Kaukauna Catholic Parishes

God’s blessings! My wife Peggy and I had an opportunity to travel to Alaska and the state of Washington in the past month. God’s majestic creative power was very evident to us in the raw beauty of the water, glaciers and mountains, plus the whales and wildlife, and in the beauty of the people we encountered along the way, and we are quite thankful. God’s power to reunite people is astounding! I shared some of our examples in weekend homilies on September 14 & 15, including being reconnected with Fr. Stephen Okumu near Seattle, who we had stayed with in Kenya in 1995, and who had been to Kaukauna in 1999. We had lost touch around 2007, and it was wonderful to be with him again. I also shared about the woman who had lost contact with her brother 15 years ago and located him again. She felt truly “blessed.”

Our Gospel this weekend from Luke points out how people sometimes just don’t pay attention to God’s messages, including messages from Moses and the prophets. The Gospel also emphasizes how selfish we can be. This is reinforced in our first reading from the Prophet Amos, which is very straightforward: “Woe to the complacent!” The wealthy were living with abundance, and the poor were suffering. That is still a challenge for us today. May we treat the poor with dignity through “faith, love, patience and gentleness,” as St. Paul points out. 

I am blessed to be with a lot of great people and experience moments of grace in a variety of settings. I was able to participate in a service at Holy Cross Cemetery to remember all unborn babies lost to abortion. Bishop David Ricken was there, along with some other excellent presenters, and many others. That same weekend, Peggy and I saw the movie “Overcomer,” which had some powerful spiritual messages of forgiveness, perseverance and reliance on Jesus Christ.

Part of my responsibilities as Pastoral Associate is to visit people in hospitals, assisted living, or nursing homes. I have recently been blessed to visit a couple who just had a new baby, a time of great joy and, on the flip side, be with a friend who had triple bypass surgery on his heart, another struggling with strokes and diabetes, someone with cancer, and others in recovery from various things. Our reliance on God comes to the forefront.

In the midst of all the busyness of life, we are called to be attentive to God’s nudging and be aware of opportunities to share God’s love with others, recognizing God’s presence in situations, and being thankful. In a span of a few days last weekend, I was present when we offered the Sacrament of Anointing at Mass at St. Mary, presided at a burial, officiated at a wedding along with Fr. Kyle, led a funeral service for a long-time friend, and baptized a beautiful little girl at St. Francis in Hollandtown. Peggy and I also were able to attend school Masses at St. John in Little Chute, and St. Ignatius in Kaukauna, which are very life-giving. Opportunities to be with our grandchildren are incredible blessings. 

Finally, I’d like to emphasize how important it is to have people you can share your faith with. I participated in a Cursillo weekend 28 years ago. For the past 18 years, I have met on a regular basis with friends who also made Cursillo. I often meet guys on Monday nights at Good Company in Appleton, and on Thursday mornings at Mohnen’s in Darboy. We also offer an Ultreya, a monthly gathering at St. Mary site for men and women. This is a great way for me to listen, to share, to be attentive, to pray, and to give glory and honor to God. I invite you to consider a Cursillo weekend. It helps avoid complacency. The Men’s weekend is October 24–27; Women’s weekend is November  7–10.

Peace in Christ.

 Deacon Steve