Bulletin Article for Easter (April 17, 2022)

Happy Easter!!! Jesus Christ is risen!

Hope! At least in my life recently, this seems to be the message. As I mentioned before, I had a funeral the other week of a young man, 22 years of age, who was killed in a car accident. Talking to the family, they said multiple times they didn’t know anyone got through things like this without God. In our own lives, inflation is way up, depression and suicides numbers are up. It is becoming more and more apparent that many evil things are being done in Russia’s war with the Ukraine. Maybe the first question is how does a loving God allow these things to happen? As I have said many times before, God allows them in His permissive will (not His active will) because free will is necessary for authentic love. In order for us to be able to love God back, we also have to have the real ability not to love God back. In in our free will, we sometimes choose evil instead of good.

However, God again offers us hope in the midst of tragedy. Jesus Christ gave us a way out of sin and evil. He died on the Cross for our sins and gave us hope, hope of eternal life in heaven. Hope that, in spite of our propensity to sin and to choose darkness, we can receive forgiveness and live once again a life of love and joy. This I think is one of the great gifts that Christ has to offer the world, that we Christians have to offer the world. The hope that there is something greater than the misery that this life sometimes offers. And we can experience that hope and joy even now if we open our hearts to Christ’s love and mercy. The tragedy of the Cross leads to the triumph of the Resurrection. As Christians, we need to be people of hope and joy. I pray that you feel that today as we celebrate the greatest day in the year.

Have a blessed Easter,
Father Vogel

Bulletin Article for Palm Sunday (April 10, 2022)

Hello,

First of all, I can’t believe it is Palm Sunday already. Although, Easter is late this year. Second, as I write this, I can’t believe it is snowing outside. It is Minnesota. If it is Palm Sunday, that also means we are beginning Holy Week. As a Christian, this is the most sacred week of the year. It is a good time to slow down and ponder eternal things. What is the meaning of life? How am I preparing for eternity? Am I striving for holiness or pleasure?

Today we receive palms reminding us of the people who greeted Jesus as He road into Jerusalem. At the Oscars, they talk about the red carpet. Just like the Oscar, as a sign of grandeur and respect, the people of Jerusalem put down their cloaks and palm branches from the trees. They were so excited to have Jesus there in Jerusalem for the Passover. The Passover, was a celebration remembering the end of slavery to the Egyptians. God told the Israelites to put the blood of the lamb above the door and the angel of death passed over those houses. However, the houses of the Egyptians, the houses without the blood of the lamb above the door, the oldest male humans and animals died. A lamb had to die and shed its blood so that an Israelite family could be freed from slavery. Jesus had to die and shed His blood so that we could be freed from the slavery to sin. Jesus’ blood extends to us the mercy and forgiveness that we need to be holy and whole. What a great gift Jesus gives us!! Again, may this week be filled with contemplating the great gifts of God.

Have a blessed Holy Week,
Father Vogel

Bulletin Article for Fifth Sunday of Lent (April 3, 2022)

Dear Tri-Parish,

I have wonderful news! If you haven’t already heard, Steve Breiter has joined the staff at the Tri-Parish office as the new administrator. I’m super excited as he already knows the parishes and has an innate desire to see us flourish.

Speaking of staff, it has been a great joy having Isaiah Lippert and Taylor Gulenchyn run our youth programs this past year. Taylor is graduating with a Masters this spring from Minnesota State University. She has loved working with our youth so much that she is open to staying for another year. However, she would need to move from a part-time job to a full-time job. Please pray and help me discern if we should keep her on our staff. If you discern that she should stay, please let me know. I know times are tough with gas and food prices being what they are, but if you could offer some financial assistance in order to keep her around, that would help as well.

We continue to thank all of those who help out with religious education on Wednesdays, including those who help provide the food. These meals have become a great source of community.

Speaking of food. This coming Friday, April 8, will be our annual fish fry. Sarah Wenner and the youth are putting it on as a fund raiser for the summer youth camps and trips. Come and support them. I know from past experiences that these summer trips can have a profound impact on the youth and their relationship with Christ and His Church. If you are curious, there is Totus Tuus program here in Mapleton in late June. Then Steubenville Rochester, a three day conference for high schoolers, is in July. Finally, there is a four day retreat for middle schoolers and high schools in late July. You can find more information about any these retreats on our diocesan website: http://www.dowr.org/offices/faith-formation/faith-formation.html.

