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2302 W. CHURCH ST. | JO HNSBURG, IL 60051 | (815) 385 - 1477
F ax (815) 363- 3333 | w ww. s tj ohn sj oh nsburg. org | f i n d us on mypa ri sh a pp
A diocesan parish served by the Congregation of the Resurrection
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
May 3
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2020
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Pentecost Sunday You can feel so small standing by the seashore. The vastness of all that is before you expands much farther than your eye can see. What is happening on the other side? As tides continue to ebb and flow, what occurs as they come and go remains largely a mystery and the effects of their presence unknown in your sight. Yet, things are moving and changing as you gaze upon the water, as the thumbprint of their presence is left behind. The greater the wind and wave, the greater the effect. But even a gentle breeze leaves its humble mark upon the seashore on which you stand. The smallest pebble still makes a ripple in the great blue expanse of ocean waters. It doesn’t need to be big. You never know the full impact of your smallest ges-ture or simplest of words. A yes or no, agree or disa-gree, here or there, this or that can influence time and history in ways you may never know. The Holy Spirit is like that: fierce and torrential, and then almost still and silent, creating and recreating nonetheless. Coming as a gentle breeze or a gusty wind, God’s Holy Spirit contin-ues to move over, around, and into the waters of our lives. The Spirit brings fruit and unknown possibilities to what we humbly bring with us and that same Spirit eventually brings all to fulfillment in Christ. The first disciples didn’t have much. They possessed simple faith and a willingness to go into unchartered territory with a love of their friend-God, humble offer-ings, and a knowledge that they were not alone. This allowed them to do amazing things with very little. Do you believe that you are being led and that you have a purposeful life? We often do not realize our value because we do not think that the little we have is good enough. How wrong we are! A little flour mixed with water and embraced by a prayer of blessing transforms simple offerings into the magnificent Eucharistic pres-ence of God. If the Holy Spirit can do such amazing things with these humble gifts of the earth, even more can happen with you. Don’t underestimate the value of the smile you gave a stranger, the door held open for an elderly widow, the listening ear offered to one who was lonely, the tolerance given to the wounded soul who is angry, and the loving shoulder you offered as a cradle under the head of someone in pain. Modest gifts offered with love can be transformed by the Spirit into wondrous blessings you may never know. It’s Pente-cost. Trust. You are not alone.
Gospel meditation
BAPTISMS: Parents must be registered parishioners. Parishioners call Fr. Jacek Junak, CR at (815) 385-1477, EXT. 202 for information, requirements, and scheduling for baptism preparation classes.
RCIA: Adults seeking baptism and/or entry into the Catholic Church are invited to participate in the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) Program. Please call Fr. Jacek Junak, CR for more information.
CEMETERY: Please call Annie in the parish office at (815) 385-1477, EXT. 203 to purchase cemetery plots and niches in columbarium.
MARRIAGES: Please call Fr. Jacek Junak, CR at (815) 385-1477, EXT. 202 for appointment, requirements, and a desired wedding date of at least 6 months in advance.
PRAYER LIST: Please call Anna Rose in the parish office at (815) 385-1477, EXT. 223 to be placed on the bulletin prayer list.
REGISTRATION: Please call Annie in the parish office (815) 385-1477, EXT. 203 to register as a parishioner.
