SAINT MARY’S & SAINT ELIZABETH’S CATHOLIC CHURCHES

Phone: 701-579-4312 Address: PO Box 369, New England, ND 58647

FATHER GARY BENZ-PASTOR

frgarybenz@yahoo.com; Cell Phone 701-509-9504; Rectory 701-579-4874

VICTOR DVORAK –DEACON

Visit us at: www.stmaryschurchnewengland.com

Divine Mercy Sunday — April 19, 2020

“Unless I see the mark of the nails of His hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my

hand into His side, I will not believe.” Saint Thomas the Apostle had one problem we have all had

at one time or another: doubt. Despite everything we say and believe, we still doubt that all things

are possible with God. The Good News is that Jesus always offers the remedy to rid our lives of

doubt; it is the gift of faith. Our Lord wants us to believe. Doubts are not the work of Jesus nor any

one of us, His followers. Doubts are the work of the Evil One. Therefore, do not fret when questions or even doubts

arise concerning our faith in God and His Church. Even the greatest saints, Saint Thomas the Apostle included, expe-

rienced doubts. They were tested, but never despaired because Jesus was always there to sustain them in their mo-

ments of trial and temptation. Jesus is always present to us when we take time for conversation with Him in prayer.

Bring your doubts and uncertainties to Him and experience His peace and joy. Time spent with our Lord in intimate

prayer is the perfect remedy for our “Doubting Thomas episodes.”

Familiaris Consortio (cont.) 23. Without intending to deal with all the various aspects of the vast and complex

theme of the relationship between women and society, and limiting these remarks to a few essential points, one

cannot but observe that in the specific area of family life, a widespread social and cultural tradition has considered

women’s role to be exclusively that of wife and mother, without adequate access to public functions, which have

generally been reserved to them. There is no doubt that the equal dignity and responsibility of men and women fully

justifies women’s access to public functions. On the other hand, the true advancement of women requires that clear

recognition be given to the value of their maternal and family role, by comparison with all other public roles and all

other professions. Furthermore, these roles and professions should be harmoniously combined, if we wish the evolu-

tion of society and culture to be truly and fully human.

Have mercy on us and on the whole world. This Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday, but sadly because

of the covid-19 crisis, we will not be able to gather for our annual Divine Mercy celebration. I en-

courage you to instead pray this beautiful prayer for mercy in your homes, preferably during the

Divine Mercy hours from noon to three, the time Jesus suffered on His Holy Cross with us and our

salvation in mind. That day, I will still be hearing Confessions at Saint Mary’s Church from 7:00 p.m.-

8:00 p.m., so please come and receive the gift of Jesus’ mercy offered by the Sacrament of Penance. More than ev-

er, Divine Mercy Sunday must be commemorated by all Catholics, because we want God to lift His hand of justice,

have mercy on our world, and restore the rhythm of life we so greatly miss, especially going to Mass on Sunday and

receiving our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. With Saint Faustina, we earnestly pray on Divine Mercy Sunday, “For the

sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

May God reward you for your generosity. Thank you to everyone who brought me gifts of Easter

bread, sweets, colored eggs, and of course chocolate Easter bunnies this past Easter Sunday. It was

greatly appreciated after the Lenten fast from all of these wonderful victuals. May God reward you for

your kindness and generosity. Now remember, the Easter season lasts for fifty days, so know that you can drop of

these same gifts anytime you want. Put another way . . . Lent was pretty long and I have a lot of catching up to do on

sweets and chocolate. Still not clear . . . I want sweets and candy and I want them now!!!!! Okay . . . maybe I had

better dial it down a bit; I’m kind of experiencing a sugar high from downing that last giant chocolate Easter bunny.

MASS & ADORATION SCHEDULE Monday, April 20th Tuesday, April 21st SE—+Ed Pechtl by Curtis & Michele Wax Wednesday, April 22nd SE—+Deborah Miller by Gerald & Bonnie Jung Thursday, April 23rd SM—+Keith Herold by Brian & Kim Herold Friday, April 24th SM—+Josie Heidt by Gary & Toni Jung Saturday, April 25th SM—+Irene Benz by Jerry & Cheryl Mellmer

Sunday, April 26th SE—Living and Deceased family of +John & +Margaret Schneider by John, Jaleigh and Nita Schneider SM—Pro Populo At this time, in compliance with Bishop Kagan’s directive, all Masses will be celebrated by Father Gary privately. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Father Gary.

