JANUARY 19th
On January 19th we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in honor of his commitment to nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement and successfully protesting racial discrimination. 

Please continue prayers for a peaceful end to racial discrimination and all discrimination.
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Learn More About St. Michael Catholic School

 

Online registration begins January 31st

click here to register.

 


Catholic Schools Week is just around the corner. Lots of exciting basketball games, fun dress-up days, and sharing with our parish community the wonderful benefits of our school.
The Blues & White Ball (Gala Dinner & Auction) is scheduled for January 31st, 2015.

 

Click here for more information.

 

 

January 2015

 

Greetings! 

            

"You shall not invoke the name of the Lord, your God, in vain"  (Exodus 20:7)

 

     We are all familiar with this declaration of the second of the Ten Commandments. But, over the years, its meaning has sometimes been obscured and misunderstood.
     In the time of Moses, a name was a powerful thing. To invoke God's name was to call on God, himself. To invoke God to bring about harm or evil on another was done in vain, because God cannot do evil, and it is an insult to God because it implies that God can and will do evil. God is Love. Love cannot do what is truly evil. God's name can only be invoked for blessing. These ideas form the heart of this commandment. It involves recognition of the absolute Goodness of God and the need to respect God by respecting God's powerful name. 

     The Second Commandment forbids any formal invocation of God to bring harm to another individual or group. Even an expletive, spoken in anger, such as "God damn you" is forbidden by this commandment. It is disrespectful of God and implies that God will do harm to another person if we ask for that. 

     As a commandment, the Second Commandment assumes that we are acting with a clear intention of bringing harm to another and a genuine belief that the God of all Goodness and Love will deliberately bring harm to his children. 

     Many times in anger, a person may say such things as "Hell" and "Damn" without any reference to God. These words, in themselves, do not constitute sin. There is normally no desire to bring harm or evil upon any particular person. The use of these words is certainly in bad taste and demonstrates a lack of self-control, but they are not necessarily sinful. However, if our intention is to bring harm to another, then they could be sinful, because of our evil intention.

     This commandment does call on us to respect the Holy names of God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. People today are not generally raised with the sense of awe and respect for the sacred name of God or for even the dignity of sacred objects and places. This commandment also calls on us to recognize that God may be asked to send blessings on people but God (who is Love) will never send harm or danger or pain to other people. It is an insult to suggest that God would ever do such things. 

     There have been times when people considered any words of anger to be a violation of the Second Commandment. 

     In fact, that is an exaggeration of the meaning of that commandment. The commandment to "love our neighbor" forbids violence in word or action. In fact the Second Commandment commands a respect of the sacredness of God and the respect we owe to God in all we do and say. It commands recognition of the Goodness and Love of God which cannot be a source of evil and harm.


THE CYCLE OF LIFE

An Article from the Parish Council
By Art Cuellar, School Advisory Council
 
     The New Year is our constant reminder of the existence of a starting point, which naturally stated there must also be an end point. All things in this life have a starting point, and an end. Religion is our best tool for preparing us for both of these marks in time. As our birth is the starting point for our natural lives, our baptism is the starting point of our spiritual lives. As we climb through the thickets of life, overcoming life's challenges, and enjoying its fruits, we gain our tools to live a productive life through our experiences. 
     It's not uncommon to stagnate at certain points in our life, as we go through the ebb and flow of everyday living. Certain things motivate us to excel, and other things drain us of our ability to self-motivate. In our natural life, we can use different sources to help motivate us; family, friends, community, sports, hobbies, work, and many other things. In our spiritual world we use our faith to motivate us. Faith is manifested through, worship, prayer, meditation, as well as countless other ways. Re-enforcing our faith is done best when we do it alongside our family, friends and community. 
     Our church is also subject to this natural phenomena of "The Cycle of Life." It had a beginning both naturally and spiritually. Bricks and mortar started its natural life, and filling it with God loving Catholics started its spiritual life. Our church too ebbs and flows in its everyday existence. It too grows with the faith of family, friends, and community. 
     Does our church have an end? Do our lives have an end? Well, the natural aspect of both our church and our lives obviously do. As Catholics, we believe the spiritual lives of both our church and our lives do not have an end. Both will live forever under the graces of God. That being said, we still value God's greatest gift of life itself, and will use every resource God has availed us to live long and productive lives. We try to live this gift from God through positive and productive means by being responsible to our families, friends, and community. Our church is part of God's gifts, and its existence is our responsibility. The life of our Church relies on us. A healthy church shows its natural and spiritual existence through its positive and productive influences on its families, friends, and community. 
     What does all this have to do with the New Year? It is a chance for us to mark in time the opportunity to catch the ebb and flow of life in a positive manner. As each of us try to fulfill New Year's resolutions, the Church too tries to fulfill its own renewed resolutions. It is no secret that the Catholic Church is under stress, and our Church is no exception. It is still subject to life's ebbs and flows. The spiritual Church will never end. Our New Year's resolution as a Church is to ensure the continuance of both its natural and spiritual life. As this year progresses, there will be a very concerted effort to become better "Disciples". There will be a movement that involves the people of this church to renew their commitment to bettering their lives and the lives of their family, friends, and community. This renewal will be reminded every year through the celebration of Christ's birthday, and the start of each and every New Year. 
     Our Church deserves our "Discipleship." Faith, Family Friends, Community. This is our New Year's Resolution, "Discipleship." May God bless you and guide you to positively influence your family, friends, and community.



