Little Falls Catholic Community Newsletter — April 2022

Little Falls

Catholic Community Meet Parishioners

Randy and Margaret Fleischhacker

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Blessed to Serve and Grow in Faith as a Family

or some parents, being involved in the celebration of the Mass while raising a family of four children, ages second grade and younger, might seem an overwhelming prospect. But Randy and Margaret Fleischhacker have found a way to be involved in the Mass while nurturing their children’s faith. Randy serves as the lead usher at Our Lady of Lourdes, and Margaret is a lector.

“I don’t get nervous speaking in front of people, so I thought I’d give lectoring a try,” Margaret says.

While Randy has spent most of his life as a member at Our Lady of Lourdes, Margaret grew up in Madison, Wis. The couple and their children — Grace, Matthew, Caleb, and Josiah — have all found a home at Our Lady of Lourdes.

“It’s so welcoming,” Randy says. “It’s beautiful, with the classical church look and

Randy and Margaret Fleischhacker with their children and Fr. Ben Kociemba.

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St. Mary’s • Our Lady Of Lourdes • Holy Family

Cultivate Your Personal Garden FOR C H R IST THIS SPRING

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veryone loves springtime. The weather is warmer and beautiful flowers are blooming all around us.

But anyone with a beautiful garden will attest that the flowers do not magically appear as if the season change itself miraculously makes the flowers bloom. Beautiful flowers and lush gardens are the result of the gardener’s hard work.

Imagine that a man is given some flower seeds. The man then buries the seeds in the ground and leaves them on their own. As the months pass and rain falls, some seeds may receive enough nourishment to bloom. But simply burying seeds in the ground will hardly make for a gorgeous garden. Rather, if the man truly wants to enjoy many beautiful flowers, there is much care and work ahead. Recognizing the hidden beauty within these simple seeds, he must cultivate the ground, plant the seeds in a solid foundation, then water and fertilize them throughout the year. Only then will he see the proper fruit these seeds were made to bear.

This simple illustration speaks to the heart of us this season — not only as we look around at the flowers, but more importantly as we reflect on the springtime of the Church. We are celebrating the great feast of Easter when, through His death and resurrection, Christ offers us the greatest gift of all — eternal life with Him forever. This celebration leads us to reflect on the many gifts 2

God has given us in this life and the fruit they will bear, especially as we look to life eternal.

He has given each of us a multitude of gifts so that we can better serve Him and bring others to Him. Do we notice the hidden potential of our gifts? Do we see them, like the seed — as seemingly small, yet so full of fruit? Everything we have — our time, talents and treasure — is a gift from the Lord. Do we accept gifts in gratitude, then put them to use by cultivating and nourishing them so they will bear the proper fruit?

Just like springtime flowers that we enjoy, our time, talents and treasure need to be cared for. Our gifts need to be cultivated and nourished. Only then will we see them for what they are — wonderful gifts given by God meant for His greater glory.

Like the seeds, if we use our gifts flippantly, we may see some fruits here and there. But we are called to so much more — we are called to build a beautiful garden. We are called to offer God the most beautiful flowers of all.

This season, as we look at all the beautiful flowers around us and enjoy God’s creation, let us think about the seeds in our own lives. Ask yourself if you have accepted the gifts God has given you — your time, talents and treasure — and have cultivated and cared for them properly.

Or, do they just sit dormant within you yearning to bloom?

A Letter From Our Pastor

All Things and All People Are Made New My Dear Friends in Christ,

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e associate the Easter season with springtime — a time of new life and new beginnings — and Holy Scripture addresses this idea of newness many times. The Lord declares, “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5).

This idea of being “new” is important to us as Catholics, and it is important to our parish.

We need to strive to do this on a regular basis — even on a daily basis. Think of the fact that all was once new.

Regardless of how you view the development of this earth and those of us who occupy it, all was once new.

During this Easter season, we need to retain that idea of being “new.” And being “new” means conversion, and we have often pointed out that conversion is at the heart of a life of stewardship.

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 new life — our own future resurrection. St. Paul wrote about it to the Romans (Rom 6:5) — “For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.”

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 God’s promise to us, “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev 21:5).

St. Paul also wrote (Col 3:1-2), “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” Jesus’ Resurrection and His promise of a new life for us mean that we need to live

in conformity with our status as adopted children of God. 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 indeed makes all things new — the ultimate foundation for all Christian stewardship.

The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Ben Kociemba, Pastor

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St. Mary’s • Our Lady Of Lourdes • Holy Family

THE BULK MAIL

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Mary Ellen and Margaret Barnes have been helping with the parish bulletins and envelope mailings for more than 20 years.

that hasn’t stopped them from helping out.

