ST. THOMAS AQUINAS ~ ELKHART LAKE

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS PARISH Parishioners: A few weeks ago, as part of my homily I recommended a little book by Mark Twain entitled The War Prayer to you. The following Sunday, one of the greeters at SJB, Sue Zignego, came up to me before Mass and thanked me for telling her about The War Prayer the previous week, handing me a nicely wrapped little package as she did so. I put the package in the sacristy and proceeded on with Mass. After Mass, I took the un-opened package and went to my office to do some work. I was just wrapping things up and preparing to leave when my eyes fell on the package sitting on the edge of my desk. I decided to open it. It was a paperback. At the top of the cover was the name “Mark Twain” and in the middle was the title: JOAN OF ARC. Underneath the title was printed: “I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best . . .” – Mark Twain I turned the book over and read these words of one of his biographers: Very few people know that Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) wrote a major work on Joan of Arc. Still fewer know that he considered it not only his most important but also his best work. He spent twelve years in research and many months in France doing archival work and then made several attempts until he felt he finally had the story he wanted to tell. He reached his conclusion about Joan’s unique place in history only after studying in detail accounts written on both sides, the French and the English. A remarkably accurate biography of the life and mission of Joan of Arc told by one of this country’s greatest storytellers. I was one of those who didn’t know this about Mark Twain! I blush to confess: I didn’t know much about Joan of Arc, either. Oh, I knew she existed and was pretty sure she was burned at the stake sometime in the Middle Ages. But I’d never read her story and had pretty much consigned her to the ranks of quasi-myth/fairy tale. (I’ve since read the multi-page glimpse of her life as presented in Butler’s Lives of the Saints. Turns out she was very real and very much the martyr! And Mark Twain really did do his homework; his names and dates are rock solid.) As I’ve mentioned before, I have this pile of books to be read, and Joan of Arc went on top of it. But I’d grown very curi-ous about her, so three weeks later, upon finishing the book I’d been working on, I picked up Joan of Arc and started in. Wow!!! Twain presents the story as a memoir written by a childhood friend and companion of Joan who serves as her scribe/secretary. It runs over 400 pages, but the story flows so well and so quickly that the pages just seem to melt away. I don’t remember when I stumbled upon the fact, but it turns out that Joan was martyred on my birthday, May 30th (which happens to be her Feast Day). Just one more reason why Joan of Arc, the person and the book, has belatedly found a special

niche in my heart! Father Phil

MASS SCHEDULE

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time August 23, 2020

Saturday, August 22: 5:30pm † Bernie Lieffring 5:30pm † Tom Koenigs Sunday, August 23: 8:00am † Patrick Brotz 8:00am † John Cain Wednesday, August 26: 8:00am For single mothers and fathers 8:30-9:30am ADORATION Friday, August 28: 8:00am For a peaceful death Saturday, August 29: 5:30pm † Jackie & Timmy Coyne 5:30pm † Margie Schubert Sunday, August 30: 8:00am Living & Deceased Members of Margaret & Robert OReilly

Saturday, August 22nd: Lector: Ron Nielsen & Communion Distributor: Lynette Fiebrink

Sunday, August 23rd: Lector: Red Platz & Communion Distributor: Diane Slabe Saturday, August 29th: Lector: Kevin White & Communion Distributor: Lynette Fiebrink

Sunday, August 30th: Lector: Mary Jo Jetzer & Communion Distributor: Bev Verhulst

Please call the office (876.2457) if your interested in starting to minister or ushering!!

STEWARDSHIP ~ August 12 - August 19, 2020 THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!

Stewardship Env. Loose Bldg Mnt. Env. Assump. Env. ZeruZeru (Missionary) $4,949.00 $311.30 $430.00 $333.00 $3,803.00

Baptism Through the waters of Baptism we

welcome Emily Ray into God’s grace, and our STA Parish Family. She will be

baptized on Sunday, August 23rd

and is the daughter of Michael & Jessica Christ

Congratulations and God’s choicest blessings to the parents and their newly baptized baby.

Registering for FORMED is easier than ever:

Register here to signup or

1. Go to formed.org/signup 2. Select your parish (STA) 3. Register with your name

and email address 4. Check that email account for

a link to begin using FORMED

CHECK IT OUT STA now offers YOU...

“For the disciple of Christ to evangelize is an obligation of love.” St. John Paul II

What Is Alpha? Alpha is run all over the world in over 169 countries, 112 languages and with over 29 million people having experienced Alpha. In the Catholic context, Alpha is a tool to introduce people to an initial proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ—the kerygma. As Pope Francis says, “Nothing is more solid, profound, secure, meaningful, and wisdom filled than that initial proclamation.” (EG, 165). Alpha takes people on a journey often leading to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. It ena-bles people to ask their questions, share ideas, build friendships, and experience the love of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Who Is Alpha For? Alpha is designed primarily for those with no experience of the Church, which is why Alpha keeps it simple. It also means that anyone can benefit from Alpha, because no assumptions are made about a persons’ level of knowledge, understanding, or engagement with Christianity. What About Me? We are relying upon YOU, our parish families, for the success of Alpha. You can get involved in several different ways. 1) You are invited to reach out to 1, 2, or 3 people you know to personally invite them to consider joining our parishes Alpha experience. Help spread the Word! 2) Consider joining an Alpha group yourself this fall! We can all use the opportunity to get grounded in the foundation of our faith - right relationship with God. 3) As we move forward in the coming weeks, please prayerfully hold our Alpha groups close to you for the Holy Spirit to flow among the people, the conversations and the learning. We launch our 11 week series starting Sunday, September 13th. More info can be found on our parish website stthomasaquinasel.org

Through the waters of Baptism we wel-into God’s grace,

Saturday, July 18th and is the daughter

Until further notice, people who have a fever or are experiencing flu-like symptoms should not attempt coming to Mass. Moreover,

people over the age of 65 and those with compromised auto-immune systems and/or pre-existing health issues that

render them more susceptible to infections or respiratory difficulties should consider staying away, as well. The Archbishop

has extended his dispensation to all Catholics in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, no matter their age, from the obligation of

attending Sunday Mass through Sunday, September 6th.

Next Weekends 5th Sunday Collection will support::

(formally New Hope Pregnancy Ctr) AND