St. John’s

Quarterly

Parish

Newsletter

Fall 2019

INSIDE THIS ISSUE I am the Salvation

of the People, says

the Lord. Should

they cry to me in

any distress, I

will hear them,

and I will be

their Lord

forever.

- Ps 37: 38, 40, 28

Page 1: The Kneeler Project

This summer, we replaced the kneel-

er’s in the Church. Look here to

learn about more about how this

project went.

Page 2: Stewardship Report

This fall, we held our Time and Tal-

ent renewal. Check here for a brief

report on this year’s commitments.

Page 3: Formed Review

Our formed review for this newslet-

ter is on the movie Ignatius of Loyola.

O n July 17th, over 30 members of our parish gathered for a meal and to install new kneeler

pads throughout the Church. The ages of those who helped varied greatly. The youngest

was 3 years old and the oldest helpers were in their 80’s. This night, not only brought together vari-

ous ages in service, but also gathered together our parishioners of different talents. While some

labored away replacing the kneeler pads, others helped out in the kitchen to provide dinner, re-

freshments, and deserts to everyone involved. The youngest helpers worked diligently to dispose

of the old kneelers by taking them to the dumpster and helping carry the new kneeler pads where

they needed to be. Originally we had set aside two work days for the installation of the kneelers,

but with the great turnout on the first night we were able to complete the project in one evening!

We would like to thank all those who gave there time to help with this project and all those who

were generous with their donations to help cover the cost of the kneelers! We would also like to

give a special thanks to Circle Sanitation who generously donated a dumpster for all the old kneel-

ers. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. By the end of the night, it was clear that installing the

kneelers ourselves as a parish provided much more than an opportunity to save money. It was a

great chance for our parishioners to work together, meet some new faces, and grow together as a

community.

This October, St. John’s had its annual Stew-

ardship Renewal of Time and Talent. Below is

some information regarding how this year’s

renewal went.

This year we had 84 families fill out and return

commitment cards. 20 of those commitments

were made online. These 84 families

make up 13% of the

approximately 650

registered families

at our parish.

Though participation in this year’s renewal

was lower than the last couple years, we still

had a significant number of new commitments.

Of the 84 commitments made this

year, 15 of them were made by

families who did not participate in

last Fall’s Stewardship renewal.

That’s 18% of this year’s commit-

ments.

Ignatius of Loyola is a movie that was released in 2016 about the founder of the Jesuit order St. Ignati-us. This movie details the significant events of St. Ignatius’s life, from his injury in war and conver-sion to his founding of the Jesuit order and his trial before the Spanish Inquisition. However, I believe the most important part of this movie is that it shows how St. Ignatius’s experiences post-conversion led him to develop the Spiritual Exercises, his rules for discernment, and the methods of prayer we now know under the title of Ignatian Spirituality.

I found this aspect of the movie fascinating because the makers of the film did an excellent job of not only showing how this spirituality formed and shaped Ignatius, but also showing through the drama-tization of his life how this spirituality is a powerful tool for believers even today. In a sense, this por-trayal of Ignatius’s life uses the narrative to communicate to the viewer how to pray as Ignatius did; to experience God like he did. However, it does so without ever distracting us from the story itself. Tell-ing the narrative of Ignatius’s life in a compelling way is still the main focus of the movie.

One example of this happening is how the narrative reveals the power of Ignatian Contemplation or Imaginative prayer. After Ignatius has decided to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem following his con-version, his brothers try to dissuade him from his new convictions by taking him to a brothel. Howev-er, instead of falling into sin, Ignatius sits and has a conversation with one of the prostitutes. In this conversation, the women’s shame about her life style and her doubt of Jesus’s love for her is revealed. Ignatius knows that this doubt of Jesus love for her is related to her own inability to love her self, and so he asks her to look across the room to an empty chair and to imagine Jesus sitting there. He then asks her how, Jesus is looking at her. She tells Ignatius that Jesus is smiling at her. With that, she rec-ognizes Christ’s love for her and that he is pleased that she resolved to try and change her life. She re-alizes that his love for her is greater than the sins of her past. This gives her great hope and peace.