“We told the parish we would like to help with anything we can that allows us to do it nonvisually,” Margaret says. “That’s what they came up with.”

The sisters help with envelope labels whenever the parish has a large number of

mailings, such as at Christmas and Easter. In the past, they have also stuffed the envelopes. They help with the bulletins whenever there are inserts, typically once every few months. Assisting with the parish mailings and bulletins is something that suits Margaret and Mary Ellen because they

God wants you to go out and help others and show others that you can do things with limited abilities. Everybody is useful in some way, and I guess we found our way.

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t times in our spiritual lives, we may feel that we must do big things in order to make any kind of difference in building up the Church.

We might become discouraged that what we do is not enough.

Many of the saints lived ordinary lives, however, and God calls us to do what we can with what He has given us.

Even seemingly small efforts are significant. As St. Teresa of Calcutta once said, “Be faithful in small things, because it is in them that your strength lies.”

Margaret and Mary Ellen Barnes have faithfully assisted St. Mary’s with our bulk mailing lists, stuffing and labeling envelopes, folding bulletins, and placing inserts in them for over 20 years.

The two sisters have been parishioners at St. Mary’s for their entire lives.

“We’ve always wanted to help in the Church but we didn’t know what we could do,” Margaret says.

Both Margaret and Mary Ellen are legally blind, so they have limits as to what they can do to serve the parish. But

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Mary Ellen Barnes

LING MINISTRY:

A Valuable Way of Helping Our Church can feel their way around the papers and envelopes. It’s a task with which they show great care and attention to detail.

“With the mailings, we also have to sometimes fold papers and we’re talking sometimes 600 papers,” Mary Ellen says. “It takes quite a bit to fold them the right way for certain sizes of envelopes and we have to sometimes close them, it could be with a glue stick or wet sponge or tape. We actually have to feel our way across the flap to fit the tape to the envelope, it’s interesting. You find your way.”

Margaret and Mary Ellen’s parents taught fI uoy dluow ekil erom noitamr f tuoba siht yrtsin m ro ot teg ,devlo ni

the girls as children the importance of helping others and the Church. Helping with the mailings and bulletins has provided the sisters with an opportunity to do exactly that, in a simple and meaningful way.

“God wants you to go out and help others and show others that you can do things with limited abilities,” Mary Ellen says. “Everybody is useful in some way, and I guess we found our way.”

“It makes me feel good because that’s the way we were taught to do it,” Margaret adds.

“God always gives back and He has for Mary Ellen and me, a hundred times over.”

please contact the parish office atoffice stmaryslf.org.

Meet Parishioners Randy and Margaret Fleischhacker continued from front cover

stained glass and beautiful statues.”

“We always feel very welcome when we attend Mass,” Margaret says. “Everyone is especially welcoming to children.”

The family also has found a home in the Catholic faith. Randy and Margaret both feel blessed to raise their children in a community with a fantastic Catholic school, and Grace and Matthew both attend St. Mary’s.

Margaret drives a belly dump for Knife River, and Randy is a cafeteria helper at Little Falls and surrounding schools. He also works part-time at Walmart. Randy knows a lot of folks in the Little Falls area — and many people know him for always having a smile on his face.

“I have a bit of a hard time ushering because I end up talking to people for a while when they come in,” Randy says. “A lot of family, friends, and coworkers go to Lourdes.”

When Randy was in junior high school, he learned how to meditate and allow the Holy Spirit to come in. He’s had many experiences where he has felt God talking directly to him.

“I learned how to rebuke evil and allow the Holy Spirit to come in,” Randy says.

Randy has also been a committed adorer for about five years and makes weekly adoration time in the early morning hours. He enjoys having quiet time to allow the Lord to speak to him.

“My mom got me started on adoration — I love it,” Randy says. “That’s my alone time with no phone and nothing to bother me.”

The Fleischhacker family also enjoys geocaching, camping, and canoeing — they love any activity that allows them to be outside.

“We love enjoying God’s creation, spending time outside,” Randy says.

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St. Mary’s • Our Lady Of Lourdes • Holy Family

Steadfast in Faith and Devotion: St. Catherine of Siena On April 29, we celebrate the feast day of a doctor of the Church — one who remained absolutely devoted to living her life for Christ, even in the face of familial misunderstanding in her youth, and through societal opposition and turmoil during her later years. As stewards in our fast-paced, highly technical — and often fractured — world, we can always look to the life and example of St. Catherine of Siena, and strive to remain steadfast in our faith while facing our own modern-day challenges.

