Hello Everyone,

Yesterday, we celebrated the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.  

A big thank you to all of you who supported the St Francis Xavier Christmas Bazaar.  Whether you donated something, volunteered, operated a vendor booth, or stopped by and shopped…know that we deeply appreciate your support.   To me, there seemed to be a larger than average turnout for the Bazaar.  Again, thank you!  We do have seven homemade apple pies left over from the bazaar.  They are $15 each and are available from Kris in the office.   

Also, we want to thank all of you who joined us for pancakes after Mass at St John the Baptist.  The pancakes were great!!! And the bake sale was awesome as well! Thank you to all of our volunteers who put the pancake breakfast together.

This morning I sent out a survey to help us make decisions about the school.  If you could please take a few minutes to answer the survey that would be very helpful. The link to the survey is: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdntzmf9e0yOg9safcRVSO5Ng5_FdaOlvOIS9RWgpMLJJ0Nlw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this survey and thank you for supporting our Catholic School.

St John the Baptist Catholic Church is selling raffle tickets.  Tickets are $1 each, or 6 tickets for $5.  First place prize is 2 gravity chairs and a gift basket.  Four prizes of $100 and two prizes of $150 in SCRIP are also in the prize list.  The drawing will take place on December 4^th at the St John the Baptist Christmas Bazaar.   You may purchase tickets after Sunday Mass and SJB or you can purchase tickets at the SFX parish office.  Raffle tickets will also be available for sale at the Christmas Bazaar.  If you can help sell tickets, set up or clean up, or work in the kitchen on the day of the Bazaar, please call Karla at: 715-219-6070 or use the signup sheets in the back of church at SJB. Thank you.

We are looking for help setting up St Francis Xavier Church for the Advent season.  If you are available and can help, we will meet after the 8am Mass on Friday November 25^th.  The more hands that help, the quicker the setup.  Thank you for your help in making the worship space look beautiful for Advent. 

The Giving Tree is up in the back of church at St Francis.  We have a very limited number of tags this year.  We are doing are best to get more tags.  However, if you are unable to get a tag this year, please consider donating to Pine Crest.  Thanks to your generosity in the past, Pine Crest has been able to give a Christmas gift to each resident. Once again we are asking that you consider donating Christmas gifts and/or money, allowing Pine Crest to purchase specially requested gifts. Donations need to be dropped off at Pine Crest by December 12. Great ideas include: batteries, watches, word search books, stamps, packers/brewers apparel, slippers, socks, soda, robes, playing cards, men’s pajamas, women’s night gowns, mittens, picture frames, baseball caps, chocolate, lotions, magazine subscriptions, trivia books, and white boards. Thank you so much for your support.  If you have any questions, please contact Brianna VandenHeuvel, Life Enrichment Supervisor, at 715-539-2548.

Once again, the Knights of Columbus are selling calendars for their Calendar Raffle.  Calendars are $20 each.  Every Sunday they give away $25 and four times a year they give away $250.   You can purchase calendars from any Knights of Columbus officer or stop in the parish office and purchase one from Kris.   

Thank you to those generous parishioners who supported pregnant women in our area through Operation Baby Bottle. We have raised $4028.49 for Hope Resource Center in Wausau. There are still approximately 90 baby bottles not turned in. Please return your baby bottle (even if it is empty) as soon as possible. HOPE does not want to purchase more bottles if it is not necessary. Bottles may be dropped in the drop box in the back of church, or brought to the parish office. Thank you.

This month, which causes us remember our own mortality, brings with it the importance of knowing how we, as Catholics, approach funerals, and the
meaning behind what we do.   

It is important to remember that the funeral Mass is not necessarily for the deceased.  The funeral liturgy is for the living.  The purpose of a funeral Mass is really twofold…to pray for the deceased…and to have our faith in the hope of eternal life be a consolation for those who remain. Although we may have fond memories of our beloved deceased, to describe it as a “celebration of life” doesn’t accurately portray what we do and why we gather.  It may make sense for those who are not Christian…that is, those who do not believe in the resurrection…but not within the context of a Catholic funeral. But, we believe in heaven and hell, so what we do here on earth matters, and praying for the dead matters.   

The reason that the Church strongly urges the faithful to have the body of the faithful departed present for a funeral Mass is because that body, presumably, was washed in baptism, anointed with the oil of salvation, and fed with the Bread of Life, the Eucharist. Though cremation is permitted by the Church, having the body present helps the faithful to know and believe in the reverence and sacredness that we place on the human body.  In the words of the Order of Christian Funerals, “The body of the deceased brings forcefully to mind the Church’s conviction that the human body is in Christ a temple of   the Holy Spirit and is destined for future glory at the resurrection of the dead” (412). 

It is for this reason that we insist on burying the dead…a corporal work of mercy. While praying for the dead is one of the spiritual works of mercy, burying the dead is one of the corporal works of mercy.  Out of reverence for the body, and following after Christ Himself, whose body was laid in the tomb, it is imperative that we take proper care to bury the dead.  The scattering of ashes, or the reposing of those ashes in a secular place such as the home, or in jewelry is something that is not considered a reverent disposition toward the body of the deceased.   

Although it’s never easy to talk about these things…because, after all, death is sorrowful…it is important to ponder and plan for them. 

Blessings on your week!

Dcn Jim