Monday– Thursday: 8:30am– 4:30pm Friday: 8:30am– Noon
Pastor: Rev. Jacek Junak, CR, EXT. 202 Deacon: Mr. Jerry Giessinger Deacon: Mr. Dave Gillespie
CLERGY
Secretary: Annie Muich EXT. 203 [email protected] Business Manager: Kasia Placek EXT. 204 [email protected] Religious Ed. Director: Stephanie Eldridge EXT. 201 [email protected] Bulletin Editor: Anna Rose Zakrzewski EXT. 223 [email protected] Music Ministry: Mary Jo Schwontkowski EXT. 1 [email protected]
PARISH STAFF
Principal: Mrs. Brenda Baldassano
2304 W. Church Street Johnsburg, IL 60051 (815) 385-3959 www.stjohnschool.com
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST SCHOOL
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2 Welcome to St. John the Baptist, Johnsburg, IL
PARISH INFORMATION
Sunday: Vigil: Gn 11:1-9 or Ex 19:3-8a, 16-20b or Ez 37:1-14 or Jl 3:1-5/Ps 104:1-2, 24, 35, 27-28, 29, 30 [cf. 30]/Rom 8:22-27/Jn 7:37-39. Monday: Gn 3:9-15, 20 or Acts 1:12-14/Ps 87:1-2, 3 and 5, 6-7/Jn 19:25-34 Tuesday: 2 Pt 3:12-15a, 17-18/Ps 90:2, 3-4, 10, 14 and 16 [1]/Mk 12:13-17 Wednesday: 2 Tm 1:1-3, 6-12/Ps 123:1b-2ab, 2cdef [1b]/Mk 12:18-27 Thursday: 2 Tm 2:8-15/Ps 4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14 [4]/Mk 12:28-34 Friday: 2 Tm 3:10-17/Ps 119:157, 160, 161, 165, 166, 168 [165a]/Mk 12:35-37 Saturday: 2 Tm 4:1-8/Ps 71:8-9, 14-15ab, 16-17, 22 [cf. 15ab]/Mk 12:38-44 Next Sunday: Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9/Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 [52b]/2 Cor 13:11-13/Jn 3:16-18
Weekly Readings - Year A
May 31, 2020 † Pentecost Sunday 3
Prayer Requests Mass Intentions
We will keep names on the list for eight weeks, and then remove. If you would like the name of your loved one to be on the list for
longer than eight weeks, please call to renew. Thank you for your understanding.
“One thing only I ask you, that you remember me at the altar of the Lord.” - St. Monica
Jakey Baldassano Very Rev. Steven Bartczyszyn, C.R.
Ted Bierchen Jim Blaney
John & Kathy Braun Valerie Brunkhorst
Harriet Buerer Kyle Buscemi
Noelle Hoeh-Butski Carmelita Caifano
Jeanne Caifano Leonard Caifano
Serenity Carf Sabrina Cavanaugh
Shirley Cermak Mary Chambers
Georgianne Chromczak
Mike & Sharon Coyle
Dennis Decman John DeLay
Michele Dubois Paulette Elsey John Ferraro
Tina Fosnacht Shirley Freeland
Harold Gabel Terrance Galvin
Debbie Glen Carol Golemba
Patti Hoeh Michael Jonas
Greg Jurczynski Jerome Kehl
Judy King Don & Barb Klapperich Aaron Lafontaine
Richard Laskowski Dean & Sandra Lenard
Darren Leonardi Ron Marulewski, Jr. Barbara & Nick
Mastillo Teegan Mazuer
Jeremiah McCauley Bob McPartlin
Sr. Carol Mecko Marge Moeller Jeanne Monaco
John Morris Irene Murphy
Charles Nielson Bruce Novak
Annette Orlos
Charlotte Paoletti Constanza Paredes
Maury Pera Cathrine Philbin Theresa Pigoni Tina Quintero
Sr. Rosemary Reier Wayne Rendak Valerie Robbins Nancy Roberts
Roz Ruiz Mary Schoiber
Marie Scopa Dolores Sklodowski
Marge Stabla Arleene Thiel Carmen Tosto
John Wolf Kathleen Wurth Alice Zabawski
Diane Zyskowski
Our Beloved Deceased: Timothy T. McCormack
Darrell Kondritz Sal Ruiz
John Hiller
Saturday, May 30 4:00 PM † Richard & Catherine Dehn (Family) Sunday, May 31, Pentecost Sunday 7:00 AM † Joseph & Gerri Hiller (Family) 9:00 AM † Terry Wolf, Birthday (Family) 11:00 AM † Sandy Barden, Birthday (Gaura Family) Monday, June 1, The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church 8:00 AM † Stanislaw & Jozefa Placek (Placek Family) Tuesday, June 2, Sts. Marcellinus and Peter 8:00 AM Parishioners, Friends, & Benefactors of St. John the Baptist (Fr. Jacek, CR) Wednesday, June 3, St. Charles Lwanga and Companions 8:00 AM † Marilyn Freund (Bereavement Ministry) Thursday, June 4 8:00 AM † Maureen Wehrs (Ray & Felicia Kuna) Friday, June 5, St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr 9:00 AM † Cade Winters (Gena Beck) Saturday, June 6, St. Norbert 4:00 PM † William Steinbock, Birthday (Steinbock Family) Sunday, June 7, The Most Holy Trinity 7:00 AM † Frank Helmandollar, Birthday (Family) 9:00 AM † Deceased Members of the Joseph Frett Family (Family) 11:00 AM Parishioners, Friends, & Benefactors of St. John the Baptist (Fr. Jacek, CR)