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orn in mid-14th-century Italy to a large family, and in the midst of a plague outbreak, St. Catherine of Siena was her parents’ 25 th child, although half of her siblings did not survive through childhood. Young Catherine resisted her family’s desire for her to marry — she even went so far as to begin fasting and cutting her hair short in protest. Her parents eventually relented, as Catherine strived to humbly serve her own family, treating her own father as Jesus, her mother as Mary, and her brothers as the apostles.

Such was Catherine’s desire to remain in service to her own family that instead of entering a convent, she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic at age 18. This enabled her to continue serving her family at home, even as she was part of a religious society. In time, she learned to read and began giving her family’s own possessions to those in need — even though her parents didn’t necessarily approve of her entirely altruistic approach to service.

Continuing with her faithful devotion as part of the Third Order of St. Dominic, Catherine developed a following of her own, as she wrote 6

letters offering spiritual encouragement and instruction. Controversy would ensue, as her writings began to comment on public matters through her firm lens of faith.

In the midst of these spiritual developments, at age 21, Catherine underwent a profound change, as she experienced what she called her “mystical marriage to Christ.” Through this experience, she was directed to help the poor and the sick.

Catherine began serving those in need in hospitals and homes, which inspired followers to assist in these important missions of service, love and mercy.

Furthermore, she continued to comment on public matters, petitioning for peace in the midst of political fracture and strife. This continued through the Great Schism, beginning in 1378, as Catherine spent two years — the last years of her life — in Rome, praying and pleading for unity in the Church, and for the cause of Pope Urban VI.

By January 1380, Catherine was gravely ill, unable to eat or drink — shortly thereafter, she lost the use of her legs. At only 33 years old, she would pass away on April 29, 1380. She was canonized nearly a century later, in 1461.

Despite her short life, St. Catherine of Siena made a profound impact on the Church through her spiritually direct writings, her work serving those in need, and in preserving the unity of the Church in the face of great societal upheavals — all while being singularly devoted to living a life for Christ. Her status led her to be declared a co-patron of Italy (alongside St. Francis of Assisi) in 1939. And in 1970, Pope Paul VI declared St. Catherine of Siena a doctor of the Church.

CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD AT HOLY FAMILY

Drawing Our Youngest Parishioners Closer to Jesus

Children’s Liturgy of the Word provides the children of our parish with an opportunity to grow in the faith and learn more about the Mass through activities and interactive learning.

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earning about the faith is important for those of all ages — and at Holy Family, Children’s Liturgy of the Word provides children in our parish with the opportunity to do exactly that. The children meet during 10 a.m. Mass, starting just before the first reading until after the homily.

The program includes teaching, songs, and crafts, all providing the children with interactive opportunities to learn about the faith.

“The curriculum follows the teachings of the church and is simplified and summarized

in easy and fun ways for young children to grasp,” says Angie Petersen. “Weekly teachings and the Gospel readings follow the liturgical calendar year, so what we learn during our time together is similar to what the rest of the congregation hears upstairs.”

The target age for the curriculum is children ages 3 years old through kindergarten, although older siblings of the children are welcome to attend and help with reading as well as with the craft materials.

“This is a fun way for families to

As parents, it’s fun to see what they learn about and to see their excitement when they come back with their projects. On the way home, it opens up conversations that help broaden their knowledge about God and Jesus.

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Michelle Salber 7

St. Mary’s • Our Lady Of Lourdes • Holy Family Parish Office: 208 West Broadway Little Falls, MN 56345 (320) 632-8243 www.littlefallscatholic.org

CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD continued from page 7 communicate after Mass and compare the two teachings and further the understanding,” Angie says.

While the program takes the children out of the Mass setting, it seeks to involve the children in learning about the Mass firsthand and presents them with the concepts in an accessible way.

“We hope to accomplish a fostering and love of Mass, and educate on the teaching of the Catholic faith early on to have a familiar foundation to build upon in the future,” Angie says.

The Children’s Liturgy program has

been a joy for the Salber children, who look forward to it each week. Michelle Salber says her children were sad when the COVID-19 pandemic halted the activities, but they are thrilled now that the program has returned to the parish.

“As parents, it’s fun to see what they learn about and to see their excitement when they come back with their projects,” Michelle says. “On the way home, it opens up conversations that help broaden their knowledge about God and Jesus. Sometimes those conversations come up several times throughout the week until their next lesson.”

If you would like more information about Children’s Liturgy of the Word, please contact Angie Petersen atangie.petersen@kw.com or 320-232-9156.