Holy Family Area Catholic Community Newsletter — Apr 2023

CATHOLIC COMMUNITY

Holy Family Area

YOUNG WOMEN’S GROUP GEARING UP FOR SUMMER OF FAITH AND FELLOWSHIP

Summer usually means pool parties, sports, and other outdoor activities, but the young women of the Holy Family Area add in time together to grow in faith and fellowship amidst their busy schedules. Ann Voller, Area Coordinator of Faith Formation and Youth Ministry, holds a Young Women’s Group each summer. This year the group will continue their discussions on Discipleship and navigating the world as a young woman. All young women going into Grades 8 through 12 and graduating seniors are invited to attend.

St. Andrew’s parishioner Kaylee Hartke is a freshman. She attended the Young Women’s Group gatherings last year and will be back again this summer. In 2022, the group discussed the book, The Plans God Has for You: A Guide to Hope for Young Women by Amy Smith, which helped them look deeply at what God has in store for each of their lives.

Kaylee Hartke enjoyed being part of the Young Women’s Group last summer, and looks forward to participating once again this year.

helpful to hear other people’s thoughts.”

One valuable aspect of the group is the opportunity to meet other young women. Not everyone knew each other well, so this gathering was a chance to grow deeper in friendship with other students of faith. Last year, Kaylee got to know a few girls she may not have had the opportunity to know.

“I went because I wanted to learn and grow in faith,” she says. “This also gave me a chance to meet other girls who were also wanting to learn and grow in faith.”

Kaylee, who is also an altar server at St. Andrew’s, looks forward to another great summer with the Young Women’s Group. She walked away from the meetings with some great insight into her future.

“I liked the discussion questions,” Kaylee says. “That challenged my thinking and deepened my faith. It was

“The book we read was really relatable,” Kaylee says. “I would tell other young women to get involved if you enjoy having fun, laughing, and meeting new people.

“One of the main lessons I learned is that God has a continued on page 5

GOOD FOR THE GIVER

Here’s a simple riddle — name something you can’t keep if you don’t give it away, but if you give it away, it will increase.

The best answer to this riddle, if you haven’t already guessed, is love. But the beauty of this paradox is that there can be a number of different answers. Another response might be artistic talent. Ask any artist, and they’ll tell you that their skill for drawing or painting diminishes after a few weeks or months of inactivity. But the more they paint, the more their talent grows.

We also see this truth illustrated in nature. The Sea of Galilee, teeming with fish and other wildlife, is one example. All of the water in this beautiful reservoir is constantly being drained through the Jordan River, which stretches for about 60 miles, providing the only fresh water for all of Israel. It finally drains into the Dead Sea, which has no outlet. It is consequently stagnant and totally lifeless, continually evaporating into thin air.

The point, in a nutshell, is that the good steward takes care of his or her gifts by giving them away. As a result, you won’t have less left over, but will instead have more!

There is a story about St. Teresa of Calcutta and her visit to one of the hundreds of convents she had

founded. The Superior of the convent told her, “Mother, we don’t have enough time to do our work with the poor; there’s just not enough hours in the day.” St. Teresa responded, “Then you need to pray more.” When the convent added another full hour of prayer each day, they somehow found that they had enough time to do even more for the poor in that city.

The difficulty with this idea — that by giving we receive — is that it is still a struggle to give. When we arrive at the moment of giving, it appears on the surface that we will have less left over. This is especially true regarding money. When writing a check to a charity or to the parish, you mathematically end up with less money to spend on other things. And yet, the immaterial value of our sacrifice is immeasurable. This is why Jesus speaks so frequently in the Gospels about the spiritual benefits of giving to others. We do have more after we give, but it is simply more of something else — and something better.

When we emphasize stewardship, it is not primarily to increase “volunteerism” or to swell our budget. Indeed, our first aim is always the “good of the giver.” It is not because the parish has needs, but because we have a need to give. We recognize that the model Steward is Jesus, who gave all, even His very life, so that we may have everything.

