St. John the Baptist of New Brighton

But, are they doomed to live their entire lives in Good Friday? We are called to be people of the Gospel, and Gospel means Good News. God is counting on you and me. Jesus Christ expects us to be faithful as His disciples. With God's help, we are called to shout: "Your Good Friday will become Easter Sunday!" And we don't only shout. As good stewards, we share our treasure with our brothers and sisters once again. Last December, we responded with great generosity to the victims/survivors of the tsunami. Now, we share with the victims/survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Every last one of us, young and old, rich and on fixed incomes, are asked to give out of our bounty, not out of our scarcity. God blesses us with life and every good gift. And God calls us to give hope to those who are hurting. As we share our treasure, whatever God calls us to give, we cooperate with God and not only live the Gospel, but we become the Gospel.

But I trusted in your steadfast love;
My heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
Because he has dealt bountifully with me.

-Psalm 13

Jesus is the Compassion of God. As His disciples, His servants to all His people, we, too, are called to be the Compassion of God in our times.

God Bless!

Fr. Bill

Editor's Note: Besides giving at Mass, donation checks to assist the many victims of Hurricane Katrina may be made payable to the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis, marked "2005 Hurricane Relief Fund," and mailed to: The Chancery, Attn.: Accounting, 226 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55102. All proceeds will be sent to Catholic Charities to provide directly for the needs of the victims of one of the worst natural disasters in our country's recent history. May God reward you.


	I'm certain you must have heard the story about the two little brothers. One was an incurable optimist, and the other an incorrigible pessimist. No matter what happened to the optimist, his spirits couldn't be dampened; and no matter what happened to the pessimist, his spirits couldn't be lifted. One Christmas, their parents tried to exercise some correctives on their extreme attitudes. For the pessimist, they bought Christmas presents that anticipated his every wish, hoping that seeing such an array of good things on Christmas morning would produce signs of a sunny disposition. Conversely, they would give the optimistic child nothing but a bag of horse manure. On Christmas morning, the pessimist opened a box of magnificent electric trains. In response he said, "They'll probably break." When he opened a box containing a brand new stereo, he simply groaned and said, "I don't have any CDs to play on this thing." He went on and on like this as he opened one fantastic gift after another. There were only negative responses to every gift. On the other hand, when the optimist opened his bag and found that there was horse manure in it, he started jumping up and down for joy. When his parents wanted to know what he was so happy about, he said, "Do you see what I got? Do you see what I got? There's got to be a pony around here somewhere!" Which kid are you? The pessimist or the optimist? If we really believe in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we who call ourselves His disciples better be optimists. NO matter what gets dumped on us, we can stand up and shout, "There's a pony out there somewhere!" The residents of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi were certainly "dumped on" by Hurricane Katrina. If anyone has "the right " to be pessimistic these days, it is certainly the folks who lost everything, including the loss of loved ones. You've seen the devastation everyday on TV for the last week and a half. As Christians, we know that Good Fridays are a part, a big part, of our human lives, of our Christian lives, as we love and serve God as disciples of Jesus. We were baptized in to the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Our neighbors to the south are certainly living Good Friday these days. Yes, it's Good Friday, but Easter Sunday is going to come into their lives. Jesus was dead on the cross that first Good Friday, but that was Friday, and Sunday was coming. The Mother of Jesus was sick with grief, and the disciples of Jesus were running and hiding. But that was Friday, and Sunday was coming. Good Friday is always followed by an Easter Sunday. That's the Good News of the Gospel. The folks down south are waiting for the rest of us to tell them that Easter will follow their Good Friday. Katrina is not the end of the story. Many of the folks in New Orleans were already living in poverty.


	Stewardship Notes will return next week.


	FATHER BILL is leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, March 19-28, 2006. Brochures are available in The Plaza kiosks. Bookings close January 2006; don't wait!


	WHAT A GREAT START to the new school year! St. John's School students (jaguars) returned and are working in their classrooms in a JOY-Filled Spirit. The Student Government ran an All-School Assembly on Tuesday, September 6, to help start the year.