Dear Friends, I keep hoping that we can once again be together for liturgy, but we are not there yet.  As I mentioned in the bulletin, with the help of a family member; I have begun the process of offering some select liturgies on ZOOM and am hoping that I might be ready to do that soon as I am feeling that from what the science and medical communities are telling us; we really can’t safely be together again until we have a vaccine, which will take us into next year. With that in mind, the ZOOM alternative may need to be as much as we can hope for until then. 

I am trying to be in contact with you as much as I can, but if you need me in between my calls, please don’t hesitate to be in contact. By phone, 507-429-3616. You will have noticed that I have given you my HBCI.com address in the past just because I feel it is easier to remember, but lately, there has been some trouble with that address, so I will switch to the church address which you should use going forward as it is a gmail address. aaorcc2008@gmail.com. 

Thanks all–be safe and stay well–peace and love, Pastor Kathy

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Entrance Antiphon

All nations, clap your hands! Shout with a voice of joy to God.

Let Us Pray

Opening Prayer

Loving God, the light of Jesus has scattered the darkness of hatred, sin and death. Called to that light we ask for your guidance. Form our lives in your truth, our hearts in your love.  We ask this in Jesus’ wonderful name, and with your Spirit, all One God, living and loving us forever and ever, Amen.

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Readings:

• 2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16
• Romans 6: 3-4, 8-11
• Matthew 10: 37-42

Homily

My friends, I have customarily said to you that Ordinary Time should be renamed, “Extra” Ordinary Time because of the continued challenge that the readings in this season bring us to follow in the footsteps of our brother Jesus. Events of this past week give us a bit of a twist on this.  By now, many of you have probably read the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) article delineating the serial grooming and abuse of young women over the past 30 years by church composer and musician, David Haas.

In the past 30 years, Haas has composed such beautiful hymns that we all know and love: You Are Mine, We Are Called, We Have Been Told, and many others. What are we to make of the dichotomy of beauty on the one hand and such evil on the other?

My initial reaction, unlike a good friend, was to say that I would continue to use his hymns at my masses because they are reflective of his “best” self and pray for him and his victims when I do.  I also said that I have to wonder what happened to him in his younger, innocent years that turned him into such a monster in his adult life, because you don’t act this way if everything has been good in your own life.

Because of the visceral reaction of my good friend to this most disturbing news about Haas; I re-read the NCR article and was struck by the comments of a woman named Megan who said, “I have been wrecked, knocked on the floor,” and again, “…the way he would look at you when he sang, You Are Mine,” makes me realize that it would be most cruel to sing his hymns in public knowing that some hearing them would be reminded of some horrible memories.  For this same reason; I have chosen,

in my professional position as your pastor and priest not to wear a clerical collar because of the pain the mere sight of it would cause those abused by male Catholic priests.

In the beginning of this homily, I indicated that the events of this week gave, “a bit of a twist” to the notion that the Scriptures offer continued challenge throughout Ordinary Time.  With the news this week of David Haas, it is the events of the world that challenge us to find or make some sense within the Scriptures for this week. Let’s take a look.

The first reading from Kings relates the story of the prophet, Elisha, who receives hospitality from, “a woman of influence” in Shunem.  Elisha responds to her care for him with the basic understanding and resultant action that a goodness has been bestowed and a response in goodness is only fitting.

The psalmist in number 89 for today, says, “I will sing the story of your love.”

Paul to the Romans lets us know that because of Jesus, we have the possibility of new life should we decide to take it. He goes on; we must consider ourselves, “dead to sin,” but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

The gospel from Matthew has this to say, and I paraphrase, as baptized followers of our brother Jesus; we are called to do, the right thing.  This gospel has Jesus telling us that following his word has to be more important than caring for our families.  A hard saying, but we must remember that we can’t, like in most of Jesus’ sayings, read this literally.  Jesus wants us to care for our family members, yes—but never at the expense of doing what is right.  If it is considered part “of caring for our family,”

keeping a secret that should be exposed to the “light of day,” such as abuse of any kind, then doing the right thing is ultimately the best care for our family, albeit, the harder thing.

