From the Associate&

     To taste the sweet bread from heaven is so wonderful and awesome.  To come as we are, and become what we eat.  So many of us at St. John's have been growing in our devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist.  The liturgy has become stronger in words and action as worship, because our intentional participation has deepened, and God's work of business in our souls is bearing fruit.  I am excited about what the Holy Spirit is doing at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, and I anticipate even greater waves of Divine inspiration to breathe into our community experience. 
     One of the unbelievable gifts, soon to arrive, is the blessing of Perpetual Adoration.  In our small adoration chapel, called the Cenacle, we will celebrate the mandate of Holy Scripture to "pray unceasingly" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  This will lay the foundation for future graces, enabling the blind to see the vision of God, the lame to walk in the footsteps of Christ, the hungry to be fed, the lonely to find true love, the suffering to find hope, the young to rejoice in spiritual understanding.  Prayer opens the door for Providence to maneuver, and bring "to   completion" the good work God is achieving in us (Philippians 1:6).
     I am writing to solicit the help of YOU, who are gravitating with affection towards our Eucharistic Jesus.  We have our lead coordinator, Danielle Olson, who you met last week in this column, and our four division leaders, all from the adoration committee, however, we are still seeking 24 hourly coordinators.  This service does not take up a lot of time.  -cont'd in 2nd column.

School News&

Catholic Schools Week is here--January 27 through   February 1, 2002.
Registration for St. John's kindergarten for the 2002-2003 school year is part of CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK.  Join us at our OPEN HOUSE, this Sunday, January 27, at 12:30 p.m. Registration takes place in the school cafeteria from 12:30--1:30 p.m.
Please bring the following for registration:

1. Birth certificate
   
2. Baptismal certificate (unless baptized at St. John's)
   
3. A fee of $100 is paid at the time of registration.  No   student is considered registered unless this fee accompanies the registration form.
   

An hourly coordinator is responsible to make sure a certain hour (e.g. 9:00--10:00 a.m. every day of the week) is covered by those adorers who signed up for that time slot.  An adorer is  responsible to get a sub, if they need one, but an hourly coordinator would be a back-up to assist if needed, and would help encourage adorers to keep their commitment.  This task will be most important over the first couple of weeks, as we get underway, but, after that, little effort should be needed.  If you have a special devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist, please pray about being an hourly coordinator.  We need to have our hourly coordinators in place by the weekend of February 23/24 when Fr. Victor will speak on Perpetual Adoration at all the Masses.  If you are willing to be an hourly coordinator please call me or Teri Shea at the parish office.  Thanks!

Fr. Michael