Meet St. John’s Parishioner
Eileen Hartl
Blessed to Help Where Help Is Needed
St. John’s is truly home for Eileen Hartl. She considers many parishioners to be like fam ily. People have been there for her since she be came a member in 1984, especially when her husband, Gary, passed away in 2019.
Eileen grew up attending St. Pius X in Appleton. She fell away from the Catholic faith at a young age but had a profoundly moving experience with Christ that brought her back, along with her parents. She became part of a ministry where she would visit sick parishio ners at the local hospital — this was a spring board for involvement in the church.
“I wanted to help where help was needed,” Eileen says.
Gary grew up in Antigo and was baptized at St. John’s. When Eileen started attending St. John’s, it took her a little time to get involved.
“I saw other people were involved, and I was inspired,” she says. “There were women serving as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and I looked up to them.”
So, Eileen started getting involved with Bible studies and was asked to be a cat echist for Religious Education. She led the Religious Education program in Phlox for 11 years and at St. John’s for three. Religious education is one of Eileen’s favor ite ministries in which she has been involved over the years. In fact, Eileen has a lot of ministries to choose from as her favorite. She’s involved in Eucharistic Ado ration, the Prayer Chain, and Liturgy Ministry. She also serves as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, Rosary leader, lector, and sacristan.
Eileen is very thankful to have the opportunity to attend Eucharistic Adora tion, both as a committed adorer and whenever she wants to stop in. She often goes to the chapel on her way home from her part-time job at Antigo High School to do night prayer.
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Eileen Hartl (right) with Tami Malina, as Tami presents music instruments donated by Antigo Area Schools to go to Kenya.
LIVING OUT GRATITUDE AND STEWARDSHIP, During Thanksgiving and Beyond
Every November, as the holiday season fast approach
es, we are filled with a deep sense of gratitude for all of our blessings. At the same time, we encounter many wonderful ways to give — to cheerfully share our own gifts — during this time of Thanksgiving.
It is with this spirit of gratitude that we can truly live out the stewardship way of life. This Thanksgiving, there are plenty of opportunities to do this in a direct way. Is there a family member or friend you haven’t spo ken to for a long time, or someone who might be spend ing the holiday alone? Drop them an email, pick up the phone and call, or even catch up with them via Zoom or FaceTime. Perhaps you may volunteer at a soup kitchen, or you might donate a Thanksgiving meal to a family in need who wouldn’t have one otherwise.
For Black Friday, make it a point to donate old clothes that you or your family members no longer need. And as the winter draws closer, you might participate in — or even organize — a coat drive, and then go out into
the community to give the coats away to homeless shel ters and those in need during the winter months. There are countless such opportunities to live in gratitude and thanksgiving — opportunities that go beyond just hav ing a meal at home.
Of course, we must remember that this spirit of thanksgiving does not end after Thanksgiving, nor does it end following Advent and Christmas. We must always consider how to give, even as the glow of the holiday sea son fades after the New Year. In January, if there is abun dance in your closet, give away from that abundance. In February, if there are volunteers needed at the soup kitchen, give of your time. We need a renewed spirit of stewardship and thanksgiving that lasts the whole year so that our giving becomes habitual, and not just seasonal.
This Thanksgiving, ask the Holy Spirit where He is calling you to give. And may the joy of the Thanksgiving season flow into our lives as good stewards, every day and throughout the entire year.
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Of course, we must remember that this spirit of thanksgiving does not end after Thanksgiving, nor does it end following Advent and Christmas. We must always consider how to give, even as the glow of the holiday season fades after the New Year. In January, if there is abundance in your closet, give away from that abundance. In February, if there are volunteers needed at the soup kitchen, give of your time. We need a renewed spirit of stewardship and thanksgiving that lasts the whole year so that our giving becomes habitual, and not just seasonal.