4 St. John the Baptist, Johnsburg, IL
ST. JOHN’S PLAN TO REOPEN UPDATE
Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health issued new guidance for places of public worship and providers of religious services. That guid-ance has, in effect, recognized that religious communities have the responsibility for establishing conditions to protect the safety of the faithful and of the wider community as opportunities for prayer and the sacraments, including the Mass, are made available. Though the Bishop welcomes this news, as we are sure you do, he continues to remind us that the danger presented by the coronavirus remains among us. Therefore, St. John the Baptist Parish has been directed by the Diocese of Rockford to continue to follow the diocesan protocol in reopening the Church. With that in mind, we want to inform you that plans to open the parish for liturgical service will start next weekend. We are working to finalize schedules and volunteers to assist with the Diocesan directives. Mass schedule details will be made available by Thursday, 6-4-20. As we learn more, we will continue to update the situation. We are remaining hope-ful and flexible in these continuously changing circumstances. Thank you for your patience with this process.
-St. John’s Reopening Committee
Visit www. rockforddiocese.org/covid-19/reopen-rockford/ or follow the link on the St. John’s Parish Website.
5 May 31, 2020 † Pentecost Sunday
WE ARE NEVER ALONE
My children want my help sometimes, and other times, not so much. I remember being a teenager and young adult myself. At times, I thought I knew everything. I didn’t need help because I was just so darn smart. Truth is, I needed to find my own way. I needed to stretch my wings and prove to myself and my family I could fly. I assume that is what is happening with my own children as well. It just seems so different now that I’m the parent. Human beings need help. We need community, and we need to rely on one another. At Pentecost, we reflect on Jesus sending to the Church a help-er, the Holy Spirit. God interacting with us in this manner means we are never truly alone. We focus most of the time on the Spirit of God as the assis-tance we need, and we do need Him for sure. However, since it is that very same Spirit that turned us into “Church” from a band of people
looking to carry on after Jesus’ ascension, at Pen-tecost we gained more than divine help: we gained each other. Today, the Church needs help in a profound way. We need to lean on the Holy Spirit to blow through the Church with a profound renewal. But we cannot forget that we have been given each other to lean on as well. We are a gift to each oth-er, and together with the Spirit’s help, we are the Body of Christ here on earth. We must be strong and stand for one another. If we do that, this Pen-tecost will bear fruit that will be with us for many Pentecosts to come.
—Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS
Prayer During A Health Crisis Compassionate and Loving Father, In the face of confusion and concern impart to us the calm of your presence. In You allow us to find hope and healing. Be with those who serve the sick and give them Your caring hands. Be with those who lead and give them Your Spirit of wisdom. Be with those who have fallen ill and give them Your comforting heart. Wrap your arms around our world and hold us in your love. Allow us at this time of trial to then serve as instruments of that love to all we meet. We ask this in Your Name. Amen.