Martin Luther King Jr., while in prison for civil disobedience in the 1960’s wrote of this overriding principle:  “In a real sense all life is inter-related…all [people] are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.  Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.  I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.  This is the inter-related structure of reality.”

Now, of course, we can move through life not paying any attention to others, “doing our thing,” so to speak, with the assumption that this is our right, but if we are serious about following Jesus; this is never an option.

So we come back to what we learned of David Haas and his selfish, manipulative and cruel actions under the guise of musical minister and mentor to young and upcoming female music ministers.

At this juncture, many of us are laboring under feelings of disbelief, betrayal—followed by disgust and anger against those who knew for a long time of his behavior and did nothing to stop him.

Given my personal experience of never having been physically or sexually abused; I cannot speak to the pain of those who have, but I have been emotionally and spiritually abused by the Catholic church that continues to teach that women are not as good as men,

nor able to respond to a call from God to lead the People of God as a priest and when they do, are told that, “their sin” is akin to the abominable actions of a pedophile priest.

So, in that regard; I perhaps have some standing to comment on what issues like David Haas’ abuse have to say to us in light of the Scriptures.

Perhaps when we can get past the feelings of disgust, anger and rage, a better part of ourselves—the place where I think Haas’ music came from, even if he used it to take advantage of others, will see that he too was abused and taken advantage of at a vulnerable age.  None of us comes into this world as a “bad person,” or perhaps better said, “One who does bad things”—we become that partly through what has been done to us and then our decision to respond negatively to that hurt in our lives.

And in all of this, we are confronted by the Scriptures—by a God who has loved us, no matter what!  Can we be like God?—perhaps not, in the face of such hurt and betrayal as the story of David Haas presents, but we cannot cease to try.  The God of love that no doubt inspired Haas to write, “We have been told, we’ve seen his face, and heard his voice, alive in our hearts…” speaks to us as well and calls us beyond the hurt and anger, when we are ready.  For me, for now—I choose to pray for David Haas and his many victims, of which, he is one, but refrain from using his music at our masses for the reason given above.  Please let me know of your feelings in this regard.  Amen? Amen!

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Prayers of the Faithful

Response: “Jesus, hear us.”

1. Jesus, thank you for the gift of the Eucharist, along with your presence in all your creatures—the piece we have been called to see even more now in the absence of “physical communion—give us the eyes to see you, that you might be close, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear us.”

2. O God, let peace reign in our hearts and give us the strength and grace to be people of peace, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear us.”

3. Jesus, you ask us to be people of faith, and trust—we believe, but help our times of unbelief, we pray —Response: “Jesus, hear us.”

4. Jesus, in your loving Spirit let us as members of this community, All Are One, always find room at our table for all your people, and heartily welcome them, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear us.”

5. Loving Creator, Savior, Spirit—give us your patience, your strength, your love for our world, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear us.”

6. Loving Jesus, give each person in your body, the Church, strength to live well and the courage to be the voice at times that speaks truth to power, for the good of all, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear us.”

7. Loving Jesus, be with all families who have lost loved ones this week,—from      COVID, from racism and all other ways—give them your peace that they may     find their way through their grief, and we especially remember all the loved ones of Eric Bartleson as they continue to grieve his loss, we pray—Response:  “Jesus, hear us.”

***Let us pray for your particular needs, you may say them aloud—then response

***Let us pray for the silent petitions on our hearts, silent pause—then response

Let Us Pray

O good and loving God, made manifest so wonderfully and beautifully in Jesus, our Savior and Friend, you know what we need before we ask—do give us what we most need today! Help us to be people of faith, strong in our trust of you and believe that no storm in our lives is too great for you to calm. Help us to reach out to you for the strength we need to be our best selves, you who are our Creator, our Savior, our Spirit Friend—we ask all of this in Jesus’ wonderful name—AMEN.

