St. Anthony of Padua Bulletin
July 27, 1997

Pastor's Thoughts

Because I believe strongly that our liturgical celebrations are the cause and the expression of our unity as a parish family, I want to share with you some changes I see necessary in our liturgy here at St. Anthony's.
The first change is one of attitude or motivation. When studying each of the thirteen eucharistic prayers that can be used at Mass, it becomes very evident that the primary purpose of the liturgy is to "be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit" so that the Body of Christ, Head and members, can worship God the Father in order to give "all glory and honor" to Him. This unity happens when our real presence as a body (listening, praying, singing together as we sacrifice our individualism and self- absorption) becomes one with Christ who is really present to us in Word and Sacrament through the many dimensions of his sacrificial offering for us.
This is the first reason why we "come to church" for Mass. Only when we accomplish this objective does God's grace strengthen us for everyday living.
The second change we need to consider is the logistics of celebration. Do the times, number, place of our liturgical celebrations contribute to or diminish this primary aim? Does our planning of themes and environment and music enhance or take away from the major purpose of liturgy?
The third change we will have to take up is the sharing of ministries in our liturgical assembly in order to maximize our potentials for worship. We have been blessed with many altar ministers in the past year, but we could surely use more volunteers for lectors, eucharistic ministers, ushers, and choir members. We have a desperate need for cantors. And with fewer priests to serve the parish (more and more it will be only Father Ken and myself and occasionally Father Floribert), we will need to re-evaluate the Mass schedule.
These are some of the changes we ought to look forward to addressing in this next year.
--Father Benet OFM

I will be in Mitchell, South Dakota, July 31 to August 2 for the jubilee of some sister friends of mine and in Joliet August 3-5 for the Congregational Assembly of my sister's religious community.

Offering

Envelopes $3,531.19
Loose Collection 662.97
Children's Envelopes 6.25
TOTAL: 4,200.41

COMPLIANCE WITH THE BUDGET:

This Week Cumulative
(7/20/97): (Week #3):
$5,453.06 $16,359.18
4,200.41 13,607.99
-1,252.65 -2,751.19

"Give it to the people and eat, Elisha insisted. For thus says the Lord, they shall eat and there shall be some left over...and when they had eaten there was some left over, as the Lord had said." (2 Kings 4:43-44).
Elisha exhibits faith in the boundless power and grace of the Lord God. Do we share Elisha's faith? The good trusts in God's power and mercy and acts accordingly.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: Who said "no" to God?
A: I guess one could say that, at one time or another, we all have said "no" to God, preferring our way over that of God's.
A classic example of someone saying no to God can be found in the story of Jonah, where God called upon Jonah to bring God's message of conversion to the people of Nineveh, a city despised by the Israelites.
No matter how hard Jonah tried to run away from doing God's will, God followed.
In the end, Jonah surrendered to the will of God, thereby bringing about the conversion of the people of Nineveh.
--Brother Richard OFM

SANCTUARY LAMP: This week one of the sanctuary lamps will be lit to remember the Gyaky, Zarka, Wambach, & Seper Families at the request of Mary Margaret Gyaky. The other one will be lit for the Doug Potts Family.

QUILT WINNER: Lavern Feldmeier - 2405 Southwind Meadows

Parish News

JOHN MICHAEL TALBOT CONCERT: Tickets go on sale today in the back of the church for the Special Concert by noted musician and Christian performer John Michael Talbot. The concert will be held on Saturday, October 11, at 7:00pm; $15 per ticket.

THE "NEEDS LIST" FOR THE FOOD PANTRY:
Sister Mary Ann, director of the Food Pantry, asks your help in finding these much-needed volunteers:
* a part-time secretary
* able-bodied young persons to do some lifting and dismantling of boxes
* someone to help clean
* people to pack food
* substitute drivers
* people to help those at home to budget for groceries and to give safety and health tips.
She also asks for more canned vegetables, meats, and fruits. Call her at her number on the front of the bulletin.

THE PARISH LIBRARY: The Spiritual Development Commission has developed a parish library in the church's "bride's room." The parish library is "open for business" on Fridays from 2:30pm to 4:30pm, on Saturdays from 2:30pm to 5:30pm, and on Sundays between the morning Masses. Look around, browse the books, even check one out to take home and read.

NEEDS AT ST. PATRICK'S CENTER

Men's casual summer clothing, shoes, socks, and underwear are badly needed by St. Patrick Center's Shamrock Club. In great demand are men's white socks, underwear sized 28-42, and all sizes and styles of T-shirts. So are men's pants, jeans, shorts, and men's walking shoes. Call 621-1283 for details.

SOUTHSIDE CATHOLIC SINGLES

1. July 27: Picnic at White Cliff Park, 9am to 9pm; call Rich at 772-4780;
2. August 15: Planning Meeting at St. John's Rectory Basement, followed by Game-Night (8pm);
3. August 23: Reserved seating for singles at St. John's 4:30 Mass and Dinner together at 5:30pm at Ryan's Steak House.