Imaginative prayer is a major aspect of Ignatian Spirituality and by portraying this encounter of Igna-tius’s the film is able to communicate the power of this simple spirituality. This is just one example of how the film is able to do this. Many of the other as-pects of Ignatian spirituality such as the discernment of spirits are also powerful-ly portrayed. I would highly recom-mend this movie for those who would like to learn more about St. Ignatius or are interested in Ignatian Spirituality.

Review T H E C A T H O L I C F A I T H.

O N D E M A N D.

IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

SOLDIER : SINNER : SAINT

Upcoming Events

RCIA Classes—Wednesdays @ 7 pm.

St. John’s RCIA classes have started! These classes are meant to provide formation in the

faith for those who are looking to enter the Catholic Church. These classes also provide an

excellent opportunity for those Catholics who would like to learn more about the faith in a

comprehen-sive way. Classes are every Wednesday at 7 pm.

Dec 1st—Advent Begins

Dec 3rd—5:15 PM Tuesday Mass begins

Beginning Dec. 3rd the Tuesday evening Mass will be moving from 7 pm to 5:15 pm. This will

help keep the Mass schedule more consistent during the month and will also make it easier to

incorporate programs for the seasons of Advent and Lent into our parish life.

Dec 7th —Bishop Ryan Choirs and Strings Christmas Concert

Dec 11th—The ROCK with Fr. Justin Waltz—6:30 PM

The ROCK is an event hosted by Bishop Ryan Catholic School for Catholic youth in the Minot

area. It begins with a time for food, fellowship, and door prizes followed by a talk on the faith.

The night ends with Eucharistic Adoration and an opportunity for attendees to participate in

the sacrament of confession.

Dec 16th— Bishop Ryan Bands Christmas Concert

Dec 12-15th: SEARCH Retreat

See back page for details.

Dec 24th-25th – Christmas Masses

Christmas is right around the corner, which means St. John’s will be in need of people to help

with the Christmas Eve, Midnight, and Christmas morning masses. If you are able to lector,

serve , usher, or be a Eucharistic minister please call Darcie at the parish office (701) 839-7076.

Jan 21st-26th— March for Life Pilgrimage

See back page for details.

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31

Catechism Crossword (CCC # in the clue indicates the paragraph number the answer can be found

at in the Catechism of the Catholic Church)

ACROSS

2 This type of sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law. (CCC 1855)

3 The theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed be-cause he is truth itself. (CCC 1814)

4 The archangel who appeared to Mary. His name means strength of God.

5 The first name of both our pastor and our bishop.

9 The virtue which consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to both God and neighbor. (CCC 1807).

11 This sacrament signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has loved his Church. (CCC 1661)

12 The name of the beloved disciple.

15 2 words. Through this sacrament the mission entrusted by Christ to the apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time. (CCC 1536)

16 The brother of St. Peter

18 The theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happi-ness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. (CCC 1817)

19 Pope Emeritus

20 The virtue which ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. (CCC 1808)

22 Efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. (CCC 1131)

23 This type of sin wounds and offends charity but does not destroy it. (CCC 1855)

25 The virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. (CCC 1809)

26 The theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. (CCC 1822)

28 This sacrament is the birth into the new life of Christ (CCC 1277)

31 4 words. This sacrament has as its purpose the conferral of a special grace on the Christian expe-riencing the difficulties inherent in the condition of grave illness or old age. (CCC 1527)

DOWN

1 This angel’s name means “God heals” and is a prominent character in the book of Tobit.

3 The name of the Pope.

5 I am the way, the ___________, and the life

6 The third person of the Holy Trinity

8 The four weeks of preparation for Christmas.

10 This sacrament is the memorial of Christ’s Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accom-plished by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. (CCC 1409)

13 This sacrament perfects baptismal grace (CCC 1316)

14 The virtue which disposes reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it. (CCC 1806)

17 The father of John the Baptist

21 This sacrament brings about the forgiveness of sins committed after baptism. It is also called the sacrament of conversion, confession, or reconciliation. (CCC 1486)

24 This prophet spent three nights in the belly of a whale.

27 For my ______________ is easy and my burden is light.

29 This is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is a failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. (CCC 1849)

30 The patron of Minot’s first Catholic Parish, St. ____________.

St. John the Apostle

Catholic Church

2600 W Central Ave

Minot, ND 58703