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Let Us Pray–this time of pandemic calls us all in a special way to remember that Jesus’ presence is all around us; in each other, in nature–in all of creation. May we be refreshed and “nourished” by this reality.

Prayer after Communion

 Jesus, our Brother, may this communion with you give us a share in your life and help us bring your love to our world. We ask this in your loving name, Amen.

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Dear Friends, I am sending this a bit early, as I will be gone this weekend–you can save for Sunday, if you wish.

We continue in this pandemic time, uncertain of what comes next, but trusting that our God is with us and will show us the way. Besides being back to “Extra” Ordinary Time, this is Fathers’ Day and we bless and thank those who have been “fatherly” in their actions to others, whether physically, emotionally, spiritually, or in all these ways. God calls us today, as always, to be our best selves, so the challenge is there my friends–let us go forth! 

If I can be of help to any of you, please don’t hesitate to contact me by phone, 507-429-3616, or email, krredig@hbci.com.  Have peace, stay safe and well! –Pastor Kathy

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Entrance Antiphon

God is our strength.  In God, we are chosen and we live in safety. Save us O God who share in your life, and give us your blessing—be our shepherd forever.

Let Us Pray

Opening Prayer

God of the universe, we praise and thank you! You are ever close to us, we rejoice in you. From this world’s uncertainty we look to your covenant.  Keep us one in your peace, secure in your love.  We ask this in Jesus’ wonderful name, who with you and the Spirit live and love us, forever and ever, Amen.

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Readings: 

• Jeremiah 20: 10-13
• Romans 5: 12-15
• Matthew 10: 26-33

Homily

My friends, we have gone through the Easter Season now and all of it has been accomplished through, “distancing,” to protect us from COVID 19.  From the last weeks of Lent through the special feasts after Easter wherein we celebrate the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, the greatness of our God, three in one on Trinity Sunday and “the Body of Christ”–all of us—in the world, as Jesus’ representatives, until now.

This has been a hard time, being separated physically, and it has called us to be strong in new ways as we all try and stay safe and well.  Our human natures tug at “pushing the envelope” a bit—meeting in smaller family groups, as our family has done and yours too, I have discovered, in talking with you. We have laid our brother, Eric Bartleson to rest with most of you not being able to attend, except vicariously, through my homily.

Those wiser than us, scientists and medical people tell us, to be careful and the wisdom of this counsel has proven itself to be true as we see upticks of infection in areas that either opened too soon and /or didn’t abide by the protections of “distancing,” wearing of masks and good hand-washing.  So, for now, our modus operandi will continue as is, but stay tuned for changes! There is the possibility of us getting on ZOOM in the near future and that could be an option for a bit of closure with Eric and our Mary of Magdala celebration.

So my friends, we are once again into Ordinary Time, which I have presented to you in the past as “Extra” Ordinary Time, in that the challenge to live as our best selves, in the footsteps of our brother, Jesus, is always there, whether we have a major time like Lent or Advent or special feast days like Easter or Christmas.  And as we return then to Ordinary Time—this week is no exception.

Friends, we can hardly miss the fact this week, through the chosen readings, that we are loved by our God! The prophet Jeremiah begins by stating that, “Our God is with me (us) like a mighty champion” [!]  The psalmist prays, “O God, in your great kindness, answer me, with your constant help…in your great mercy, turn toward me…for God hears the cry of the poor.”

This idea that our God loves and truly cares for us is continued today in Paul’s letter to the Romans.  Paul tells them and us, basically, that until humans created “laws,” there was no “sin,” per se.  The Scripture reads, “Sin entered the world through humans.”  Now, it’s important to remember the definition of, what it is to be human.  Simply put; we are imperfect—we don’t always do it right!  Now, if you want to call that character trait, “sin,” as do most in the hierarchy of the Church, you can, but it is good to remember that it was not our good God that started that thinking!

