Though I am not on social media, some of the conversation has reached my ears. I must say, I am both disappointed and I am glad.

Let me explain. 4 weeks ago I mentioned yoga. Believe me, there is room for a healthy discussion about the benefits and dangers of yoga. What disappoints me is how easily we are distracted from the topic and slip so easily into personal attacks.

Neither I nor the yoga instructor mentioned in the posts deserve the negative tone that was sometimes taken. Each of us are committed believers in Jesus Christ and faithful church goers. We are simply approaching the topic of yoga from different points of view.

So then, what gladdens me? It brings a smile to my face to know people are taking up the topic of yoga to really think about it. Christians are never supposed to just go with the flow. We are to prudently and intentionally choose the things in this life that will benefit us, especially in following Jesus Christ.

So let none of us be like the people of our first reading in the time of the prophet Ezekiel, “Hard of face and obstinate of heart.” That way no one found in the posts of Facebook will have to say with St. Paul, “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Rather, we ought to respect that people may start with different points of view. Then we can more cordially discuss the topic at hand, keep honor in our home town, and hold sacred the sense of community we have all come to appreciate.

Having said all that, in order to further the discussion, I invite anyone interested to join me for a presentation, “A Christ-centered look at Yoga.” It will be held at Our Lady of the Angels this Tuesday, July 10, at 7pm.

In our Father’s hands,
Fr. Greg

The post Social Media appeared first on Catholic Parishes of.

We have been looking forward to your presence in our community. It is always a little exciting to have a new priest come to our parishes. We wonder things like, “What will he be like?” “What will he preach about?” “Will he want to get to know us as much as we want to get to know him?”
We want you to know your priestly ministry is important to us. We need you to feed us the spiritual food of the Holy Eucharist and nourish our souls with heartfelt homilies. We need you to hear our confessions and in the name of Jesus Christ forgive our sins. We need you to marry us, baptize our children, and celebrate our lives when we die.
Being anointed when we are sick is also meaningful to us. The elderly among us especially look forward to being anointed at Mass in the Spring and in the Fall. And those who are ill or undergoing serious surgeries will especially appreciate your healing touch.
As we do for Fr. Sylvester Kleinschmidt, Fr. Andy Marthaler, Fr. Ken Riedeman, Fr. Sudhansu, Fr. Greg Paffel and all the beloved priests of our past, we will pray for you. We humbly ask for you to pray for us too.
And whenever you can, please visit us in our schools, in our local businesses, and in our homes. We love our priests and we look forward getting to know you! May God bless you as you settle in!
We also give greeting to Morgan Windsperger. She is the newly hired Director of Music and Liturgy at Our Lady of the Angels and St. Paul’s. This month check out the great article in the Parish Newsletter about her.
Like the priests, Morgan will alternate weekends in the two parishes. It will be her joy to work with the many musicians and singers that already share their talents with us. If you are interested in meeting her more personally, catch her after Mass sometime or drop in the parish offices. Besides working weekends, Morgan will be in her office Tuesday through Thursday from 9-5pm.

Welcome Morgan Windsperger!

In our Father’s hands,
Fr. Greg

The post Welcome Fr. Jim and Morgan! appeared first on Catholic Parishes of.

This Sunday, June 24, 1-3PM
Holy Family School Cafeteria
1:30 Short Presentation

Fr. Sudhansu, it is time to say goodbye.

I remember the first time we met. You arrived at the Minneapolis airport after a long ride on the plane. You tried to be prepared for the cold bundled in your scarf and thin coat. It was December so you felt 28 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time in your life. So the first thing on my agenda was to get you some real winter clothes. It was only a week later and we had a cold snap of 25 below 0. I asked you what you thought and you said something like, “I think I appreciate 28 degrees better.”
We must have seemed strange to you in America. You met so many “white” people. And it is a place where eating beef and driving on the right side of the road are normal. And should we mention language. We spoke with a funny accent compared to your friends back home. And heck, most of us had a hard time pronouncing your name “Sud-on-shoe.”
You learned many things in America. You learned about banking, snowballs, and how to use a gas stove for cooking. You tried many of our foods, toured some farms, and even tried ice fishing with me. More importantly, you grew in your prayer life and came to love many Christians in our community.
I just want to tell you again, I am proud of you! You achieved getting your driver’s license, you mingled with the many good people of our parishes, you celebrated the Sacraments faithfully, you visited people in need, and you humbly accepted my leadership.
The people of Sauk Centre will miss you! It is my hope they will tell you how you impacted their lives. All of us will remember you, your kindness, your love for God, and your preaching about the importance of family.
You are a good man and a holy priest! You will remain in our hearts and in our prayers for years to come! Farewell my friend! And as you begin a new chapter – may God bless you, protect your from all evil, and prepare you for everlasting life!