Next Sunday is already Palm Sunday. How are you doing on your Lenten penances and fasting? If you have fallen, don’t give up. Even this late in the game, start over. It is never too late.

I pray you have a blessed second to last week of Lent,
Father Vogel

Bulletin Article for First Sunday of Lent (March 6, 2022)

It feels like winter has returned. I am gone this week to Arizona. I wish it were for golf and fun, but it a development trip to visit benefactors of the Newman Center. I will be gone Tuesday through Friday. So there will be no daily Mass on Thursday, March 10. However, as they usually do, things will continue in my absence.

This Sunday we hear about Jesus leaving the Jordan area where He was baptized. Jesus goes from the Jordan area out into the desert. Jesus spends 40 days in the desert. Jesus doesn’t eat anything during the forty days. At the end He is tempted by the Devil. Where Adam and Eve failed, Jesus succeeds. Jesus resists putting Himself ahead of God the Father and humanity. Jesus, despite His extreme hunger, is able to control His fallen human desires instead of letting His fallen human desire control Him. This is what we are all suppose to do during Lent. We are to practice small sacrifices to exercise our will. If we allow our will to be strengthened in these small ways, then our will will be better able to resist the big temptations.

Last week we talked about the Church. This week we are looking at the Church as the Body of Christ. In Colossians 1:18, Jesus is stated as the head of the body, the church. The Church is organized the way it is not because Constantine came up with it in the fourth century, but because this is how God intended the Church to be organized from the very beginning. If Truth is unchangeable, then it helps to have someone guarding that Truth. Truth doesn’t care what the popular opinion is. Truth just is. So 1 Corinthians 12 talks about the different gifts that people have in the Body of Christ, but it is one body headed by Christ. All the parts are necessary, but the Body functions as one because Christ is at the head. Ephesians 5:30 says the members of the church are Christ’s body. Just like 1 Corinthians 12, in Romans 12, St. Paul talks about being one body. In verses 4-5, St. Paul says there are many parts with different functions, but one body. So we are many, but we are one body in Christ. So the church is the Body of Christ. We are the visible presence of Jesus on earth. This is why it is so important that we live a holy life, that by our presence, others come into contact with the love and mercy of God.

Peace of Christ,
Father Vogel

Bulletin Article for Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (February 27, 2022)

Hello Again,

Just remind you again of the Synod meeting today (Sunday, February 27) at 2 PM at St. Teresa. Please, please come. The more people that come, the interesting our time together discussing the current status of the Catholic Church and what we can do to bring Christ to more people. In last week’s bulletin article I outlined the questions we will be discussing.

Lent begins this coming Wednesday. Our Ash Wednesday services will be at 4 PM at St. Teresa’s and 7 PM at St. Matthew. So come get your Ashes. As we begin, Lent, it is a good time to reflect on our lives. Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” I’m not sure if I totally agree, but there is some truth to this statement. We have a bad habit from going from one activity to another. We need to constantly be on the go or stimulated. That is why I have loved the holy hours, the extra Masses, and night prayer Taylor and Isaiah have been adding to the faith formation evenings. It is so good for our youth to slow down, be in silence, and take time to be with God, their Lord and Savior. So I would encourage all of us, take time, reflect on your life. What is something I should change? As nature thaws out from the winter and begins to come alive again, what are some things I need to die to in order that I may be reborn, to live again?

