Summertime suggestions from Father Tom
Summer is a time to relax and regroup our energies, a time to plan for the coming year, a time to slow ourselves down and take a deep breath after the busy months of fall, winter, and spring. This variety …
not only in the seasons but in the routines of our lives … is also a part of our Catholic faith. The Church helps us both to fast and to feast, to work and to rest, to turn outward in service and inward in reflection on our lives. Balance … that elusive goal amidst all the changes of life … is one of the gifts of following Christ, crucified and risen.
How might the summer days prove growthful in faith? A handful of random suggestions:
- Attend a weekday Mass as your schedule allows
- Read a papal encyclical
- Contact a lonely neighbor or relative
- Read five minutes of Scripture a day
- Pray the Rosary as a family, or individually, instead of 15 minutes of TV
- Give up a trip to the DQ or restaurant and contribute to the local food shelf
- Write a card or letter to someone you haven’t seen for a while
- Put flowers on a loved one’s grave in the cemetery
- Make a pilgrimage to the “Grasshopper Chapel” in Cold Spring
- Offer to mow an older person’s yard, weed, etc. (bonus: take along a child or grandchild to help)
- Make a holy hour
- Send a donation to a charity of your choice
- Go to confession
- Purchase and frame some religious art
- Make sure each room in your home has a crucifix
- Think up other ideas and share them with your fellow parishioners
May God watch over and protect all those you love in these summer days.
not only in the seasons but in the routines of our lives … is also a part of our Catholic faith. The Church helps us both to fast and to feast, to work and to rest, to turn outward in service and inward in reflection on our lives. Balance … that elusive goal amidst all the changes of life … is one of the gifts of following Christ, crucified and risen.
How might the summer days prove growthful in faith? A handful of random suggestions:
- Attend a weekday Mass as your schedule allows
- Read a papal encyclical
- Contact a lonely neighbor or relative
- Read five minutes of Scripture a day
- Pray the Rosary as a family, or individually, instead of 15 minutes of TV
- Give up a trip to the DQ or restaurant and contribute to the local food shelf
- Write a card or letter to someone you haven’t seen for a while
- Put flowers on a loved one’s grave in the cemetery
- Make a pilgrimage to the “Grasshopper Chapel” in Cold Spring
- Offer to mow an older person’s yard, weed, etc. (bonus: take along a child or grandchild to help)
- Make a holy hour
- Send a donation to a charity of your choice
- Go to confession
- Purchase and frame some religious art
- Make sure each room in your home has a crucifix
- Think up other ideas and share them with your fellow parishioners
May God watch over and protect all those you love in these summer days.
Benton-Stearns COVID19 Hotline
Benton-Stearns hotline is staffed 8:30am-4:30pm Monday-Friday: 320-656-6625 or toll free at 877-782-5683
The MN Department of Health also has a hotline which is staffed 7am-7pm, 7 days a week: 651-201-3920 or toll free 800-657-3903. This hotline is available to answer any question residents may have- from questions about symptoms and testing, to questions about making a donation or what government services are available.
Please share this information broadly with those you know who may be without internet access. For more information, please visit: https://co.stearns.mn.us/
The MN Department of Health also has a hotline which is staffed 7am-7pm, 7 days a week: 651-201-3920 or toll free 800-657-3903. This hotline is available to answer any question residents may have- from questions about symptoms and testing, to questions about making a donation or what government services are available.
Please share this information broadly with those you know who may be without internet access. For more information, please visit: https://co.stearns.mn.us/
Masked Warriors
Looking for a way to help in the community? Good Shepherd Community is looking for help with sewing masks: masked_warriors.pdf
For an online pattern, click here:
www.craftpassion.com/face-mask-sewing-pattern/
For an online pattern, click here:
www.craftpassion.com/face-mask-sewing-pattern/