In our Father’s hands,
Fr. Greg

The post Goodbye Fr. Sudhansu appeared first on Catholic Parishes of.

Today’s Psalm reminds us, “Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.” Recognizing the wonders of the Lord in the big and small things of life is the beginning of stewardship, it is the first step of giving God thanks.

Our gospel from Mark gives us a good image of stewardship. A man throws some seed on the ground. While he is asleep, not paying attention, God makes the seed sprout and grow. Eventually it matures and gives a bountiful harvest of new seeds. And for this every gardener, including those who garden acres of corn, beans, or any other crop, has cause to give thanks to the Lord.

Applying this parable to our spiritual lives, what spiritual seeds are we planting? How is the Lord, in ways unknown to us, making them grow? And when will we finally recognize His work in our lives and give Him heartfelt thanks?

To help us more readily recognize God’s many gifts to us, I want to invite you to the next Diocesan Day of Stewardship. It is Wednesday, August 22 from 8:30 – 3:00pm at St. Mary’s Help of Christians (24588 County Road 7, St. Augusta). The cost is $35 each person and includes lunch. Mr. Eric McArdle, President of Catholic Stewardship Consultants, is the speaker for the day. The event is open to all parishioners.

Eric is a sharp and faithful man. He resides in Augusta, Georgia with his lovely wife and amazing children. He is a well respected among bishops and pastors alike for his efforts to enhance the Catholic Church with the true message of stewardship. And he works diligently to assist parishes adopt and develop the spirit of stewardship as a way of life.

To register, please contact our parish office. Leave your name and $35 with one of the secretaries. “Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.”

In our Father’s hands,
Fr. Greg

The post Stewardship appeared first on Catholic Parishes of.

When God called to them in the garden, “Where are you?” the man and woman hid themselves. Adam eventually responded to God’s question, “I was afraid, …, so I hid myself.” Did he really think he could hide from God? Do any of us really think we can hide from God?
As children many of us may have hidden from a parent when we did something wrong, when we disobeyed, or when we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Our efforts to hide what we did or to hide ourselves were probably no more effective than Adam and Eve’s. We were found out.
As humans we know the temptation of following our own plans, even if they are contrary to God’s. We think we know better and we may try to still have it our way. If what we have done is particularly shameful, we may try to hide our sins from God.
Or just as bad, we may try to hide our wrongdoing from ourselves. We do this by rationalizing our behavior, by blaming others, or by burying it within ourselves as a dark secret. The sincere truth is that we cannot hide from God. Adam and Eve couldn’t; and neither can we. Psalm 139 tells us:

Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence, where can I flee?
If I ascend to the heavens, you are there;
if I lie down in Sheol, there you are.
If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light”
Darkness is not dark for you,
and night shines as the day.
Darkness and light are but one.
(Psalm 139: 7-8,11-12)

So let me ask you, “Are you hiding something?” If so, “What are you hiding from?” And what will happen if you come out of hiding and get real with God?

In our Father’s hands,
Fr. Greg

The post Hiding from God? appeared first on Catholic Parishes of.

