St. John the Baptist of New Brighton

[Father Skloo - zah - check]

15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Once each year, every parish in the Archdiocese is asked to host a missionary who speaks at all the Masses on the weekend. The missionary speaks of the work of his or her missionary order, and presents their need for our spiritual and temporal assistance. The second collection on that weekend is then given to this mission to assist in their work.
Next weekend, at all of our Masses, we will have a presentation by Fr. Thomas Thakadipuram, CMF, and Fr. Lukose Kochupurakal, CMF. These two priests are Claretian missionaries. They will speak on their work as missionaries, and will ask for our spiritual and material assistance for the missionary work of the Church.
Pope Benedict's mission intention for the month of July is: "That in the mission territories, different ethnic and religious groups may live in peace and together build a society inspired by human and spiritual values." Since the days of the apostles, missionaries have been sent out to preach the Gospel of peace and to build a society founded on authentically human and spiritual values.
On July 16, 1849, St. Anthony Mary Claret founded the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CMF), later known as the Claretian Missionaries. They work in many parts of the world, witnessing to God's love through forming communities based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Working for the spiritual and temporal welfare of people, they seek to build that society prayed for in the Pope's prayer intention: "... a society inspired by human and spiritual values."
In today's Gospel, Jesus sends out the twelve apostles, two by two, to proclaim the Gospel. They were the first missionaries. Jesus sends out each of us as well. When we are baptized, we receive our missionary mandate to proclaim to others the faith that we have received. We participate in the mission of the Church in a number of ways.


	Some among us are called, like the apostles, to actually go out and preach - to become missionaries. We need to be open to that call, and encourage our young people to follow a missionary vocation as a priest, brother, or sister.


	Today, there are also many opportunities for lay missionaries. Lay people, married and single, can commit to a period of time of working in the missions. But most of us called to be missionaries right where we are - proclaiming the Kingdom of God in our little corner of the world, by the way we live and by witnessing to the faith. All of us are called to assist the work of missionaries through our prayers, sacrifices, and financial offerings. Please welcome our missionaries next weekend, thank them for what they do, and be generous in the second collection for the missionary work of the Church.


	HERMITS LIVED ON MOUNT CARMEL near the Fountain of Elijah in northern Israel, and they had a chapel dedicated to Our Lady. They became known as the Carmelites. According to Carmelite traditions, the Virgin Mary appeared on July 16, 1251, to St. Simon Stock, a leader of the Carmelites, and gave him a scapular, telling him to promote devotion to it. The scapular is a modified version of Mary's own garment. It symbolizes her special protection and calls the wearers to consecrate themselves to her in a special way. The scapular is a reminder of the Gospel call to prayer and penance, a call that Mary models in a splendid way. Pope Benedict XIII declared it a feast day for the universal Church in 1726. Scapulars are available in our Adoration Chapel and at local Catholic bookstores.


	The Great Adventure: A Journey through the Bible with Jeff Cavins on DVD Thursdays @ St. John's 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Starting Sept. 21 Limited seating! See flyers in St. Paul Plaza kiosks.


	YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED by now your six-month contribution statement in the mail. If you have any questions, please call RuthAnne NOW, (651) 633-8333, ext. 1233. Also, please be sure to complete and return the census form that came with it, even if there are no changes. We are especially interested in your e-mail address because this will eventually save us in postage if we can communicate with you electronically. We promise to keep your e-mail, and all information, confidential! Thank you for helping us to keep our parish records accurate.