over Year

Sunday Envelope & Electronic Gifts $ 70,911.70 $ 64,950.50 $ 5,961.20 $ 297,613.35 $ 284,371.04 $ 13,242.31

Sunday Plate $ 141.00 $ 1,774.76 $ (1,633.76) $ 1,068.25 $ 6,442.28 $ (5,374.03)

Total $ 71,052.70 $ 66,725.26 $ 4,327.44 $ 298,681.60 $ 290,813.32 $ 7,868.28

Sunday giving keeps the lights on, pays for repairs, and funds all ministries and operations. Thank you for your continued generosity to our parish community.

ARCHDIOCESAN DAY OF PRAYER AND FASTING AGAINST THE SIN OF RACISM

A prayer service for the Archdiocesan Day of Prayer and Fasting Against the Sin of Racism will take place on Wednesday, December 2, at 7 p.m.

Individual parishes, schools, and institutions are encouraged to observe the day

in whatever way they determine fitting. Participate in the 7 p.m. prayer service, either in person, staying socially distanced or virtually, via the Cathedral’s Facebook page. All are invited.

THIS WEEK’S CALENDAR: NOVEMBER 23, 2020

St. Peter’s is here to bring the good news of the Gospel to all, so that every person can have a personal, life changing, life giving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Trustees: Sue Zhulkie 651-454-6434 Mark Mischke 651-444-8888

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

Sunday: Ez 34:11-12, 15-17/Ps 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6 [1]/1 Cor 15:20-26, 28/Mt 25:31-46 Monday: Rv 14:1-3, 4b-5/Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 [cf. 6]/Lk 21:1-4 Tuesday: Rv 14:14-19/Ps 96:10, 11-12, 13 [13b]/ Lk 21:5-11 Wednesday: Rv 15:1-4/Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 7-8, 9 [Rev 15:3b]/Lk 21:12-19 Thursday: Rv 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a/Ps 100:1b- 2, 3, 4, 5 [Rev 19:9a]/Lk 21:20-28 Friday: Rv 20:1-4, 11—21:2/Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a [Rev 21:3b]/Lk 21:29-33 Saturday: Rv 22:1-7/Ps 95:1-2, 3-5, 6-7ab [1 Cor 16:22b]/Lk 21:34-36 Next Sunday: Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7/Ps 80:2-3, 15- 16, 18-19 [4]/1 Cor 1:3-9/Mk 13:33-37

© Liturgical Publications Inc.

READINGS FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 22, 2020

The following are the intentions offered by the priest at Mass:

Monday, Nov 23 9 am No Mass Tuesday, Nov 24 9 am James & Cheri Hand 5:45 pm † Ruthe Perron & Morris Perron Wednesday, Nov 25 9 am Joseph Richter Thursday, Nov 26 9 am † Marian & Leo Reding Friday, Nov 27 9 am † Don Taylor Saturday, Nov 28 5 pm Sunday, Nov 29 8 am Mass For The People 10 am † Joan Pilney & Frank Pilney, Jr.

MASS INTENTIONS

Monday, November 23

7 pm St. Peter’s Young Adults Men’s Bible Study, Heritage Center

Tuesday, November 24 8:30 am Rosary, Main Church 9 am Daily Mass, Main Church 5 pm Reconciliation, Main Church 5:45 pm Daily Mass, Main Church 6:30 pm Alpha, Heritage Center

Wednesday, November 25 8:30 am Rosary, Main Church 9 am Daily Mass, Main Church

Thursday, November 26—Thanksgiving Day Parish Office Closed 9 am Thanksgiving Mass, Main Church 7 pm AA Meeting, Classroom 5

Friday, November 27 Parish Office Closed 8 am Reconciliation, Main Church 9 am Daily Mass, Main Church,

Saturday, November 28 9 am & 10:30 am AA Meeting, Classrooms 3:30 pm Reconciliation, Main Church 5 pm Mass, Main Church. Register on Sign Up Genius

Sunday, November 29 7:30 am Rosary for St. Peter’s, Main Church 8 am Mass, Main Church. Register on Sign Up Genius 10 am Mass. Main Church, livestreamed on St. Peter’s Website, YouTube, or on Facebook. Register on Sign Up Genius 11 am Giving Tree Drop Off, Main Doors 12 noon Mass, Main Church. Register on Sign Up Genius

PASTORAL MINISTRY

If you are unable to attend one of the Masses and desire to come in to church to receive Holy Communion, please contact Jennifer at 651-905-4305 to set up an appointment. If you wish to receive Holy Communion at

your home, please call Lisa Fontecha at 651-905-4304.

HOLY COMMUNION CHAPEL OF THE NATIVITY PERPETUAL ADORATION CHAPEL

"The Eucharist is the secret of my day. It gives strength and meaning to all of my activities of service to the Church and to the whole world."

~ St. John Paul II

We are in need of adorers in the Chapel of the Nativity. Please prayerfully consider committing to one of the hours listed here that is still empty. White spaces indicate where we have the most urgent need.

“Could you not watch one hour with me?” ~ Matthew 26:40

To sign up for a regular Hour of Adoration, please call Lisa Fontecha at 651-905-4304 or email her at lfontecha@stpetersmendota.org.