STEWARDSHIP IN NATURE

The Sea of Galilee stays fresh and healthy because it “gives away” all its water through the Jordan River. When all that water is finally drained into the Dead Sea, it stays there, becoming stagnant and lifeless. Human beings are the same way. Giving of ourselves is one of the main ways we stay spiritually healthy.

THE EASTER MESSAGE IS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR STEWARDSHIP

How do you feel at the end of the Palm Sunday Mass each year?

Have you ever noticed the abrupt shift of tone during that liturgy? It begins with great joy, as we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to the acclamation of the crowds. But then the mood swings to sorrow, despair even, when the passion Gospel is read, for we hear the crowds shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” a few days later.

Palm Sunday, of course, begins Holy Week, the most important week in the Christian year. The confusion of conflicting moods is spread through the week, especially during the Easter Triduum from sundown Holy Thursday to sundown Easter Sunday.

Holy Thursday offers us the glorious Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrating the institution of the Eucharist before we pass to the sadness of the betrayal and arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The next day brings us the Good Friday Liturgy of the passion with our recognition of what our sins did to the Incarnate Son of God. Then, after a day of waiting as we mourn Jesus’ burial and repose in the tomb, we celebrate His victory over sin, Satan, and death at the Easter Vigil on Saturday night or at the Masses the next day. If we have participated in all the main services of the Triduum, we arrive at Sunday evening tired, but joyful.

Our joy comes not only because Christ rose from the dead, but also because we benefit from it. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it, “The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life” (654).

In other words, Christ’s Resurrection is the source of our own future resurrection. St. Paul wrote about it to the Romans — “For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection” (Romans 6:5).

Eternal life in union with Christ — a hope for a new life beginning now and extending on into

heaven — is the result of Jesus’ Resurrection. What greater grounds for thanksgiving can there be than this Easter hope? We should sing with joy about this promise from God!

And how do we show our joy and our gratitude to God for this amazing gift He has given us? We join in worship and praise God by word and song. We share the Good News of Jesus’ victory over death with our family, friends, and neighbors. And we offer back to the Lord a portion of the time, talent, and treasure He has entrusted to us. Yes, the Easter message that we share in the benefits of Christ’s Resurrection is the ultimate foundation for all Christian stewardship.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Paul Timmerman, Pastor

My Dear Friends in Christ,

Bringing the Good News to the Youth

You may be familiar with St. Pope John Paul II’s motto, Totus Tuus, which is Latin for “totally yours.” Totus Tuus is also a program that our youth get to experience each summer. Seminarians and college students travel all over our diocese in groups of four — two men and two women — to share the Good News with elementary, middle, and high school students. This is a wonderful opportunity for our youth to grow in faith over the summer. Talk to your kids about attending this program — they won’t regret it!

The students in first through sixth grades attend from Monday, June 19, to Thursday, June 22 during the day. Youth in seventh through 12th grades attend in the evening from Sunday, June 18, to Wednesday, June 21.

Totus Tuus, which has been held at the parish for many years, really impacts the children and youth who attend. It offers the opportunity for both summer fun and faith. For the younger grades, there are activities like skits, games, and prayers.

Seventh-grader Jillian Magnuson has attended Totus Tuus for many years. She recently had the opportunity to participate in the evening program. She liked when the group was split into young men and young women so that they could discuss specific topics.

“I learned a lot about my faith at Totus Tuus,” Jillian says. “It was educational.”

She also enjoyed the skits put on by the team and the games they played as a group. The evening program is for youth to move forward in their faith and to discuss topics and issues they may be experiencing.

“We learned what the words of the Our Father meant, and that stood out to me,” Jillian says. “It was a good way to learn more about my faith and grow in faith.”

The day program for the younger kids is more about the fun coupled with learning. They attend Mass each day. The week ends with a water fight with Fr. Paul Timmerman, which is always a highlight!