Please Keep in Your Prayers: Gene Wert, Theresa Tarpo, Todd Leach, JoAnn Urlacher, Zane Sabo, Richard Jambor, Brad Novak, Josie Steier, Katie Stolz, Hazel Jacobs, Amber Urlacher, Savannah Benz, Bonnie Benz, Anise Masterson, Nate Hernandez, Andy Prokop, Henley Johnson, Duane Grundhauser, Pete Schaefer, Marilyn Jacobs, Leo Heck, Ross Thomas, Ar-lene Rohr, Brenda Barton, Elven Kaufman, Suzette Printz, Linda Reisenauer, Russ Lefor, Cindy Martin, Howard Schiwal, Theresa Decker, Yvonne Fettig, Kim Kuhn, Don Miller, Bonnie (Krebs) Dick, Dorothy Kohl, Colleen Churchill

Assisted Living and Nursing Home Residents: Marvin Wert, Marilyn Wert,

Gilbert & Ruth Buzalsky, Mary Hanson, Joe & Aggie Wandler, Charlotte

Krebs, Harvey Herberholz, Archie Jalbert, Sylvia Koppinger, Leona Gordon,

Donnella Koppinger, Marilyn Jeske, Willie Emmil, Frances Heick

Our Deceased Loved Ones: +Chuck Brusich, +Joan Binstock, +Kevin Ja-

cobs, +Betty Biel, +Wenzel Roller, +Shawn Flaherty, +Duane Dobitz, +Dan

Frank, +Cecelia Jung, +Benedict Benz, +Kenneth Stagl, +Florentine Bohl-

man, +Josie Heidt, +Dale Schoeder, +Ed Pechtl, +Magdalen Schorsch,

+Dale Reindel, +Adam Schulz, +George Koffler, +Edwin Lefor, +Louise

Krebs, +Regina Gentz, +Tina Rixen, +Rose Krebs (SE), +Herbert Emmil,

+Joan Madler, + Leroy Kilwein, +Harold Maershbecker, +Darwin Schaefer,

+James Gatzke, +Ed Koppinger, +Eleanor Keck, +Ardelle Kovar, +Eugenia

Stagl, +Nick Lenhardt, +Mike Urlacher, +Keith Herold

Collection Report St. Elizabeth’s April 12th, 2020

Adult Youth

$ 1105.00 Envelopes $

$ Loose Plate $

$ 1105.00 Total Rice Bowl - $95.00

$ 1345.00 Monthly Total

Collection Report St. Mary’s April 12th, 2020

Adult Youth

$ 1525.00 Envelopes $

$ Loose Plate Building Fund—$50.00

$ 5513.00 Total Holy Land—$120.00

$ 5513.00 Monthly Total Rice Bowl—$230.00

St. Mary’s Liturgical Ministers

MINISTRY Saturday 5:00 PM Sunday 10:30AM

Lector

Mass Servers

Eucharistic Ministers

Gifts

Rosary Leader

Greeters

Homebound Minister

Saint Elizabeth’s Liturgical Ministers

Sunday 8:30 AM

Lector

Mass Server

Eucharistic Ministers

Gifts

Greeters

Ushers

Help wanted: We are in need of someone to

mow around the church and school at Saint

Mary’s; Fr. Gary takes care of his rectory. If

someone wants to take on this mowing, please contact

Fr. Gary to discuss payment and expectations for this

effort. Thank you!

On the lighter side: The parish liturgy director had a

reputation for a hot temper. Somehow, the local news-

paper got wrong information and printed her obituary.

She stormed into the newspaper office and demanded,

“The report of my death in your paper is a lie! I’ll sue you

for everything you’ve got if you don’t apologize in your

next issue!” The next edition contained the following

notice, “We regret very much that the notice of Mary

Smith’s death, which appeared in our last issue, was not

true.”

Marriage: Contact Pastor at least nine months prior to your antici-

pated wedding date.

Baptism: Pre-Baptism preparation session required.

Anointing of the Sick: By request.

Reconciliation (Penance): Before Mass in both Parishes

Confession is available from 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM daily at St. Mary’s

except Tuesday (or First Friday) when it will be offered at St. Eliza-

beth at the same time.

