St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Where Stewardship is a Way of Life

Bob Jensen

February 5, 2023

Pastor's Corner, Uncategorized

Father Bill is enjoying his vacation, visiting his family in Florida. This week, we hear from our Pastoral Assistant for Liturgy and Pastoral Care, Laurie Moloney. If you have any questions or comments on her article, please feel free to reach out to her at extension 111 or email her at lauriem@sjtbcc.org.

We Are the Light of the World

As an amateur astronomer, I have seen the light of distance stars, galaxies, and nebulas magnified in amazing ways when I look through my telescope. I wouldn’t be able to see these wonders of God’s creation in quite the same way with the naked eye. Just as it’s difficult to see fully God’s great light in our dark world, Jesus calls us to be the telescope
and bring His light into the world.

“Through baptism, we not only receive this light, but we become the light” [1].  This is represented at baptism when the godparent lights a candle from the Easter candle, which represents the light of Christ at the Easter Vigil. So how do we keep this light burning and how do we bring it to the world?

Isaiah tells us in today’s first reading that if we give bread to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted, then our light shall break forth like the dawn (Is 58:8). When we bring God’s mercy to others, Jesus’ light shines through our lives and, in turn, draws others into the Light of Christ. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us we are the light of the world, and He calls us to let that light shine forth to all (Mt 5:13-14).

Here at St. John the Baptist we have many ministries that bring the light of Christ to the world. There’s everything from St. Vincent de Paul ministry, Safe Car Parking, Creation Care, and PREPARES to serving as a liturgical minister at Mass. Visit the Ministries pages on our website to see a list of ministries, sjtbcc.org.
And if you haven’t yet taken the Living your Strengths class, talk to Anne Frederick in the office. It will help you discover where God is calling you to let your light shine.

Laurie
[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, para. 1216

January 29, 2023

Uncategorized

FROM THE OFFICE…

A Loss or Gain?

How has last week’s news been sitting with you? Did the news come as a surprise, or have you seen it coming? Are you fearing what we might lose as a parish, or excited about what we might gain? Are you anxious to get started thinking about change, or are you hoping we can put it off even longer?

Many of you know that I lost my parish home in Seattle to closure last year. My experience of that process led me to dread what was coming for the rest of the church. Closing parishes felt to me like cutting off the fingers and toes of the Body of Christ.

Instead, I am hopeful. At the convocation of pastors and parish leadership on January 18, we celebrated Mass and prayed for the Holy Spirit to enliven and guide our work. We connected with one another. Finally, we heard the message you heard last Sunday. The Archdiocese is no longer looking for limbs to cut off. Instead, our parishes are like small streams merging with one another on their journey to a large and powerful river. Merge with one another and into the river we must, or we risk stagnating or even drying up; for our social climate, it is a ‘changin’. We are better when we journey together.

We do not yet know what we will be leaving behind on this journey. We do know that we need all of us “in the water” together. What we are being asked to do is similar to what we were asked to do in 1991 when we created this parish called St. John the Baptist. No matter what we gain and what we lose in the process, in the end, we will have created something new.

For ongoing information about Partners in the Gospel, and answers to frequently asked questions, check our home page at sjtbcc.org.

Kathy Wickward

January 22, 2023

Pastor's Corner, Uncategorized

When Do You Make the Sign of the Cross? A couple of weeks ago, when I was teaching an RCIA Class on the Mass, the question emerged about when we make the Sign of the Cross. The Catholics in the group shared how they were trained to make the Sign of the Cross multiple times. It may surprise you when and when not the rubrics call for the Sign of the Cross. Here is a little quiz. Answer Yes or No to the following if you should make the sign of the cross during these portions of the Mass. The Answer Key is someplace in the bulletin. 1. Anyone entering the church using holy water makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 2. The priest, putting incense in the thurible, makes the sign of the cross over the incense. 3. Anyone, making a genuflection, makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 4. All, at the beginning of Mass while saying “In the Name of the Father,” makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 5. All, when the priest says, “May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins…” makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 6. When the priest sprinkles with water, all makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 7. Priest or deacon, before adding water to the wine, makes the sign of the cross over the water. 8. Priest, holding a particle of the host just before dropping it into the chalice, makes the sign of the cross over the chalice. 9. Any minister of communion holding the host and saying “The Body of Christ.” 10. Anyone, after receiving Communion, makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 11. The priest, when saying the final blessing, makes the sign of the cross over the people. 12. The people, hearing the final blessing, makes the sign of the cross on themselves. 13. Anyone leaving the church using holy water makes the sign of the cross on themselves. I must admit – when I took this quiz, I did not score 100%. I share this quiz with you just to acknowledge we so easily add things to the liturgy. It becomes a problem when individual gestures begin to weaken the expression of unity or draws attention to an individual. This quiz comes from Fr. Paul Turner’s book, In these or Similar Words.

When Do You Make the Sign of the Cross?
A couple of weeks ago, when I was teaching an RCIA Class on the Mass, the question emerged about when we make the Sign of the Cross. The Catholics in the group shared how they were trained to make the Sign of the Cross multiple times. It may surprise you when and when not the rubrics call for the Sign of the Cross. Here is a little quiz. Answer Yes or No to
the following if you should make the sign of the cross during these portions of the Mass. The Answer Key is someplace in the bulletin.
1. Anyone entering the church using holy water makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
2. The priest, putting incense in the thurible, makes the sign of the cross over the incense.
3. Anyone, making a genuflection, makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
4. All, at the beginning of Mass while saying “In the Name of the Father,” makes the sign of the cross on
themselves.
5. All, when the priest says, “May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins…” makes the sign
of the cross on themselves.
6. When the priest sprinkles with water, all makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
7. Priest or deacon, before adding water to the wine, makes the sign of the cross over the water.
8. Priest, holding a particle of the host just before dropping it into the chalice, makes the sign of the cross
over the chalice.
9. Any minister of communion holding the host and saying “The Body of Christ.”
10. Anyone, after receiving Communion, makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
11. The priest, when saying the final blessing, makes the sign of the cross over the people.
12. The people, hearing the final blessing, makes the sign of the cross on themselves.
13. Anyone leaving the church using holy water makes the sign of the cross on themselves.

I must admit – when I took this quiz, I did not score 100%. I share this quiz with you just to acknowledge we so easily add things to the liturgy. It becomes a problem when individual gestures begin to weaken the expression of unity or draws attention to an individual. This quiz comes from Fr. Paul Turner’s book, In these or Similar Words.