This week, Joe Biden will become the President of the United States. There are reports in a variety of places that there may be violent protests throughout the United States. I do hope that ends up not being the case. We don’t need the additional trauma of what happened a couple of weeks ago. In the aftermath of the events in Washington DC on January 6^th, I read an interview in the Catholic Register with Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University and a leading Catholic intellectual in the United States. I thought he was right on point, and so I share a small part of that interview with you that I found speaks about what has been happening in our nation, and what must happen beyond these crazy days.

“Civic friendship in the United States has virtually collapsed. Republicans and Democrats, progressives and conservatives, no longer view each other, in many cases, as fellow citizens with whom we disagree, people we think have the wrong judgments on policy matters, but are nevertheless our fellow citizens to whom we owe honor and respect. No, we’ve now gotten ourselves into a situation where Republicans and Democrats, progressives and conservatives, regard each other as enemies, people to be defeated. People who are threats to all that is true and good and noble and just.”

“We need to recover an understanding across the ideological spectrum and across the partisan divide of our fellow citizens, as in most cases, not all cases, but in most cases, reasonable people of goodwill with whom we disagree. We can regard somebody as profoundly wrong, even on a matter of basic justice, human rights, the common good while recognizing that person as a fellow human being and a fellow citizen, and indeed a reasonable person of goodwill who has made a mistake because human beings are fallible and can make mistakes even on important matters.”

I must admit this is precisely what I have been feeling for a very long time. Every human being is a brother and sister in our human family. And we are to treat every person as Christ would. Christ, though challenging people to leave sin behind, never denigrated them. Would that we would all treat each other as though we saw Christ in them. Would that we would treat them with the human dignity that every single son or daughter of God deserves. Would that we would indeed see them as brothers and sisters. Perhaps then, we could disagree with them, sometimes profoundly, but never see them as anything less than a human being and a child of God, deserving basic human dignity and respect.

In Christ and Mary Immaculate,

Fr. Tony

Thank you to everyone who contributed to St. Mary Star of the Sea's UCA fund. Because of the generosity of many parishioners, we were able to fill a large portion of our shortfall in December! With that, we were still short of our goal by $2,400, finishing at 91% of the goal. We will aim to meet our goal for 2021 to ensure funds from the ordinary operating budget will not be needed to cover the difference. Please remember to utilize the pink UCA envelopes in your envelope packets throughout the year. We will also continue taking a second collection for UCA on the first weekend of each month.  

We have many open Mass intentions.  Please call the parish office at 218-722-3078 if you would like to have a Mass said for someone.  The suggested donation amount is $10 per Mass.

In today’s Gospel we also learn about one of at least two family relations that appear among Jesus’ first disciples. Andrew is the brother of Simon, whom Jesus renames Peter. From the very beginning of the Church, families helped one another to know and follow Jesus. In our family life, we also help to lead one another to Jesus. This is one of the most important aspects of our faith. No one is a disciple of Jesus alone. To be a follower of Jesus is to be part of a community of disciples.

Our faith in Jesus is based upon the witness of others and our own relationship with Jesus that is developed through our life of prayer. The first disciples of Jesus’ learned about Jesus from other people. When these people came to Jesus, they learned for themselves who Jesus was, and then they wanted to be his followers. The more we learn about Jesus, the more we want to follow him. That is why we pray, go to Mass together and gather for religious education. We learn about Jesus from others, but our growth in faith is also based upon our own personal prayer life and spirituality.

As a family look around your house and gather some items that your family might have that remind you of your faith. Perhaps you have a cross or crucifix displayed in your home, a statue of Mary, or statues or other art depicting saints. Talk together about the items that you gathered, discussing what these items mean to you and how you might use them during the day for your own prayer time. Pray that your family will continue to help one another grow in our faith in Jesus.

Our next faith formation class is Wednesday, January 20th, when our sacramental preparation classes will meet. First Communicants will meet at St. Benedict Church from 6 PM - 7 PM and our Confirmation students will meet at the Cathedral from 7 PM- 8 PM.

-Sonya Morris, Faith Formation Director 

The Spirituality of the Evangelist: Virtual Retreat with St. Paul Street Evangelization's Adam Janke. All are welcome for a Catholic Biblical School of Michigan sponsored virtual retreat on Saturday, January 23 from 9 AM to 3 PM, held on Zoom. The retreat will include talks by Adam Janke, times of quiet away from the computer for reflections, opportunities for group discussion, and guided prayer. The cost is $10/household. Register by January 18th at cbsmich.org/retreat.