6 St. John the Baptist, Johnsburg, IL
Saint of the week - St. Charles lwanga and companions
St. Charles Lwanga and the Fire at Nomugongo
By Bishop Robert Barron, Word on Fire
In 1879, the first Catholic mission-aries arrived in the heart of Africa, in what is now the nation of Ugan-da. They catechized and preached and in a few years had made a number of converts, especially among the young. The most promi-nent of these were a group of men and boys who served as pages to the court of King Mwanga II. This king had initially been supportive of the missionaries, but his attitude quickly changed when he discov-ered how seriously his Christian pages took the moral demands of their new faith. Accustomed to getting whatever he wanted, Mwanga solicited sexual favors from several of his courtiers. When they refused, he presented them with a terrible choice: either renounce their Christian faith or die. Though they were new con-verts and though they were very young, the pages, to a man, refused to deny their Christianity. Joseph Mukasa Balikudembe was killed outright by the king himself, and the rest were led off on a terrible death march to the place of execu-tion, many miles outside the capital city. On the way, the condemned passed the home of the priest who had baptized and catechized many of them. One can only imagine the profoundly conflicting feelings of pride and anguish that the priest must have experienced as he watched this procession. Witnesses said that the young men showed
enormous resolution on the march and that the youngest, a boy named Kizito, actually chattered and laughed with this friends as he walked. When they arrived at the place of execution, a spot called Namugongo, they were put to death, some by spear but most by fire. The leader of the group, Charles Lwanga, all of twenty-five years old, asked permission to pre-pare the pyre himself. After arrang-ing the wood, he lay down and en-dured a slow torture in silence, cry-ing out “Oh God!” only at the very end.
I’m sure that practically any objec-tive observer of that terrible scene would have concluded that Christi-anity was finished in that part of Africa. The remaining Christians—a tiny minority surrounded by hostile enemies, including the King him-self—would be terrorized by what happened at Namugongo, and many of them undoubtedly would surrender whatever allegiance they had to the new faith brought by the white missionaries. But there is a
peculiar logic that obtains in matters supernatural, a logic of paradox, reversal, and surprise. That which should stifle Christianity in point of fact makes it grow stronger, precisely because the faith is correlative to a reality that transcends nature and the dynam-ics that govern ordinary experi-ence. The church father Tertullian caught this in his famous adage to the effect that the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians. I’m sure that some who saw or heard of the executions at Namugongo aban-doned their faith, but many others were galvanized by the courage of those young witnesses. And as the story was passed on, people came not only to admire the valor of those who died but more im-portantly to understand that, as Evelyn would put it, “the supernat-ural is the real.” The Catholic church in Africa didn’t die at Namu-gongo; it came to life there.
On June 3rd, the feast of the Ugan-dan martyrs, a festive liturgy, attended by over 500,000 people takes place at Namugongo, just adjacent to the site where Charles Lwanga uttered his plaintive, “Oh God.” It was one of the great privi-leges of my life to have assisted recently at that Mass, as part of the filming for my series on Catholi-cism. As the massive crowd assem-bled, choirs from many different parts of Africa sang and swayed, and a tremendous spirit of prayer-fulness obtained. About fifteen minutes before the formal com-mencement of the Mass, a liturgical procession—the most wonderful I’ve ever witnessed—took place.
Feast Day June 3rd
(Continued on page 7)
7 May 31, 2020 † Pentecost Sunday
(Continued from page 6)
It began with three dignified young men, wearing the formal garb of acolytes, and just behind them came a parade of female dancers, dressed in the traditional tribal costumes of Africa and dancing and gyrating joyfully to the music. Then came a team of male dancers, wearing leopard skins and feathers, and jangling ankle bells as they stepped. Behind them came a long line of priests and bishops, swathed in red chasubles, evocative of the
blood shed by the young martyrs. The general mood that this creat-ed—almost overwhelming in its power—was joy, triumph, victory. As I watched all of this unfold, I confess that several times tears came to my eyes, for I could see, beyond the procession and beyond the crowd, the top of the basilica constructed on the site of Charles Lwanga’s execution. As that brave young Christian uttered his dying “Oh God” on that spot so many years before, could he ever imag-ined that one day a half a million
African Catholics would gather there in festive celebration of the faith for which he gave his life? Could he ever have imagined that, in the year 2010, there would be 400,000,000 Christians in Africa?
The blood of the martyrs is indeed the seed of Christians. Charles Lwanga, you won!
https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/st-charles-lwanga-and-the-fire-at-namugongo/19829/
“We shall steer safely through every storm so long as our heart is right, our intention
fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God.” -St. Francis de Sales
8 St. John the Baptist, Johnsburg, IL
The Sanctuary Lamp is burning
May 31—June 13
In Loving Memory of
Frank Muich
May this light which reminds us of Jesus’ True Presence in the Sanctuary welcome
him into eternal peace.
