Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, The parable of the two sons is meant to be a lesson to the Pharisees and Scribes, who are represented in the parable by the elder son. Because Jesus spends most of the parable speaking of the younger son, we may be tempted to focus on his story of reconciliation with the father. I invite you listen to the words of the father to the elder son in isolation; ignore the younger son for a moment and listen to how beautifully the father speaks to his son. “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours...now we must celebrate and rejoice…your brother…has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.” Taken on their own, these are

Part Three of our Area Catholic Communities Questions series (See bulletin archives online for part 1 in the bulletin for Sunday, March 10th, 2019 and part 2 from Sunday, March 17th.) Will the roles of lay leadership change for the needs of the Area Catholic Community? In order to facilitate the collaboration and cooperation of parishes within an ACC, lay leaders may need to be added or adapted. Our parishes will be stronger through these changes. They will evolve over time. Will Mass schedules change? There are many variables that the ACC will need to discuss as they make decisions about mass times. Some of these variables include seating capacities of churches, overlapping and gaps in mas

Part Two of our Area Catholic Communities Questions series (See bulletin archives online for part 1 in the bulletin for Sunday, March 10th, 2019.) What is the next step in developing Area Catholic Communities? Once the parish configuration is determined, we will be inviting parishes to begin forming area planning councils. Area planning councils comprise of equal representation from each parish in the ACC and has the responsibility to vision a more vibrant area community. This will include, but is not limited to, building relationships, evaluating resources, programs and ministries, communicating between all parishes. What does ACC planning council do? This group comprised of equal represen

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, While I am away on pilgrimage I wanted to pass along some answers to your questions about our Diocesan Pastoral Plan for 2019 and beyond. The next few bulletins will each contain a number of questions and answers regarding our Area Catholic Communities. I will be back in the office on March 26th; feel free to bring any additional questions you may have to me then. Peace in Christ, Father Matthew The 2019 pastoral plan for the Diocese of Saint Cloud introduces the concept of Area Catholic Communities. The aim of this pastoral plan focuses on strengthening the life of the Church in central Minnesota. This will be accomplished through collaboration a

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, “My beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Cor 15:58) St. Paul exhorts us to work for the things of heaven even in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds. This is true in our personal struggles as well as in larger, global concerns. As our Diocese of St. Cloud celebrates Safe Haven Sunday this weekend, I wish to apply St. Paul’s message of hope to our efforts to combat the scourge of pornography in our culture. Pornography may seem like an overwhelming problem and can be a crippling addiction for individuals, yet there is always hope