Join Sophia Institute for Teachers for a FREE weekly 1-hour Virtual Workshop series entitled "Christ in the Classroom." Each session can be joined live, watched later, or listened to in podcast format later and will feature content, practical classroom applications, and spiritual formation presented in a dynamic way by one or more of their engaging presenters. They will provide certificates for 1 hour of Professional Development with each episode. Please share these with any K-12 Catholic School Teachers, Catechists, and DREs you know! You can learn more and register for all by visiting: https://SophiaInstituteforTeachers.org/ChristintheClassroom 

Catholic United Financial Raffle to support SMA Jan. 15–Feb. 28: Starting January 15, students from Stella Maris Academy will be selling $5 raffle tickets to win a 2021 Ford EcoSport (or $20,000 in cash), or other great prizes totaling $40,000 in value. Every penny of every ticket sold stays at Stella Maris Academy, thanks to the Raffle’s sole sponsor Catholic United Financial! Drawing will be held on March 11. Please contact a Sentinel student, or your school office to purchase raffle tickets and support Stella Maris Academy!

Holy Rosary Campus (218)-623-6253

St. James Campus (218) 624-1511

St. John’s Campus (218) 724-9392

Kindergarten Round Up- February 25:  Take the first step to giving your child the gift of Catholic education! Join us for a 45 minute session to learn all about the Kindergarten experience at Stella Maris Academy! Due to COVID-19, our annual Kindergarten Round Ups will take place throughout the day on February 25, 2021 with small groups or via Zoom. Go to www.stellamaris.academy/admissions to register for the Round Up. For questions, please contact Sarah Pennings, Admissions Director, at 218-623-6253 or sarah.pennings@stellamaris.academy.

New members are always welcome! You are invited to join us in the ministry of experiencing God in serving our neighbors living in poverty. Email svdpduluthmn@gmail.com for the meeting link, questions, or more details. St. Vincent de Paul Immaculate Conception Conference holds meetings on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month via Zoom at 6 pm. For our neighbors in need of assistance, please call (218) 409-6887 to speak with one of our members.

Your decision to join the Knights

could define your year.

Join Catholic men just like you

striving to strengthen their faith,

their families,

and their communities

as members of the

Knights of Columbus

Every Knight makes a difference

Each man brings a unique story,

a particular set of skills,

and a heart that is ready to serve.

We invite you to take

this exciting step

and join us today.

It's an opportunity that could define

your year and change your life.

Join us at KofC.org/JoinUs

Bob Spehar 218-349-5051

As covid-19 cases increase in our area, it is a good time to make sure we are all taking the precautions that are in our control.  

Face Masks: Wear a face mask when you are at church. If you are not able to wear a face mask, please obtain a face shield.

Hand Sanitizing Before Communion: When you come up to communion, you will notice there is hand sanitizer in the aisle. To make sure we are doing things safely, first pull down your mask, then sanitize your hands prior to receiving communion.    

Cleaning the Pews: After Mass, please sanitize the area in which you are sitting. Sanitizing wipes can be found in the side aisles. Thank you.

The eastern Duluth Catholic Parishes are working in a collaborative effort to create a combined Religious Education program and are accepting applications for the Director of Faith Formation for 6^th – 12^th grade students. This is a full-time position with benefits. We are looking for someone who possesses a sincere and demonstrated ability to share their Catholic faith in the dynamic environment of a large scale middle and high school religious education program and beyond. Please see the full job description at https://www.duluthcathedral.com/s/employment.  If you are interested in this position, please send a cover letter, resume and references to lauren.mccracken@duluthcatholic.org.

God Our Father,

 

In Jesus, your Son, You have given to your Church the perfect model of priest, prophet and king, and so You have blessed us through His sacrifice, taught us through His Word, and guided us through His rule.

 

We thank you for the previous bishops who have cared for the people of the Diocese of Duluth. We ask You, father, to guide and enlighten those who will be tasked with helping to choose the next bishop of our diocese. May the man they choose be a man of deep and true prayer, a man of compassionate heart and firm resolves, and a man of joy and peace, who desires above all to do your will.

 

We entrust our prayers to our Patroness, Mary, queen of the Rosary, and ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.