A private, independent high school in the
Catholic tradition offering an integrated,
college preparatory classical curriculum
centered on Catholic teaching. As part of the
Chesterton Schools Network, Chesterton
Academy of the Immaculate Heart has been
the joint venture of a number of area families
for many years. Opening in the Fall of 2020 and
currently enrolling students, the school will be
located at St. Peter in Volo, IL.
For more information, please visit us at https://chestertoniheart.org/,
on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/ChestertonMcHenry/,
or email us at [email protected].
Mass Intentions, Sanctuary Candles, or Chapel of Eternal Light Candles
are available for purchase for 2020 & 2021.
9 May 31, 2020 † Pentecost Sunday
Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend
Don’t take a summer vacation from your marriage, bring it into your marriage. Time with your spouse on a World-wide Marriage Encounter weekend is an investment that will pay dividends. It is a weekend for married couples to get away from job, computers, children, chores and phones – and focus on each other and God’s plan for your marriage. Sign up today to attend one of the upcoming Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekends :
June 26-28 in Rockford, IL
September 11-13 in Geneva, IL
October 16-18 in Brookfield, WI
Early registration is highly recommended. For more information visit our website at:
alifetimeoflove.org or call (888) 574-5653. Para un fin de semana en español por favor llamen a Candelario y Emilia al 815-375-4250.
Ministry News & Events
Please visit our parish website home page for links to Bishop Malloy’s Statement on Plans to Reopen Churches
in the Rockford Diocese.
stjohnsjohnsburg.org
Society of St. Vincent de Paul As we all continue to navigate through social dis-tancing and a focus on staying healthy, the impacts reverberate throughout our own lives, our local community and our country. Many of us have been unable to work due to temporary business closures and/or our children being home from school. As we support our loved ones and friends through phone calls, social media contact and our prayers, you may wonder how you can also support others in our community. St. Vincent de Paul greatly appreciates your donations through GiveCentral; all donations go directly toward helping those in our community who are struggling with utility, housing, medical bills as well as with food shortages.
"Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor."
Proverbs 22:9
10 St. John the Baptist, Johnsburg, IL
Church Finances
Ministry news & events
Until further notice, all church, school, ministry events and meetings have been cancelled or postponed.
For up-to-date Parish information and announcements, please visit the St. John the Baptist Church website at
stjohnsjohnsburg.org
or download the free MyParish App on your Smart Phone and enter 60051 or St. John the Baptist under Find a Parish.
Stewardship OF TREASURE Online Contributions……….…..………….….$ 1,270.00
Diocesan stewardship 2019
2019 Diocesan Stewardship Goal _ _ $82,921.00 Pledged to Date …..…….………………..…..…..$ 77,162.00 Paid to Date .…………...………………..………...$ 76,478.33 Difference between goal and payments $ 6,442.67
267 Families Contributed Out of 699 Registered Families
For pledging & payment: www.rockforddiocese.org/donate
See if your employer participates in a “Matching Gift Program” to double your gift.
Please remember St. John’s in your will. Thank you for your generous giving!
Download the MyParish App today!
For the most up-to-date information and announcements from St. John the Baptist Church, download the free MyParish App on your smartphone.
Tithing vs. Stewardship Question:
What is the difference between tithing and stewardship? Answer:
Both tithing and stewardship are part of a spiritu-al way of life that calls us to use all of our re-sources for the service of the Gospel. Everything we are and everything we have comes from God. Offering back to God what He has given us is part of how we worship and give thanks to God. Tithing is the practice of giving back 10 percent of what we earn. It comes from the Old English word for “ten.” The first Scriptural example of tithing came from Abraham who gave a tenth of his possessions to the priest Melchizedek. He did so as an act of thanksgiving to God. Stewardship as a way of life calls us to use well all that we have and all that we are, placing all things in service of others and God. Stewardship helps us see the good we can accomplish by mak-ing God and our spiritual life the most important values in our life. Whatever we accumulate in this life stays here. We can’t take it with us! Both tith-ing and stewardship help us remember that noth-ing is mine or even ours … all belongs to God.