When we get “stuck” on the first part that, “sin entered the world through humans,” the second part of Paul’s message gets forgotten; basically that, “grace abounds for all,” meaning that no matter what we may have done, God loves us anyway!  For God, the important part is, that we keep trying!—that is what God loves in each of us—our ability to keep working at being our best selves.

So, what am I saying?  That we don’t have to be concerned about “sin,” evil in the world? No! Only that we keep it in balance, like everything else.  When we concentrate too much on “the bad we may have done,” we can “get stuck” there and not move on, trying once again to do the good that Jesus asks each of us to do in the world.  My personal feeling about all the rhetoric of us being a “sinful people” in need of “beating our breasts,” without the accompanying message of “being truly loved by our God,” is about controlling people and nothing more.

We continue on then in Matthew’s gospel where we hear, “Every hair on our head has been counted” by our loving God and we must then be secure in the fact that we are loved! This is the gospel where Jesus is sending the apostles off in twos to “freely give” to others what they have been “freely given”—basically that knowledge that they are loved.  He tells them, “Do not fear anything!”

So, my friends, tying all the readings together; I would direct you back to the psalmist who says that our God, “hears the cry of the poor” and the understanding is that our God, in turn, implores one of us to help!  We know this to be true through Jesus’ invitation to the apostles in the gospel story today, “Freely you have received, now, freely give!” God wants us to be our best selves—no matter that we are imperfect beings.  God wants and knows that we can rise above our imperfections and do the right thing.

The times in which we live—NOW, are calling for the best in each of us.  Let us friends, rise to that level!  Amen? Amen!

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Prayers of the Faithful

Response:  “Jesus, hear us.”

1. Jesus, thank you for asking us to be “bread” for our world, we pray—Response:  “Jesus, hear us.”

2. O God, let peace reign in our hearts and give us the strength and grace to be people of peace—be with all world governments to always strive for the peace-filled solution, we pray— Response: “Jesus, hear us.”
3. Jesus, you ask us to be people of faith and trust—we believe, help our times of unbelief, we pray— Response: “Jesus, hear us.”
4. Jesus, in your loving Spirit, let us as members of this community, All Are One, always find room at our table for all your people, we pray—Response:  “Jesus, hear us.”

5. Loving Creator, Savior, Spirit—give us your patience, your strength, your love for our world, we pray— Response: “Jesus, hear us.”
6. Loving Jesus, give each person in your body, the Church, what they most need today, we pray— Response: “Jesus, hear us.”
7. Loving Jesus, be with all families who have lost loved ones this week,—give all who have lost, your peace, that they may find their way through their grief, continue to surround the Bartleson family with your love and care as they grieve, along with us, the passing of Eric, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear us.”

***Let us pray for your particular needs, you may say them out loud—then response

***Let us pray for the silent petitions on our hearts—pause—then response

Let Us Pray

  O good and loving God, made manifest so wonderfully and beautifully in Jesus, our Savior and Friend, you know what we most need before we ask—do give us what we most need today! Help us to be people of faith, strong in our trust of you and believe that no storm in our lives is too great for you to calm, you who are our Creator, Savior and Spirit God and Friend, we ask all this, in Jesus’ wonderful name, who lives with us and loves us forever and ever—Amen.

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Let Us Pray—my friends, the bread of the altar in physical form is kept from us once again, and so, we must remember that Jesus is always with us and has asked us to be “bread” for our world. Let us do that with confidence, with strength and with mercy.

Prayer after Communion

O God, we have been reminded of Jesus’ life and love through the reception of the bread and wine—we ask you to renew Jesus’ life within us through this most wonderful food. Show us your mercy and bring us to eternal life one day—all this we ask of you, our Creator, Jesus, our Savior and the Spirit that lives within us—Amen.

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