A Letter From Our Pastor
November is a Time for Thanksgiving
Dear Parish Family,
N ovember automatically brings us to thoughts of giving thanks and Thanksgiving.
It is both a time of year when we think in terms of being grateful to God for our gifts, and a time when we for mally celebrate our American holiday. My memories of Thanksgiving are filled with food, of course, but they are also filled with thoughts of family and a sense of togetherness and a sense of my faith.
But this is also a significant month in the Church from several perspec tives. Nov. 1 is a Holy Day, the Solem nity of All Saints. The next day is All Souls Day, a day devoted to all the saints in our lives — living, not living, known, and unknown.
Most of us have people in our lives who have had a profound impact on us — people we can consider our own personal saints. This month is a wonderful reminder to think of them, thank them, and thank God for making them a part of our lives.
Our Thanksgiving holiday falls on Nov. 24 and is a time for families and gratitude. Thanksgiving became official in the United States in 1863, and in his proclama tion, President Abraham Lincoln made very clear Whom we needed to thank. “To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to
penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God,” Lincoln said. In other words, we all need to thank Almighty God for our many blessings.
Finally, November also brings us to the end of one Church year and the beginning of a new one. The Feast of Christ the King on Nov. 20 officially begins the final week of our liturgical year, and the First Sunday of Advent is on Nov. 27. From the beginning of the month when we thank God for the example of the saints and the saintly people in our lives, to the end of the month when we thank God for everything we have and everything we are, November is a time to approach the Lord with a grateful heart. That is what stewardship truly is all about — about approaching God, about approaching each day, and about approaching all those whom we encounter with hearts filled with gratitude and love.
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Joel Sember Pastor
Parishioner Mark Aldrich Reflects on the
Parishioner Mark Aldrich connects with God in the solitude of nature. Since he was 12 years old, hunting has been a large part of his life, having spent many hours in the woods looking and listening for animals. It is during this quiet and remote time that Mark’s spirituality shines and his relation ship with Christ grows through contempla tive prayer.
“From a young age, my father cultivated the love of nature in my brothers and me by teaching us how to fish and hunt with both a bow and a gun,” Mark says. “Hunting is a quiet and patient sport. Your senses are on high alert as you listen to the sounds of nature and look for the movement of animals.”
In the quiet, Mark has a lot of time to sit with his thoughts and pray. In part, this is why he devotes so much of himself to the sport — it forces him to be still and takes him away from the busyness of work and life.
“The hardest thing for me to do is throttle back and force myself to be still,” Mark says.
Removing himself from the distractions of the world is the first element of the spirituality that Mark has discovered
in hunting. To truly enter into prayer, it is necessary to quiet one’s mind and focus. Mark has found that the pressures of work, chores around the house, and the distrac tions of technology and entertainment often distract him from prayer.
“Nature is God’s Cathedral,” he says. “The beauty that I observe when hunting raises my mind to God. It is something that no man can create, and I am in awe of how amazing God must be to create something so simple, yet complex and beautiful.”
As a hunter, Mark has a front-row seat to the ever-cycling beauty of nature. These experiences of natural beauty inspire the second element of his hunter’s spirituality — recognizing God in His creation. Hunting provides Mark with the eyes of faith, where the keen awareness of his surroundings moves him to praise God.
Finally, hunting is a sport with a high failure rate. Although Mark prepares to the best of his ability — scout ing the land for traces of animal signs to determine the best spot for his hunting blind, setting up his gear, and target practicing to make sure that he is ready to take the
“Nature is God’s Cathedral. The beauty that I observe when hunting raises my mind to God. It is something that no man can create, and I am in awe of how amazing God must be to create something so simple, yet complex and beautiful.”
— MARK ALDRICHMark Aldrich connects with God in the solitude of nature.
Spirituality of Hunting Seeing God in the Beauty of Nature
shot — he will still go hours without seeing a single animal.
“When I go out on a hunt, all I ask God for is the opportunity to get a deer,” Mark says.