Unfortunately, I mistakenly gave support for him to receive money for his project not understanding there are guidelines.
I recently learned the view of the St. Cloud Diocese along with our Mission Office. Priests from foreign countries are not to seek financial gain for themselves or for their personal projects. Rather, they are called to be in service, ministry, and mission to the St. Cloud Diocese and the people to which they are assigned. In return they gain valuable experience as missionaries in the USA and receive a salary including other personal benefits.
Personally I would like to see Fr. Sudhansu’s dream be fulfilled. However, for the following reasons, I ask you to not make further financial gifts for his project.
1. It is contrary to the vision of the Diocese of St. Cloud and our Mission Office.
2. According to the adage, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” Except for emergency aid, it is better to invest in educating people than in building projects.
3. To fund this project would set up the expectation of other foreign priests to also ask for money for their personal projects.
4. While Fr. Sudhansu is trustworthy, there are no other checks and balances to verify the funds would be used for their intended project.

I offer Fr. Sudhansu and all of you my apology. I did not consider all the ramifications of funding a project overseas. If you have made a gift directly to him, please consider it a farewell gift. If you have submitted your gift to the parish, please see Connie in the parish office that it may be returned to you.

Let me add here, Fr. Sudhansu has been a good and holy priest. He is a priest in good standing with the diocese, with me, and with our three parishes of St. Alexius, Our Lady of the Angels, and St. Paul’s. Fr. Sudhansu has been very kind, compassionate, and honorable in his conduct.
I am especially pleased, in the last couple months he has improved in his driving, in his getting out among the people, in his confidence as a priest, and in his prayer life. For all of this, I am proud of Fr. Sudhansu. He has been a pleasure to have in the rectory and in our parishes.

In our Father’s hands,
Fr. Greg

The post Fr. Sudhansu appeared first on Catholic Parishes of.

On my way home I wanted to stop and stretch a bit so I pulled into the trailer park. I planned on praying for our hispanic brothers and sisters in Christ.
Shortly after sitting in the grass a few children stopped to say “buenas noches.” They received 1st Communion with us this year and they just wanted to greet the priest. After some conversation about school, family, and Mine Craft, we ended up playing a ball game called 500. Then a few more children came to play.
As dark approached, I asked the half dozen children if they wanted to learn something about God. You should have seen their eager faces. They were like baby birds stretching out their necks to be fed. So we sat down and I simply taught them the “Sign of the Cross.”
It is the Sign of the Cross that introduces us to the two greatest mysteries of our Christian Faith. The Holy Trinity. And the Cross of our Lord.
We do not just believe in God. We believe in the Holy Trinity. We consider the Holy Trinity to be the greatest mystery of our Faith. It is the mystery of the identity of God. Who is God? God is one God in three Divine Persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In that brief Sign of the Cross we verbally express our faith in the Holy Trinity.
During the entire Mass we pray to Our Father, through Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. At minimum the Sign of the Cross is made when the priest begins Mass.
Again before reading the Gospel we do an ancient version of the sign of the cross. We silently make three small crosses on our forehead, our lips, and our chest. We are asking God to be on our minds, in our hearts, and spoken with our lips.
The priest concludes the Mass with a formal blessing, and we all make the Sign of the Cross as a way to receive his blessing.
Pope Francis has said, “Every time we make the sign of the cross, we draw closer to God.” So don’t just swat imaginary flies, be more intentional about reverently making the Sign of the Cross in your life. And draw closer to the Holy Trinity.

In our Father’s hands,
Fr. Greg

The post Trinity appeared first on Catholic Parishes of.

He is doing amazing things in our world, for God’s people, and within our parishes. As we celebrate Pentecost, let us also value yet another good and holy priest.
Fr. Jim Maderak will be joining our community as our new Parochial Vicar (priest). He was born to a Polish father and an Irish mother on December 5, 1951. Growing up in Kansas, he is no stranger to hard work such as masonry and farming. He attended many Catholic schools, elementary through college. He also spent a couple years in the Navy during the Vietnam War.
He has quite a story about how God called him to the priesthood. So be sure to ask him about it sometime. In short, he joined the Madonna House, a community of lay people and priests in Canada. There he grew to love and serve the poor.
In 1986 Fr. Jim joined the seminary in Toronto. He was ordained as a priest for the Madonna House, served a couple parishes, and spent some years in the West Indies ministering to the extreme poor.
Fr. Jim had a difficult road to travel as a priest. He is not shy to reveal the things that pained him in life. But they are for him to share. In the end he has persevered in his love for God, his appreciation of poverty, and his longing for community. He has been a faithful priest declaring to himself, “Once a priest, always a priest!”
In the midst of his darkness, he was stranded in Minnesota as he was passing through to see his family in Kansas. Injured in an accident, he landed himself in the St. Cloud VA Hospital and met Fr. Dick McGuire. Abbreviating a long story, Fr. Jim is a priest now serving in our diocese.
He will be appointed half-time to our three parish cluster. We will welcome Fr. Jim later in June. For now know that he is humble, holy, and hugely in love with Jesus Christ!