As some of you may remember, apologetics played a part of my Catholic Christian conversion. So I’m going to try and do a small section on apologetics each week. The first topic is the Catholic Church. The current estimate is that there are tens of thousands of Christian denominations. But only one, the Catholic Church, can trace itself back to Christ and Peter. In Matthew 16:18-19, Jesus tells Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven; and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” So Jesus builds His Church on the rock of Peter. Caesarea Philippi, where this scene takes place, is a city built into the side of a huge rock cliff. You can find pictures of it in the internet. So the icon, the image of the Church being built on the rock of Peter would have been very easy for the rest of the disciples to visualize. Peter is given the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:17 says if someone doesn’t listen to the church, to treat him as an outsider. No where does the Bible say it is the sole source of truth. However, in 1 Timothy 3:15, St. Paul writes, “But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.” (Emphasis added by me) The Church is the Body of Christ. Jesus came not to start some spiritual invisible church, but a physical entity. All Protestant denominations were started after the 1510’s. The Catholic Church is only church that can trace its roots back to Christ Himself. For 2000 years, Satan has tried to bring down the Church. In the prologue, St. John writes, “…the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The Church Christ started and founded on Peter is still going 2000 years later. And it will continue until Christ comes back. It is a great gift to belong to the Catholic Church. It doesn’t always seem that way, but it is. May we stay and learn the wisdom and Truth she provides through her bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

Peace of Christ,
Father Vogel

Bulletin Article for Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 20, 2022)

Greetings,

Lots of great things are happening. Next Saturday, February 26, we are going to have a Youth and Teaching Mass. I know we just did a teaching Mass, but I didn’t get to say much about the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Then the next day we are having our Tri-parish Synod meeting. We will be discussing the questions that are listed below (and a few other questions). We will log the answers and then they will be sent to the diocese. The diocese will collate all the answers from all over the diocese and then send them on to the Pope in Rome. Our pope, our spiritual father, has asked us to voice our thoughts. So we invite all to come to our parish synod meeting on Sunday, February 27 at 2 PM. It would be amazing to have you there.

1. 1. How do we as a Church listen well, and where do we fall short in hearing the voices of all who live in this area?
2. 2. Do our decision-making methods allow us to listen to the People of God and the Holy Spirit? Are these methods employed with transparency?
3. 3. What hinders me as a baptized Christian from being an active, missionary disciple?
4. 4. What areas of Christ’s mission are we neglecting?
5. 5. How do prayer and liturgical celebrations actually inspire and guide our common life and mission in our community? (Examples of liturgical celebrations include Mass, Funerals, Weddings, Baptisms, services, etc.)
6. 6. What steps can be taken to grow closer to our fellow non-Catholic Christians? (A missionary disciple is someone who has relationship with Jesus Christ and is actively leading others to Jesus Christ.)
7. 7. How can we foster an approach to participation and leadership that is modelled on communion, participation and mission?
8. 8. What signs have you seen in our community that we are fostering a life of “walking together,” listening to one another, participating in mission, and engaging in dialogue — all the while paying attention to the movements of the Holy Spirit? (Some examples of movements of the Holy Spirit include answered prayers, people choosing to change their lives and follow Christ, newfound curiosity of Jesus, etc.)
9. 
   Today we hear Jesus tell us to love our enemies. As I have said before, love is willing the good of the other. People often become our enemies because they have or are hurting us in some way. Loving them is not forgetting what they have done to us. It is not healthy to ignore the pain others cause us. However, with the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit, how can we move forward to the point where we can will the good of our enemies? Can we desire and will that good things happen to them, that they eventually go to heaven? Part of that could be that they realize the evil they have done and change their ways. So pray for the grace to love our enemies, to will the good of our enemies.

Peace and love of Christ,
Father Vogel

Bulletin Article for Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 13, 2022)

Hello, hello,

Both the SEEK conference last weekend and the Spiritual Direction training has been amazing. One of the FOCUS missionaries said she saw a record number of students at daily Mass. So great things are happening in the ministry at MSU. Please pray that this continues.

Closer to home, we pray that parents realized the importance of proclaiming Christ at home. During the Rite of Baptism, it does not talk about religious education. It talks about parents being the first teachers of the faith. Faith formation needs to supplement what is being taught at home; not the other way around. Please, let me know what resources you need to better live the faith at home. Christianity is not a system of philosophy. It is not just about knowledge. It is about the Person of Jesus Christ. It is about relationship with God. Relationships change our lives. Spouses live their lives radically different because they are married; because they have children. Our relationship with Jesus, our faith, should radically “infect” our home life, our family life. Please let me know how I can help make this happen.

In the Gospel of Matthew we have the Sermon on the Mount. Today we have the Sermon on the Plane. In some ways we can think of the Ten Commandments as what not to do. The Beatitudes can teach us what to do. They can help us live for eternity instead of for just this life on earth. How can we live for God and for others instead of living for ourselves? God’s love calls us to live differently.