The woods evoke a heightened sense of gratitude within Mark. Amid the beauty of the landscape, Mark is grateful for the fact that he can spend time doing an activity that he loves. Simply seeing a deer can be the highlight of the hunt. Successfully harvesting a deer unifies his whole family in a sense of gratitude for God’s blessing.
And it is gratitude that rounds out the third and final element of Mark’s hunting spirituality. Through it, he properly places himself before God and praises Him for His goodness and power.
Mark’s hunting experiences provide us all with an opportunity to broaden our understanding of spirituality and to challenge ourselves to see God in our normal daily activities. We do not always have to be sitting in a pew to connect with God, nor must our prayer strictly be connected to our time in Church.
Christ is ready to meet us in all things. It is up to us to respond to the invitation and cultivate our relationship with Him.
Meet St. John’s Parishioner Eileen Hartl
“I always think, ‘I have one more stop on my way home,’” she says. “I have to go be with Jesus.”
Seeing other people in our community practice their faith gives Eileen a lot of strength.
“I see people at Mass that I know are struggling,” she says. “It means a lot to see them there.”
Eileen wants to encourage other people to get involved in a parish ministry. She knows what a difference it has made in her life, as serving has helped her build another family at the parish. She has also grown in her relationship with the Lord.
“You are in a poor relationship if you are only receiv ing,” she says. “Then, it becomes something you take for granted. We need to give too. I don’t want to take my faith for granted.”
In addition to her service in the parish, Eileen vol unteers with Living Waters International, which sup ports African missions. She’s been to Africa several times,
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including this past fall. An anonymous donor paid for a student hostel to be built in Gary’s name, and Eileen was present for the dedication. The hostel will house students, allowing them to be closer to school and have more time for focusing on their studies.
Eileen enjoys all the opportunities she has to give of herself to parish ministries and Living Waters Interna tional. She knows she is very blessed.
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“You are in a poor relationship if you are only receiving. Then, it becomes something you take for granted. We need to give too. I don’t want to take my faith for granted.”
— EILEEN HARTLMark is in a ladder stand hunting deer with a bow.
Praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
Many Catholics are aware that the Church dedi cates the first two days of November — All Saints Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls Day on Nov. 2 — to commemorating and praying for the souls of the faith ful departed. But did you know that during the entire month of November, the Church places a special em phasis on praying for the souls in purgatory?
The Church has always taught us to pray for the souls of those who have passed on from this life. Even in Old Testament times, prayers and alms were offered for the souls of the dead by those who thought “well and religiously concerning the resurrection” ( Liturgi cal Meditations , The Sisters of St. Dominic). And in the early days of the Church, St. Paul further emphasized the importance and responsibility of not only remem bering our brothers and sisters who have passed away, but actively praying for them: “For the Lord himself...
will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will first rise” (1 Thess 4:16).
Because of the very state of the holy souls in pur gatory, we as earthly brothers and sisters in Christ are closely connected to those who passed on from this life. We share in the peace of knowing that salvation will one day be obtained, but are simultaneously suffering in separation from God. The Church also teaches that we have the opportunity to play a big part in helping these souls through their period of purgation, so that they may soon enjoy eternal glory with the Lord.
This month, please make a special effort to offer prayers for your deceased friends and loved ones, and all those who have passed away in the grace and friend ship of God. Offering a Mass for someone who has passed away is an especially fruitful way to honor the memory and bring comfort to a holy soul in purgatory.
PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY
O Lord, who art ever merciful and bounteous with Thy gifts, look down upon the suffering souls in purgatory. Remember not their offenses and negligences, but be mindful of Thy loving mercy, which is from all eternity. Cleanse them of their sins and fulfill their ardent desires that they may be made worthy to behold Thee face to face in Thy glory. May they soon be united with Thee and hear those blessed words which will call them to their heavenly home: “Come, blessed of My Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Amen.
