Lumen Christi - eChurch Bulletins

1 Lumen Christi CATHOLIC COMMUNITY. 2055 Bohland Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55116 Phone 651-698-5581 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time January 23, 2022. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. Luke 4:18. January 23, 2022. Parish Calendar Parish News Sunday, January 23 COVID Precautions Mass 8:30 am CH, Livestreamed First, we urge you and your family to get vaccinated and Adult Choir at 8:30 am Mass boostered if you have not done so yet. While break- Faith Formation 9:30 am CR, 1 CON through cases can and do occur, we know they are much Mass 10:30 am CH less likely to progress to severe illness in the vaccinated. Handbell Choir at 10:30 am Mass As Pope Francis said last year, getting vaccinated against Youth Ministry Sunday Discovery Night 6:00 pm CR COVID-19 is an act of love.

2 Monday, January 24 Second, we suggest all parishioners upgrade their masks Mass 7:45 am CH to Kn95 or N95 respirators if worshiping in person. Eucharistic Adoration 8:15 - Noon Ch These masks are much more protective than cloth or sur- Tuesday, January 25 gical masks. Mass 7:45 am CH Third, please stay home if you are feeling sick. SWING Volunteer Kick-off Event 7:00 pm CR As Christians, we must take care of the Body of Christ Wednesday, January 26 that is the Lumen Christi community. Through vaccina- Mass 7:45 am CH tion, proper mask use, and cautious care, we will be able Adult Choir 6:30 pm CH to once again weather the current storm the pandemic has Thursday, January 27 brought us.

3 Mass 7:45 am CH. Handbell Choir 6:30 pm CH Stephanie Soucheray Papin, MA. Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy Friday, January 28 University of MN. Men's Group 6:30 am 1 CON. Mass 7:45 am CH Stepahine is a parishioner of Lumen Christi and a parent at Highland Catholic School. Saturday, January 29. Confessions 3:30 - 4:00 pm CH. Mass 4:30 pm CH Lumen Christi is Working to Keep Worship Safe Masks are strongly recommended. Sunday, January 30 Our liturgical ministers wear masks. Catholic Schools Week Begins Catholic Schools Week Showcase after 10:30 Mass Our priests and Eucharistic ministers sanitize their Mass 8:30 am CH, Livestreamed hands during the consecration and distribution of the Handbell Choir at 8:30 am Mass Eucharist.

4 Mass 10:30 am CH We encourage you to spread out in the church. Baptism Noon CH Please be mindful and take precautions around chil- dren who are not able to be fully vaccinated yet. Retirement Fund for Religious Collection Elderly religious need your help. Thousands of senior sisters, brothers, and religious order priests served for years in Catholic schools, hospitals, and parishes often for little to no pay. Now, many religious communities do not have enough retirement savings and struggle to pro- Please join us at the 10:30 Mass on Sunday, Jan. 30. vide for aging members. Your gift to today's Retirement for our celebration of Highland Catholic and Catholic Fund for Religious collection helps provide medications, Schools Week.

5 Nursing care, and more. Please be generous. Give at Mass or through our parish website. Preschool Open House February 2, 6:00 pm 3 year old Preschool (2day). Weekly Collection Update Pre-Kindergarten (3 or 5 day) programs Week ending Jan. 1/2 Jan. 8/9 Kindergarten Round Up February 8, 9:00 am For students entering Kindergarten Fall 2022 and Total Collection $6, $25, their parents/guardians Budget $26, $26, Variance - $20, - $1, RSVP to Have questions or want more information? Call 651-690-2477 or email Thank you for your donation. We are extremely grateful. Lumen Christi CATHOLIC COMMUNITY. Fr. Paul's Retirement January 18, 2022. Dear Parishioners, Since many of you were not here last weekend for Sunday Mass due to the pandemic or other family reasons, I wanted you to know that announced at the Masses, that after much discernment, I will be retiring as your pastor effective July 1st.

6 At the start, I want you to know what an important place you hold in my heart. The last fifteen years have been filled with challenges I could never have anticipated, but I also have sincere gratitude for every bit of support and encouragement that I have received along the way. I hope you realize what an amazing com- munity of faith you are! I could not have asked for a better assignment. We have been through much together over these past fifteen years, but I feel that this is the right time for me to move onto the next chapter of my life. The parish is strong despite having weathered much over these years, right down to the persistence of this pandemic. However, Lumen Christi is in a good place and poised for a promising future with the redevelopments in the neighborhood.

7 Your continued commitment to this parish and to living an intentional gospel will assure our long term vitality. During my time here, we brought the three smaller communities together over the course of these years and now our parish thrives. Yet I believe this is the time for the challenging task of helping the next generation to find a home here and to welcome back those who may have been alienated from the church in the past. This is a formidable chal- lenge that will take the kind of energy of a pastor who is not in his 70's and tells dad jokes' from the altar. I will be working with our staff and parish leadership to help the Archdiocesan Personnel Board understand both the needs and challenges of the parish at this time in our history so that we are assigned a pastor who can help us grow into the Light of Christ that we are.

8 I will also be there for the new pastor to offer as much assistance as I can to ease the transition. As I move into this next chapter of my life, please know that I am humbled by your ever-faithful support and I am grateful for everything you have done to make gospel discipleship so attractive to the lives of the people who come here. There is still much time this spring to laugh together, pray together, and work together on behalf of the Kingdom. Keep me in your prayers in the months to come. I most certainly will hold you in mine. Fr. Paul Minnesota Department of Health Isolation Recommendations Lumen Christi CATHOLIC COMMUNITY. Today's Readings Circle of Welcome God's Law Welcoming a Family from Afghanistan Scripture has always held God's law to be the path to human happiness.

9 In today's first reading, Ezra the priest An Afghan family having fled their country after years reads the scroll of the law to the people returned from of war and evacuated to the United States is beginning exile. They weep then are joyful. Israel's relationship to adjust to life in the United States with the help of a with God had always been defined by how they kept and team of volunteers of Lumen Christi parishioners. lived God's law. The author of Psalm 96 likewise praises the law of God as the source of wisdom, joy and enlight- The volunteers are serving as part of the Circle of Wel- enment, purity and justice. come program of Lutheran Social Services, which gives In his advice to the bickering Corinthians, Paul points out volunteers the opportunity to establish friendships with that, just as God has made all parts of a human body es- refugees and help them transition to life in the United sential for the health of the whole, living as Christ's States and as new Minnesotans.

10 Body requires that each member be recognized as neces- sary for the good of all. Finally, in Luke's Gospel Jesus During the week of January 3, the Lumen Christi Circle claims that the Spirit is sending him to relieve human of Welcome team began their involvement with the fami- suffering. Like Ezra, he is reading from a scroll, pro- ly, collecting furniture and purchasing food and other claiming God's law of mercy to those in need. household products and preparing a three-bedroom rental Copyright J. S. Paluch Co. home in south Minneapolis. The family has now moved into the home, and the team of volunteers will soon meet with them and begin helping them with their new lives.