STATEMENT OF PRIORITIES
PRIORITY #1

Here is first priority formulated by the participants of the Leadership Day with its action plans (the names in parentheses after each action plan are those responsible for developing a workable strategy):

1. In the next year we need to dispel fear in the parish and the neighborhood through dialogue and communications by
1.1 creating small faith communities within the parish (Mary Ann and George Schmidt)
1.2 building up and supporting C-4 within the parish (Steve Geldmacher and Brother Loyola)
1.3 inviting parishioners to witness to how God is working in their lives during the Sunday Mass (Tom Moran and Marie Mergel)
1.4 establishing concrete opportunities to connect with other churches in our area through projects and an ecumenical communications council (Sue Geldmacher and Brother Richard)
1.5 keeping an outside mediator on retainer when needed (Barb Salmo and Sister Mary Ann Haefner).

Fear melts with trust; trust is built up through dialogue and communications.
Our first priority for the next year is to work on dispelling fear by working on deeper levels of interaction and exchange within the parish, within the neighborhood, and with other churches.
The first, third, and last action plans deal with internal dialogue within the parish. New and more small faith communities (sometimes people on a given block, sometimes people of common interest or need) give the parishioners the opportunity to share their faith, their dreams, their questions with one another in a spirit of trust and support. Telling our stories to each other strengthens our bonds with each other. When there's an impasse in dialogue, sometimes a facilitator is needed.
Plan #2 emphasizes cooperation in the neighborhood through C-4, and Plan #4 stresses the support of shared faith experiences with other churches.
--Father Benet OFM

LATIN AMERICAN APOSTOLATE

Dear Members of St. Anthony's:
We have many pastoral works in the Archdiocese of St. Louis in which we can take great pride. One that should have a special place in the hearts of all St. Louis parishioners is the Latin American Apostolate.
We are proud to know that the Latin American Apostolate was undertaken even though there were grave doubts that it would be a success. In those days diocesan priests did not go to foreign countries as missionaries.
Cardinal Ritter, however, had confidence that the St. Louis priests were capable of meeting this special challenge.
The Catholic Community of St. Louis has never been slow to provide the support needed for our archdiocesan work in Bolivia, so we ask again for your generosity in money and your faithfulness in prayer.
Thanking you in anticipation of your much needed cooperation, I am
Rev. Msgr. Bernard H. Sanheinrich
Archdiocesan Director
(The second collection on August 2-3 will help to support our four parishes in Bolivia. The special envelopes is at the end of the pew; take it home, fill it, and bring it back next week.)

Socials

1. ANNUAL PICNIC at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish (Weingarten MO), Sunday, July 27, family-style chicken and kettle beef dinners.
2. ANNUAL HOMECOMING of St. Mary's Parish (Bridgeton), Saturday, August 9, 4:00pm to midnight.
3. FLEA MARKET at St. Mary Magdalen Parish Center, Saturday, August 9, 8:00am-2:00pm; call 353-8911 for information and rental.
4. ICE CREAM SOCIAL, sponsored by the Women's Club of SS. Mary and Joseph, Monday, August 10, 5:30pm to 9:00pm, 6304 Minnesota; 832-3598.)
4. 28TH ANNUAL CATHEDRALFETE of the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica, Saturday, August 16, 10am to 10pm, Lindell and Newstead, including the popular French Cafe and bakery.
5. POLISH AMERICAN CELEBRATION at the amphitheater of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Saturday, August 16, Social at 7:00pm, Liturgy at 7:30pm, Rosary at 8:30pm, Polka Music at 9:00pm; call 241-3400 for details.

Mass Intentions for the Week

Monday, July 28, Weekday
6:30 Monsignor George Kurtz
8:15 Adelia Wingbermuehle
Tuesday, July 29, St. Martha
6:30 Catherine & Mary Untersinger & Family
8:15 Peter Szydlowski
Wednesday, July 30, St. Peter Chrysologus
6:30 August Prebil
8:15 Dorothy Paulis
Thursday, July 31, St. Ignatius of Loyola
6:30 Harold Holtz
8:15 Cecilia Lechner Berner
Friday, August 1, St. Alphonsus Liguori
6:30 Anna M. Buseman
8:15 Melba Gregory
10:30 Catherine Jacko
Saturday, August 2, PORTIUNCULA (FEAST OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS)
6:30 Dennis Diel - recovery
8:00 Dorothy & Mathilda Swehla
Sunday, August 3, 18TH IN ORDINARY TIME
4:30 (Saturday) Dorothy Urick
6:00 For the Parishioners
8:00 Virginia Metzger
10:30 Robert Borgers

Liturgical Assistants

Sunday, August 2-3, 18th in Ordinary Time LECTORS:
6:30 Weekdays, July 28-August 2: Alberta Stackle
4:30 Jackie Young, Ed Meyer
6:00 Ken Dames
8:00 Doris Eagan, Dave Bergfeld
10:30 Alured McNulty, Jared Degenhart
6:30 Weekdays, August 4-9: Georgia Berry
EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS:
4:30 Hosts: Delores Buescher, Regina Buchheit
Cups: Cheryl Degenhart, Doris Eagan, Martha Eggers, Esther Ehlen
6:00 Jackie Kappler
8:00 Hosts: Rosemary Beheiter, Sr. Virginia Bieg
Cups: Bill & Doris Kamper, Linda Kohne, Betty Marton
10:30 Hosts: Alberta Stackle, Mary Ann Schmidt
Cups: Marie Serafin, Dorothy Schafer, Bev Ruzicka, Pat Penrose, Tom Moran, Phyllis Morrison

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St. Anthony of Padua Bulletin July 27, 1997