Hello Everyone….
This weekend we celebrate the 5th Sunday in Easter.
"We also begin the month of May. May is the month we dedicate ourselves to honoring Mary as our Mother. In His dying breath upon the Cross, our Blessed Lord gave His own Immaculate Mother Mary to be the new Eve, the Mother of all those who would be born again of His grace unto eternal life.
"Behold your Mother," Jesus said to His beloved, "and from that hour, the disciple took her into his own home." (John 19:27). Having been born again in the saving waters of Baptism, which we renew specifically in this Easter season, have you obeyed our Divine Savior's command to take Mary into your own home and to honor her publicly as your heavenly Mother?
In this month of Mary, we must make every effort to discover just how much we owe the Blessed Virgin Mary for our salvation in Christ Jesus. It is in understanding her maternal role in our own redemption that we will love her properly and desire to console her Immaculate Heart with our prayers, good works, and acts of reparation.
In seeing her truly as your Mother, you will see too that she did this for you, because she loves you as her own child. Do you know how much Mary loves you?" - Rev. Canon Matthew Talarico
Father Maria has made it safely to India. He does ask for prayers as the situation in India with regards to COVID is really bad. He has been staying in the diocese where he works at and hasn’t been able to visit his native place yet. The situation there is really bad. So…please not only pray for Father Maria but pray for his family and friends as well.
This week begins Teacher Appreciation week at St Francis. We are truly blessed to have the teachers and staff that we have in our school. They always do a fantastic job teaching our students but this year in particular has been very challenging. I am deeply, deeply appreciative of all the work that they have put in this year to keep our school safe and at the same time offering our students a quality education. If you get a chance this week...please offer a token of thanksgiving to our teachers. And as always...please pray for our teachers. They have worked very hard this year under significantly difficult circumstances and have done a remarkable job.
Our second graders in the parish will be making their first Communion on Saturday May 8th at 6pm. Please keep them in your prayers!
If you would like a 2021 Breaking Bread Hymnal, please let the parish office know by April 30. An order will be placed in early May. This would be your hymnal to keep and bring to Mass with you. The cost is $6.50. In the meantime, please continue to take a worship aid as you enter church so you can participate at Mass.
Plans are underway for our 4th Annual Gala. Our Gala is May 21 from 6:00-9:00 PM. This year we are going with a Mexican theme. As a thank you for supporting our school, there will be no cost for tickets, however we are limited to only 125 people. Tickets will be available from the school office beginning Monday, May 3rd. Donations are being accepted. Monetary or gift card donations will be used to purchase auction and raffle items. Contact the school office if you are able to help out. Thank you for supporting SFX!
For families who have students attending St Francis School or families who are looking at having their kids attend St Francis School but don’t think you can afford it, we offer to scholarships that you can apply for. They are the Arthur Perkins Scholarship and the Vernal Rohrbacher Scholarship. Both The Arthur Perkins Scholarship and the Vernal Rohrbacher Scholarship are for children who will be in grades K-8 of the 2021-2022 school year. As per scholarship guidelines, applicants must be registered, contributing members of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. If you are not a registered member of the parish and would like to be…please contact Kris in the office. You can download the scholarship application forms from our
website.
The Peter and Colleen Caylor scholarship is awarded to St. Francis/Merrill High School graduates. The deadline for applications is June 1. Kasie Holt at Merrill High School will give applicants information and applications. If you are a graduate of St. Francis and Merrill High School or know someone that is, please share this information.
Our famous SFX cinnamon rolls are back! Please support our youth fundraising for Extreme Faith Camp by purchasing Cinnamon Rolls after any mass the weekend of May 8 & 9. We proudly have 11 middle school students and 1 high school student attending this fun and faith filled week long camp in June. Your support is very appreciated.
Congratulations and welcome to Alex Dale Hoffman, son of Esther Trostle and Eric Hoffman, who was baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit on Saturday, April 24, 2021. Let’s pray for Alex as he begins his journey in faith.
History's greatest leaders influence people from the outside in. With their speech, their ideas, their example, and even their presence they move and motivate those around them, drawing others and stirring them to action.
Jesus Christ, however, goes much deeper, influencing us also from the inside out.
He not only calls us from the outside, through the voice of the Church. But he also unites himself so that his very life flows through our veins. "I am the vine, you are the branches," he explains in today's Gospel.
Where does a vine stop and its branches begin? Their union is too complete to tell. The same sap gives life to the vine and to its branches. Likewise, grace is God's own divine life flowing through Christ and into us.
In this way…as in so many other ways, Jesus Christ stands alone among great historical figures. Not only is He a leader, but He is also the Lord. How grateful we should be that he has seen fit to make us branches of his vine!
And yet, as human beings we are a unique kind of branch. We are responsible for keeping ourselves united to the vine. And if we don't, Jesus makes it perfectly clear that we will not bear fruit. So the question arises, how do we stay united to the vine, so that we can bear fruit and share in eternal life?
In our Gospel passage, Jesus points out four ways to do just that. Prayer, the sacraments, loving obedience, and suffering in union with Christ are what keep the Christian sap flowing in our lives. They yield the fruit we yearn for most…a life that resounds with meaning and energy, that positively impacts others and exudes joy and enthusiasm, which changes this world for the better in as profound a way as Christ's own life did, and a life whose meaning and impact overflow into eternity.
This is what God wants for us, "By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples." Bearing such fruit makes life worth living…without it we are dry, dead branches.
This week, let's thank God from the depths of our hearts for uniting us to the vine of Christ and let's promise him that we will make a concerted effort to do our part to protect and strengthen that union.