Ann Voller, Area Coordinator of Faith Formation and Youth Ministry, hopes more youth will attend this excellent Catholic program.

“I think all the youth of our parishes should attend, as they learn about sound Catholic theology concepts through a fun and engaging experience,” Ann says. “Most importantly, they see the missionaries, seminarians, and other young adults on fire for the Lord!”

Totus Tuus is truly a highlight of the summer for Ann.

“I enjoy seeing all the smiles on the students’ faces and

TUUS: Youth of Our Community This Summer

hearing them be able to recite the information that they have learned back to the missionaries, to their parents, and myself,” she says. “It is truly rewarding to see the kids learn so much in just a few days.”

Jillian loved spending time with the Totus Tuus missionaries and getting to know them. She offers some helpful advice for anyone thinking about going.

“For the younger kids, it’s a fun time,” she says. “You won’t regret going, I guarantee it. For the older youth — you may not have all the fun and games like when you were younger, but you go deeper into your faith, and you get to know people, too.”

Jillian likes to stay involved in her faith by attending Youth Group — it’s an integral part of her faith. She is also an altar server and enjoys the opportunity to learn more about the Mass and assist the priest.

Registration for Totus Tuus will begin in April and be open through June 1. Help is always needed to make this program work in the Holy Family Area. Host families are needed to host the missionaries, along with Volunteers who invite them into their homes for supper. More help is always appreciated. Please contact Ann to see how you can help!

YOUNG WOMEN’S GROUP continued from front cover

plan for me, even when things are tough,” she adds.

This summer will be the group’s third year together. Ann started this because she noticed some teen girls were struggling and looking for meaning in friendships, sports, academics, dating, and social status. Beth Gilb coled the group.

“First, I wanted our teen girls to know that first and foremost, God loves them and has a beautiful plan for their lives,” Ann says. “Second, I wanted them to grow closer to the Lord, to know that their Baptism makes them daughters of our King and that we have an inheritance with Him. Lastly, the ways of the world will never fulfill

the deepest longing in our hearts — only God can fill that.”

Ann is always impressed by the true friendships formed through this gathering and other youth events. She is also thankful for the opportunity for this summer gathering and looks forward to this summer. It’s amazing the impact this has had.

“I have seen beautiful friendships form that are true and good, but also available and accountable to one another,” she says. “By gathering together to discuss these topics through the eyes of our Lord, it gives our youth a chance to see that it is easier to go through challenges in life with others who are walking that same walk with you.”

THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION: Returning to the Father

Those of us who have children know what it’s like when they come to us apologetically after having done something they know is wrong. As parents, it melts our hearts, and we can’t help but forgive them freely, and take them into our arms – sometimes squeezing them with tears in our eyes! At times, we may even feel closer to them than we did before the event occurred.

This, we can assume, is how God feels, being our most clement Father. In His magnanimous love, He sent His only Son Jesus Christ to redeem the world, freeing it from the haunting grips of sin and death. Christ instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation through His Church to offer sinners forgiveness for the offenses they committed against God.

As the Angelic Doctor St. Thomas Aquinas writes so beautifully, “[The Sacrament of Confession is a] sacrament of healing and a sacrament of conversion, returning us to the Father after we have sinned. In the life of the body a man is sometimes sick, and unless he takes medicine, he will die. Even so in the spiritual life a man is sick on account of sin. For that reason he needs medicine so that he may be restored

to health; and this grace is bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance.”

As far as the details for the reception of this sacrament are concerned, three conditions are necessary – contrition, which is genuine sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment; confession of sins without any omission; and satisfaction by means of good works. A priest is gravely bound to keeping total confidentiality for all confessions they hear.

Church law requires Catholics to confess mortal sins – the most serious kind of sins – to a priest at least once per year, and to confess them before ever receiving Holy Communion, as well. However, this is by far the minimum; Catholics are encouraged to receive the sacrament monthly since it is so extremely beneficial to the health of the mind, soul, and spiritual life in general.