Peace of Christ,
Father Vogel

Bulletin Article for Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (February 6, 2022)

Wow! It is cold out. However, my phone says that it will be over 40 degrees on Tuesday in Mapleton. Unfortunately I won’t be here to enjoy it. This week I will be in Mundelein, Illinois for more spiritual direction training. This is session three of nine. What is spiritual direction? Spiritual direction is meeting with someone to discuss your life and your prayer so as to better discern God’s voice in your life. It is almost always good to get an outside opinion about the important things in life. All priests are strongly encouraged to have a spiritual director. If you would like to receive or try spiritual direction, feel free to contact me.

In the Gospel, Jesus gets into a boat belonging to Simon Peter so that He can teach the crowd sitting on the beach without being crushed by the crowd. Jesus teaches the crowd for a bit and then He tells Peter to lower the nets in the deepest part of lake. Simon replies that they have been fishing all night long and have caught nothing. Luckily Simon has a heart of docility and humility: “…but at your command, I will lower the nets.” Peter had his doubts, but he did what Jesus asked of him anyways. Do we do this? Do we give God the benefit of the doubt? Do we trust that God will come through even if we don’t know how? Jesus eventually calls Simon to catch men instead of fish: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” Because the Apostolic Succession of our bishops, we too are called to be fishers of men. Is there anyone that you come into contact on a regular basis that need the good news of Jesus Christ shared with them? Is God calling you to meet them with where they are at?

I pray we all desire to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others.

Peace of Christ,
Father Vogel

Bulletin Article for Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 30, 2022)

Hello,

Please keep the Newman ministry in your prayers this week. This coming weekend we having our annual SEEK conference. Usually we gather around the New Year with 18,000 other college students. However, because of Covid, for the second year in a row, this has been delayed and made a virtual conference. So even though we are not meeting in Salt Lake City as originally planned, pray that the students still have a life changing event this coming weekend (February 4-6).

This weekend, this Saturday (January 29), we hosted a Pre-Cana retreat for 37 couples. I’m always pleasantly surprised by how many couples sign up for these Pre-Cana retreats. Despite the divorce culture we live in, people still believe in marriage. Today’s reading if from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. The reading is from the 13th chapter, St. Paul’s great treatise on love. In this treatise, St. Paul says that love never fails. And yet, our world, our personal experiences, would tell us otherwise. However, studies seem to side with the pro-marriage camp. Studies have shown that those who are married are happier, are less depressed, enjoy more frequent and better quality sexual experiences, earn more money, less prone to violence, and live longer. And these are actually married people, excluding those who live together. So if marriage is just a contact, a piece of paper, then it is one amazing piece of paper. The reason for this is marriage is not just a piece of paper, a contract. It is a covenant, a Sacrament. A contract is an exchange of goods. A covenant is an exchange of persons. “I give myself to you. You give yourself to me.” This is what God does with us. He gave Himself to us, especially on the Cross. All He wants is for us to give ourselves back to Him. Marriage is an image, an icon, of God’s relationship with us. God’s love for us never fails. Therefore, we should strive to love each other, especially spouses, with the same unfailing love.

Take care and have a blessed week,
Father Vogel

Bulletin Article for Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 23, 2022)

Dear People of God,

Today we hear Jesus proclaim that He is the promised Messiah. On a Sabbath, at the synagogue Jesus grew up in, he reads an ancient passage from the prophet Isaiah. He then says that this passage has been fulfilled in your hearing. We all want liberty, to see things as they are, to be free. These are things are hearts deeply desire. These are also things that Jesus extends to us. Jesus wants to give us the things we need to have a great life.

There are so many distractions in the world. The Lord wants to meet us where we are at. And often He does. However, a lot of times He meets us in the silence. So in a world of smart phones and connected devices, how can we carve out time for silence, for God? Have you given God the space and time to announce His presence in your life?

We had a great time tubing at Mount Kato this past Monday. And then this past Wednesday, after a night of Bingo, we had Adoration and Night prayer. Our youth are such a treasure.

May God bless and keep you,

Father Vogel