In our Father’s hands,
Fr. Greg

The post Welcome Fr. Maderak appeared first on Catholic Parishes of.

. But soon we will be saying goodbye as he heads home to India.
To celebrate his time among us St. Alexius, Our Lady of the Angels, and St. Paul’s will host a “Going Away Party.” It will be held at Holy Family School on Sunday, June 24, 2018 from 1-3pm. There will be plenty of coffee and snacks. Though you may come and go as you please, there will be a few short words to honor Fr. Sudhansu at 2:00pm.
Fr. Sudhansu has a dream. He wants to build a small humble church in his hometown. It will be a place for Christians to gather and pray a daily rosary as well as to celebrate Mass as often as possible. They already own the land, but he thinks the building will be a $20,000 project.
If you would like to assist Christians in Northern India to have a place of worship, you may contribute to his dream. For tax deducible gifts, please make checks out to one of our parishes and put them in a white envelope marked “Fr. Sudhansu’s Dream.” After the money is collected the parishes will wire one lump sum to him in India.
Fr. Sudhansu also has his 41st birthday on May 21. So be sure to tell him Happy Birthday!
The next question is, “Who will take Fr. Sudhansu’s place?” When I have the official letter in hand I will share with you the name of our new priest. Otherwise you may look for the news in the St. Cloud Visitor in weeks to come.
Fr. Sudhansu has made many friends here. He leaves by plane on July 5, 2018. So for now, lets concentrate on saying “farewell.”

In our Father’s hands,
Fr. Greg

Ps. I am grateful to all of you for your prayers, cards, gifts, and words of kindness as I celebrated my 50th birthday. It was a glorious day in Sinclair Lewis Park. Over 600 people attended Mass, 450 shared in the lunch, and there were 7 fun skits and songs for the variety show. For all who made it a celebration to remember, THANK YOU!

The post Farewell Fr. Sudhansu appeared first on Catholic Parishes of.

Another year of life, of course. But more personally, I am cerebrating all the wonderful people who have helped form me into the person I am today.
I am grateful for my parents, Dick and Ruth. Not only did they love me into existence with the help of God, they were my first authorities. Of course I had to obey them growing up. But truly, they are the authors of my childhood and have been letting me write my own story since leaving the nest.
I am grateful for my sisters. We were relatively normal in teasing, playing, and arguing as only siblings can do. Having the job of a little brother, I became a pro at pestering them. Even so they taught me many things like: how to play games fairly, how to ride motorcycle safely, and how to be with friends kindly.
I am grateful for my brothers-in-law, nieces, and nephews. It was good to have some other men join the family. I needed their influence to become a man. And what a joy to hold my sister’s newborns in my arms. I am especially blessed by how they continue to “love one another.” (John 13:34)
I am grateful for all my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. There is nothing quite as enjoyable as a family reunion. I will never forget all the times we met at Grandmas on Clearwater Lake or at the “Old Place.” It is there that I experienced, as one cousin said, “Cousins are my first best friends.”
I am grateful for all my friends. Along the way I met them at many schools, jobs, ministries, and parishes. They have especially helped me realize how Jesus did not just want disciples. According to John 15:15 he says, “I have called you friends.”
And finally, I would not be who I am today without you. That is why I am grateful for all of you who support me in my life as a man, in my beliefs as a Christian, and in my vocation as a Catholic priest!

In our Father’s hands,
Fr. Greg

The post 50th Birthday… appeared first on Catholic Parishes of.