The ABC’s of our Catholic Faith

Evangelists (four): These are the four authors of the Gospels . . .Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew and John

were also apostles of Jesus while Mark was a disciple of Saint Peter and Luke was a disciple of Saint Paul. In religious

iconography, the traditional symbols for the four evangelists are taken from the prophecy of Ezekiel (1:5-21, 10:20)

and the Book of Revelation (4:6-8). Their symbols and the meaning of each are as follows:

Matthew: Matthew is depicted with the symbol of a young man, since in His Gospel, he teaches about the human

nature of Jesus Christ in His infancy narrative and because his Gospel begins with the genealogy

of Jesus Christ.

Mark: Mark is depicted by the winged lion, since his Gospel informs us of the royal dignity of Je-

sus Christ and because his Gospel begins with, “The voice of one crying out in the desert”, sug-

gesting the roar of the lion.

Luke: Luke is depicted by the winged ox, because his Gospel deals with the sacrificial aspects of

Christ’s life and because his Gospel begins with the Temple scene . . . the Temple being where

Jewish ceremonial animal sacrifices took place.

John: John is depicted by the rising eagle, since his Gospel is so lofty in language, piercing into the mysteries of heav-

en. John’s Gospel begins in this manner with the lofty prologue that is a poem about the Divine Word becoming

flesh.

Ex cathedra: This is a Latin phrase which means “from the chair”. It refers to the binding and infallible papal teach-

ings which are promulgated by the pope when he officially teaches in his capacity of the universal shepherd of the

Church a doctrine on matters of faith and morals and addresses it to the entire world. This concept is not an inven-

tion of the Church, but derives from Jesus Himself.

In Matthew 23:2-3, Jesus spoke of the authority of the Old Testament magisterium (i.e., teaching authority) saying,

“The Scribes and Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair (Greek, cathedras) of Moses. Therefore, do and ob-

serve whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach what they do not practice.” Since

Jesus recognized the authority of the Old Testament magisterium when it spoke ex cathedra (with the authority of

Moses), we recognize that the magisterium of the Church, which speaks with the authority not of Moses but of Jesus

Christ Himself (Matthew 10:40, 16:18-19, Luke 10:16) possesses a binding, infallible teaching office which is guaran-

teed by Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:20, John 14:16, 26, 16:13).

A note of reminder : I am still offering Confessions every day during the covid-19 crisis. I offer them from 7:00 p.m.-

8:00 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday-Sunday at Saint Mary’s and 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Saint Eliza-

beth’s. I will continue to do so until we can offer Confessions once again before Mass, when we are finally allowed to

return to the public celebration of the Holy Mass, the Sacraments, and devotions. I ask you to please make this one

of your daily prayer intentions.

Let me explain: As a pastor, especially in these difficult economic times, I always try to use our parishes’

material resources responsibly. People may wonder then why at Saint Mary’s is there a new golden la-

vabo dish for washing the priest’s hands during the Holy Mass and a large new TV and cart for showing

videos at Mass (e.g., the God’s Share video). Well, the lavabo dish was donated by me and my siblings in

memory of our parents, +Benedict & + Irene Benz and the T.V. and cart were donated in their memory as well by an

anonymous donor. I mention this because all too often, people make a judgement first and ask questions later. Now

as for the new outdoor swimming pool in my backyard, well . . . let’s just say we may have to do a lot of bake sales.

A point to ponder: Your promises to God should be as binding as those to your bank.

Marc & Anne Wolf

11175 64th St SW

New England, ND 568647

701-579-4221

www.21angus.com

New England Mott

579-4887 824-3149

525 Main St 120 Brown Ave

DAN’S

BODY SHOP

701-227-8688

DICKINSON, ND

Specializing in

Collision Repair

Located In the

St. Mary’s

Parish Center

701.579.5437

Kari Wandler-Co-Director

Callie Streeter—Co-Director

Located in the Lower

Level of the St. Mary’s

Parish Center

Hours 10:00-4:00 For more information con-

tact Vivian 206-0129

BRAD GREFF

308 Brown Ave

Mott, ND 54656

701-824-3318 brad.greff@fumic.com

CARSON’S

REPAIR

Auto & Ag Equipment

Repair

Regent, ND

701.563.4412

631 26th Ave East

Dickinson, ND Mon-Fri: 7:30 AM—5:30 PM

Empower. Strengthen.

Celebrate. 401 W Villard St., Dickinson, ND

Jason Dorner

701-290-8102

Helena Agri-Enterprises, LLC

New England, ND*701-579-4891

Advertising spots for 2020-2021

are still available,