From the Pastor... 
      What's the difference between Saturday and Sunday?  For a growing number of Americans, Sunday has become like Saturday:  day two of the weekend reserved for leisure, play, chores, shopping--almost ANYTHING but church.
     Why not get out of town.  How can we give up those bargain airfares to Las Vegas or New York?  And as we become more affluent, we should have a second home up north for summer and winter recreation.  And organized sports means that some games just have to be played on Sunday mornings.  And, by all means, since we are so busy during the week, Sunday is really a good day to go shopping at one of the "Dales" or our fabulous Mall of America.  And, we are so tired, Sunday is obviously the best day to sleep in, read the Sunday paper, grab brunch, and get home for an afternoon of football.  Did I mention golf?
     Ah!  The good life!  Gone are the old fashioned days when everything in town was closed on Sunday except the Churches.  How did people get by?  The drugstore was open for a few hours but that was it.  Not even the nine-hole golf course was open until the early 50s.  Gee, most people actually went to church on Sundays.  Families went to church, came home for a real family meal, and somehow survived by just being together.  To miss Mass without a good reason was actually thought to be "sinful."  They actually believed that the Third Commandment was to keep holy the Lord's Day.  Thank God the only thing sinful these days is desert!
     In our advanced society of the 21st Century, we are much more spiritual than our ancestors who actually believed in organized religion& pray, pay, obey.  We are much better off than our parents and grandparents who believed in knowing and helping your neighbors and members of the church.  They not only supported the church financially but they actually cleaned, repaired and did most of the upkeep themselves.  They raised extra money through church dinners, bingo and bake sales.  That's all they had.  The Church was also their social life.
     Why should we haul ourselves out of bed on Sunday morning (if we didn't attend Church on Saturday) and curse at the idea of dragging our tired selves to Church?  That's the very last thing on our list of things to do.  What is the spiritual gain of worshipping together when I really can feel closer to God in bed or having my coffee on the deck?
     What do I get out of Mass?  I'm afraid that question is asked too often.  We come together to be challenged and comforted by the Word of God and to give praise and thanks to God through Jesus Christ.  As Christians we live then Gospel and identify with Christ Crucified who wasted "three" hours on the cross, trusting and loving the Father.  Maybe we forget that the Mass is more than a celebration, it is also a sacrifice--not a pleasant work in our society.
     Why is so much of the conversation about "I", "me"?  What do we give to God on Sunday?  I am concerned that we see fewer and fewer members on a weekend--about 50% of the Catholics attend on a weekend.  I believe that we can work together at St. John's to keep members coming.  I also think that the new St. John Center is going to be a huge plus. 
    What can we do?  Next week, a few humble ideas from my mind and heart.

Fr. Bill

P.S. I will still be here on Sundays even if attendance was to drop to a handful.