Nurse of the Year Award

 

     Every year the March of Dimes honors nurses that are outstanding in their profession. We are privileged that one of our Parish Nurses has received that honor this year for Community Health Nursing. Mary Bothof, Supervising RN at St. Francis was one of the recipients for 2014. Mary has been a nursing advocate and volunteer at River Valley Nursing Center since it began in 2003. She was instrumental in establishing assessment and education for patients who are then connected to free and low-cost health care for further care. Mary has served on their board and has held other volunteer and administrative positions. She was chosen from over four hundred nominees. Please congratulate Mary on this honor.

 

Photo is of St. Francis Regional Medical Center Nurses Mary Bothof and Joel Aronson who both Received March of Dimes Nurse of the Year Awards

    


A Letter Received from a St. Michael Parent
 

Dear St. Michael Parishioners,

     During this Christmas season, we reflect on our blessings of 2014. I am most grateful for is the High School Faith Formation Program.  Pat Millea, Alexia Heise and Gina Tupy (retired) have developed this program into a true blessing for our high schoolers.  My teenager regularly attends Faith Formation on Wednesday evenings.  She has gone through many ups and downs as a teen and this program has always been there to support her.  Pat, Alexia, and Gina have given these teens an environment where they are always welcomed. They have been a soft place to land when times are tough. Being a teenager is difficult, we are so lucky at St. Michael to have this program.  They have helped lead my teen down a positive faith path and helped her make good decisions during a challenging time in her life.  The Coffee House also provides a fun, safe environment for teens to be together and just have fun. Pat, Alexia, and Gina have personally changed the young lady she has become into a thoughtful and spiritual young Christian.  Please encourage your teens to participate in Faith Formation and Coffee House.  Thank you St. Michael for supporting this very important program. 

 

The author of this letter has requested to remain anonymous.

    


NEWS & UPCOMING EVENTS

CATHOLIC WOMEN'S CONFERENCE
Saturday, February 14th, 2015 8am to 2pm. (Doors open at 7am) Ladies, could you use a little pampering this Valentine's Day? Join us for our first ever WINE: Women in the New Evangelization-Catholic Women's Conference. Registration is $30 per person before January 19th (Early Bird) or $40 per person after January 19th. This day includes : Coffee & Caramel Rolls, Fabulous Lunch, Entertainment, Inspirational Talks, Mass, Reconciliation, Vendors, Prayer, Laughs & Sisterhood. Register online here. 
or call 651-291-4411 if you have questions.

MARIAN JOURNEY - February 15 to March 22      
  
If you would like to entrust yourself to Mary and are looking to deepen and renew your devotion to her, then please join us in a 33 day journey to Marian consecration with teachings from St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximillian Kolbe, Mother Theresa, and John Paul II. Sundays 6:45-8:30 p.m. Feb 15 to Mar 22. The class cost is $15. Email Michelle Gillette-Lacko for more information [email protected]

 

HEALING HEARTS MINISTRY
Healing Hearts will be meeting on January 27th at 4:30pm in the Notre Dame I Meeting Room. This Ministry was created to support those who are grieving the death of a loved one. It offers fellowship through faith, education, and prayer . 
 
LENTEN RETREAT - SAVE THE DATE
COMING FEBRUARY 28TH. Mark your calendar.

 

GENERAL MILLS BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION

To raise additional funds for our school, St. Michael Catholic School participates in General Mills Box Tops for Education
program. The program has been an easy way to earn cash that goes directly to the school. Last year, St. Michael Catholic School raised almost $4000! We would love our community member's help in our efforts, please drop off your Box Tops in the Box Top container located in the Narthex.

FAT TUESDAY - February 17, 6:00 pm
Our Annual Fat Tuesday/ Parishioner Appreciation Celebration is schedule for Tuesday, February 17th 2015 at 6:00 P.M. in Archangel Hall! This is a wonderful event for the entire family! It is a great time for us to meet as a parish, celebrate our parish stewardship efforts and break bread together before we enter in to the season of Lent. Dinner will be provided at no charge to all! Please plan on attending and mark your calendars now!

FAMILIES MOVING FORWARD
Many hands and hearts made light work of the transformation of the Franciscan Retreat Center into a home for families experiencing temporary homelessness. The Families Moving Forward Committee would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the 85 plus parishioners and their families who dedicated a portion of their busy holiday season to serving the needs of the four guest families from December 17th to December 28th. St. Michael is planning two hosting weeks during 2015: July 19-26 and December 20-27.  So mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information.

PARISH EVENTS CALENDAR 
Please open the following link to see what is happening at our parish. (Events subject to change)
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"The Lord said to Moses: 'Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace! So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them."  (Numbers 6:22-27)

 

Sincerely,


Fr. Tom Sieg, Pastor 

St. Michael Catholic Church

  Questions or comments regarding this newsletter?
If you have any articles, photos or content you would like to share please 
email us at [email protected] or call 952-447-9045.

Interested in writing a story for The Angelus?
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Church of St. Michael  16311 Duluth Ave. SE  Prior Lake, MN 55372