To honor the Sacraments is to honor God and the entire Christian community. To receive the Sacraments is to live in God’s love and to strengthen our love for each other. Christ, our tenderhearted, Paschal Lamb, awaits us, His beloved children, to come to Him with all of our hearts.

CAMP GREATNESS

Summertime Faith and Fellowship Opportunities for Our Young Men

Summer vacation is a great reset between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next — and it can also be an opportunity to reset your spiritual life. For middle school and high school students, the Diocese of New Ulm offers three-day summer camps to help students refresh and grow in their faith while spending time with a great community.

Camp Greatness, the camp for young men, combines prayer, sports, spiritual talks, and fellowship for its attendees. Joseph Felton, a junior in high school, and his brother Thomas, a freshman — both parishioners at St. James — went to Camp Greatness last summer.

“I’m definitely going again this summer,” Joseph says. “It was just a great experience with a lot of things we don’t normally get to do during the week, like adoration — we got to do that every day.”

Each day at camp includes morning prayer, Mass, and evening prayer as well as time for talks, discussion, and personal prayer. Tying it all together is a healthy emphasis on team sports. Joseph and Thomas were both surprised by how good-natured the competition was.

“I was surprised by how many good competitive games we played,” Thomas says. “We naturally get crazy with it, but we always prayed beforehand and ended up friends with the other team and happy for everyone, no matter who won or lost.”

“We were competitive but there were no hard feelings,” Joseph adds. “We were just having fun.”

Camp Greatness offers two sessions, one for middle school and another for high school. The camp is held at Schoenstatt on the Lake in Sleepy Eye, Minn. During their time at camp, the Felton brothers were able to meet and talk with many new priests and seminarians.

Joseph and Thomas found that the time spent at Camp Greatness in prayer and in fellowship with other faithful young men helped them to bring their faith into their everyday lives.

“It’s made it easier to set aside time for God, and that feels more important to me,” Thomas says.

continued on back cover

Camp Greatness offers two sessions, one for middle school and another for high school.

The camp is held at Schoenstatt on the Lake in Sleepy Eye, Minn.

512 Black Oak Ave. Montevideo, MN 56265

www.holyfamilyarea.org

Holy Week Schedule

LITURGIES:

Holy Thursday Mass (April 6th):

7 p.m. — St. Joseph, Montevideo with elements of Spanish

Good Friday Services (April 7th):

5 p.m. — St. Andrew, Granite Falls with elements of Spanish

7 p.m. — St. James, Dawson

Easter Vigil Mass (April 8th):

8:30 p.m. — St. Joseph, Montevideo with elements of Spanish

Easter Sunday Masses (April 9th):

8:30 a.m. — St. James, Dawson

9:30 a.m. — St. Andrew, Granite Falls

10:30 a.m. — St. Joseph, Montevideo

CONFESSION TIMES:

30 minutes before daily Mass

Sunday

8 a.m. — St. James, Dawson

Saturday

9:30 - 10:00 a.m. — St. Joseph, Montevideo

4:15 - 4:50 p.m. — St. Andrew, Granite Falls

CAMP GREATNESS

continued from page 7

“It’s a great booster to know there are so many other young men who are striving to be better Catholics too.”

“It helped me to keep going (deeper) and sometimes we all need that little spark to keep doing it,” Joseph adds.

Both brothers plan to attend again this summer and they have no hesitation about that decision.

“I will definitely go again,” Thomas says. “It was so much fun and you get to be away from home, so it’s kind of like a vacation. If you’re ever feeling like you’re not ending up where you want to be, it helps you find that.”

In addition to Camp Greatness, the Diocese of New Ulm offers Camp Beloved for middle school and high school girls. For more information or to register for both camps, visit www.dnu.org/youth.