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ALL SAINTS CATHOLIC SCHOOL Christmas Corner OFFERS STUDENTS THE JOY OF GIVING
Older folks may recall the Sears and Roebuck
“Christmas Wish Book” catalog that was filled with everything a child could possibly want for Christ mas. It was an exciting array of items that certainly lent itself to making wish lists for Santa Claus.
However, isn’t there more joy to be found in giving? Our students at All Saints Catholic School have the oppor tunity to experience the joy of giving to others, thanks to the longstanding tradition of the Christmas Corner.
The Christmas Corner is a gift shop set up on a December Thursday and Friday in Hoffmann Hall at St. John Church. All Saints students, from 4K up to eighth grade can shop for gifts for family and friends, with everything priced for child-sized wallets.
The Christmas Corner has been an annual event at All Saints dating back to 1998, but Shelli Hagerty believes its history goes back to when the school was
located at St. Mary’s Parish.
Shelli, whose three sons attended All Saints Cath olic School, truly believes in the Christmas Corner’s purpose — she continues to coordinate the event even though her sons are now in high school.
“I told Paul Galuska, school administrator, that I enjoy it so much, I’d like to continue coordinating it if I could,” Shelli says.
When the students enter the Christmas Corner, they can choose from gifts priced as low as 50 cents up to $2 or $3.
“There are gifts of all kinds,” Shelli says. “We have really generous families from the school who donate the gifts. One family donates fishing lures from their business, others donate bird feed and suet cakes, and we get a ton of toys, coloring books, and decorative items, and sometimes we have golf balls left from our continued on back cover
Saint John the Evangelist 415 6th Ave.
Antigo, WI 54409 (715) 623-2024
stjohn@antigoareacatholicchurches.com
Saints Mary & Hyacinth 819 3rd Ave.
Antigo, WI 54409 (715) 623-4938
ssmh@antigoareacatholicchurches.com
Saint Wenceslaus N5340 Church Rd. Deerbrook, WI 54424 (715) 627-2126
stwencel@antigoareacatholicchurches.com
Christmas Corner
continued from page 7
golf outing. There are shirts and clothing items, scarves, and nail polish. One mother and grandmother make glass jewelry, and they donate some of their items. All these are worth well over the $3 a student might pay for the item.
“These are things a student may buy for a sibling or parent,” she adds. “We have a pet table because some kids like to buy something for their pets.”
Once the students have made their choices, parent and parish volunteers wrap the gifts.
“There is a lot of excitement when they come into the
Christmas Corner, and I love to see what they pick out,” Shelli says. “Others have it in their heads what someone would like. What we are trying to do is to teach the kids about thinking about others. We tell them, ‘Today you are here to pick out gifts for your family.’ Hopefully, we’re teaching them to think about others, and it isn’t always for ourselves.”
Sometimes the youngsters are so excited about their purchases that they insist the recipients open them imme diately — and not wait for Christmas!
Anyone who would like to donate items for the Christmas Corner, or volunteer as a gift wrapper, may contact All Saints Catholic School at 715-623-4835.
MASS & CONFESSION TIMES
SAINT JOHN: Masses: Monday, 8:15 a.m., Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, 8:15 a.m., Thursday, 8:15 a.m., Saturday, 6 p.m., Sunday, 9 a.m. Confession: Tuesday, 5:30-6:15 p.m., Saturday, 5:15-5:45 p.m. & Sunday, 8:15-8:45 a.m.
SAINTS MARY & HYACINTH: Masses: Wednesday, 7:15 a.m., Friday, 7:15 a.m., Saturday, 8 a.m. & 4 p.m., Sunday, 7 a.m. Confession: Saturday following the 8 a.m. Mass & 3-3:45 p.m.
SAINT WENCESLAUS: Masses: Tuesday, 8 a.m., Sunday, 11 a.m. Confession: Sunday, 10:15-10:45 a.m.
