St. John the Baptist of New Brighton

[Father Skloo - zah - check]

16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Jesus said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." (Mark 6:3)

During the summer months, many people have the opportunity to go on vacation. We look forward to a time away from work, away from the busyness of everyday life, and a time to enjoy leisure with family members and friends.
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, is currently on vacation in the Alps of northern Italy. Allow me to share with you a reflection that he gave last year on the value of taking time for vacation:
"In the world in which we live, it is almost a necessity to be able to regain one's strength of body and spirit, especially for those who live in the city, where the conditions of life, often feverish, leave little room for silence, reflection, and relaxed contact with nature.
"Vacations are days in which more time can be dedicated to prayer, reading, and meditation on the profound meaning of life, in the peaceful context of one's family and loved ones.
"Vacation time offers the unique opportunity to pause before the thought-provoking spectacles of nature, a wonderful 'book' within reach of everyone, adults and children. In contact with nature, a person rediscovers his correct dimension, rediscovers himself as a creature, small but at the same time unique, with a 'capacity for God' because interiorly he is open to the Infinite. Driven by his heartfelt urgent search for meaning, he perceives in the surrounding world the mark of goodness and Divine Providence and opens almost naturally to praise and prayer."
I will be on vacation next week, kayaking in the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota. I look forward to the opportunity, as the pope says, for a time of "silence, reflection, and relaxed contact with nature."


	I hope you, too, have an opportunity this summer for a time to "come away... to a deserted place and rest a while." Please welcome this weekend the missionaries who are with us for our annual mission cooperation.


	Fr. Thomas Thakadipuram, CMF, and Fr. Lukose Kochupurakal, CMF, will preach at all our Masses on the work of the Claretian Missionaries. Please be generous in the second collection for their needs. If you are not able to contribute today, you may take an envelope and drop it in next week's collection. Editor's Note: The Claretian Missionary Congregation was founded by St. Anthony Mary Claret in 1846 in Barcelona, Spain. The Claretian motto is: Caritas Christi Urget Nos ("The love of Christ impels us."). Imbued with a passion for Christ and humanity, they are serving 65 countries in the world with 3,000 priests, brothers, sisters, and lay Claretians. Fr. Thomas and Fr. Lukose represent the Bangalore province of Claretians in India. Claretians are at the cutting edge of the Church's mission by serving the poorest of the poor in India and Africa. They are rehabilitating hundreds of blind and disabled leprosy patients, giving them hope and the light of Christ. Fr. Thomas is currently serving as a pastor at St. Columba in St. Paul, and Fr. Lukose is serving as an associate pastor in Canada. Your generous support will strengthen the Claretians' missionary work. Thank you.


	� Alexis Marie Shea Anderson, child of Cory & Sharla � Zachary Thomas Boryczka, child of David & Christina � Maggie Lorraine Durant, child of Chad & Teresa � Isaac Robert Meyer, child of Paul & Judith � Isabelle Juliana Offord, child of Ian & Gienia � Emma Popp Olson, child of Jesse & Kathryn � Nolan Jacob Sheck, child of Jacob & Veronica � Dylan Thomas Tauscheck, child of Todd & Marcela � Devin Marie Voelz, child of Mark & Michelle

ADORERS ARE NEEDED weekly for the following; call Dorothy at (651) 636-1660 or Jerry at (651) 636-2054:

- Monday, 11 AM - 12 Noon (urgent!)
- Monday, 2 PM - 3 PM
- Tuesday, 1 AM - 2 AM
- Friday, 6 AM - 7 AM

GUEST SPEAKER COMING: Father Peter Laird, Vice Rector & Director of Seminarians at St. Paul Seminary, will speak at all Masses on July 29/30 about Eucharistic Adoration and the blessings it brings personally and to the parish.