Sun. Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. 12 am 1 am 2am 3 am 4 am 5 am 6 am 7 am 8 am 9 am

10 am 11 am Noon 1 pm 2 pm 3 pm 4 pm 5 pm 6 pm 7 pm 8 pm 9 pm

10 pm 11 pm

RESOURCE CENTER

Rosary Makers will not hold monthly meetings for at least the rest of the 2020 year. If you need any supplies or kits, we can drop them off at the Parish business office, where you can pick them up.

Please contact Mary Ellen by email: gmgutzmann@comcast.net.

Thank you for your continued work making rosaries for mission and evangelism efforts in this country and overseas!

ROSARY MAKERS

PLEASE REGISTER FOR WEEKEND MASSES

Please remember to register for weekend Masses only. We are no longer taking registration for weekday Masses. Use this link to register: www.signupgenius.com/go/saintpeters.

All weekend Masses that are currently available will be included in the online form. Please follow the guidelines on the signup page. If you are not able to sign up online or if you have questions, call the parish office at 651-452-4550. Someone will help you get registered.

Thank you for your cooperation.

During this time when we are all staying home more, you might have more time read. You might be looking for good resources to encourage and help you grow in faith. Consider checking out the Resource Center located in the Gathering Space. You will find books, CD’s and pamphlets about a variety of subjects. In addition, you will be able to choose spiritual reading that you can trust, recommended by Fr. Steven, Lisa Fontecha, and Elizabeth McCanna (yes—there are even books for teens and young people!). This center is self-funded. We would ask that those who are able to do so, please donate $5/CD, $1/pamphlet and the list price of the books you choose (usually listed on the back cover). Because we want everyone to be able to enjoy these resources, whether they can contribute or not, we welcome any additional donations, above these suggestions. There is a slot in the center to place your donation. If you are unable to donate, please take a resource anyway! Thank you and may God bless your every effort to grow in faith and love.

When it comes to social justice, or rather societal justice, within the scope of the seventh commandment (“Thou shall not steal”), the Catechism continues to make the point that it is the value of the human person as God’s own image and likeness – the fingerprints of God upon the human being in a unique way—that drives moral precept. Therefore, this section on economic activity opens with something of a reiteration of the principle that economic systems must be correctly ordered to the flourishing of human life.

The alternative the Catechism points to first may seem like a “no-brainer,” but this is, I would suggest, the starting point for the Church in terms of concern with various economic systems. That alternative being economic production for the mere multiplication of goods for the sake of increased profit. In other words, building the means of economic growth simply to generate greater economic wealth is not a just application of the goods of the earth.

Instead, the Church states that economic activity and growth are ordered to provide for the needs of human beings, that these produced goods and profits are at the service of the human community. It follows, therefore, that economics are subject to the moral order, to God’s plan for man (CCC 2426).

Likewise, human work is the product of persons created in the divine image, by which the work of creation is continued and delegated to mankind. Work is also the duty of the human person, in cultivation of the gifts and talents given to each for the praise of God. In fact, the Christian person, in carrying his cross, accomplishing the work he must do, makes his work a means of sanctification of earthly realities. In other words, man makes holy the earthly goods and tasks insofar as by his participation in them, the human person accomplishes, in some facet, his own sanctification, consecrating these labors to God after the model of Jesus’s Passion (CCC 2427).

In short, man’s participation in work is a realization of the potential written in him by the Author of Life. So labor derives its value from the human person, who both accomplishes the work and benefits from it. “Work is for man, not man for work,” and each should be able to derive from his work the means of providing for his life, those of his family, and the service of the human community (CCC 2428).

Next week: the responsibility of the human person in participation in economic ventures and those of the state toward the worker.

PASTORAL MINISTRY

CATECHISM CORNER FOLLOWING JESUS Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. Jesus is King of heaven and earth. As we end this Church year, let us give fitting homage to Our King, by living lives guided by faith.

This weekend, Advent bags will be distributed to each household, as long as our supply lasts. If you were not here for Mass, extra bags will be available at the Giving Tree curbside drop off on Sunday, November 29, from 9 to 10 a.m.

Each bag includes a 7-day votive, blessed salt, holy water, and a card explaining the use of each.

If you are homebound and cannot come to the parish to pick up a bag, please contact Lisa Fontecha at 651-905-4304, or lfontecha@stpetersmendota.org to arrange for one to be brought to your home.

May your Advent be filled with holy anticipation.

ADVENT BLESSING BAGS

ARCHDIOCESAN SYNOD: YEAR OF ST. JOSEPH

As Archbishop Hebda announced in his October 22 column for The Catholic Spirit, the Archdiocese will be observing a Year of St. Joseph, beginning December 8 (Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of America). Archbishop Hebda wrote, “On that date, the Church Universal will be marking the 150th anniversary of Pope Pius IX’s proclamation of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church. Our hope is that the Year of St. Joseph will be a source of renewal in our local Church, most especially as we continue our preparations for the Synod of 2022.”

Mass and Archdiocesan Consecration to St. Joseph will be held at the Cathedral of Saint Paul and will joyfully open the Year of St. Joseph at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of America. Following Mass, Archbishop Hebda will lead the formal Consecration to St. Joseph of the Archdiocese.

COVID-19 protocols will be observed for those in attendance, and the event will be livestreamed.

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