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All Saints Catholic Parish 817 Sable Street Alpena, MI 49707 alpenacatholics.org Phone: (989) 354-3019 July 26, 2020
All Saints Catholic Parish
817 Sable Street
Alpena, MI 49707
alpenacatholics.org
Phone: (989) 354-3019
July 26, 2020
From Fr. Joe The 1st Reading and Gospel on this 17th Sunday of Ordinary
Time, both refer to things that are valued in life — what is
treasured. In the reading from 1 Kings, we hear of King Solomon
who in a dream at night hears God say to him, “Ask something of
me and I will give it to you.” (1 Kings 3:5) Of all the things
Solomon could have asked for – wealth, power, a brand new
chariot to ride around in to impress a beautiful woman, etc. – he
asks God for “an understanding heart to judge your people and to
distinguish right from wrong” (1 Kings 3:9) so that he can rule
God’s people wisely. In today’s culture of instant gratification
and of looking out for #1 (i.e self) that could be seen as one
wasted wish.
In the Gospel (Matt 13:44-52) we hear three more parables of
what the kingdom of heaven is like. (We’ve been hearing a lot of
parables over the last few Sundays.) The first two — finding
buried treasure in a field not owned by the finder; finding a pearl
of great price to purchase — are often seen as how we are to
react when we find what we truly value, i.e. doing whatever it
takes to get and possess it. And we often do just that – e.g.
spending years in school to qualify for a particular career;
practicing for hours and hours to attain a certain skill; spending
hard earned money to satisfy the wants and needs of those we
love (spouse, children, grandchildren, etc). These are not
necessarily bad things; it’s just that we should be willing to put
forth at least the same effort to bring about and attain the
Kingdom of Heaven. Eternal life with God should be at least that
important to us. Do we put any effort into enriching our faith life
– our relationship with God? And, if so, how much?
Data from public opinion polls indicate lots of people – maybe
even a majority – are dissatisfied with their faith life, or their
experience of church. For Catholics, that often means their
experience of Mass. But do those same dissatisfied people spend
any time preparing for Mass? How might they do that? Here are
a few suggestions:
Read the scriptures ahead of time so they have a context in which
to hear the homily. Go to confession to be in a state of grace to
receive Christ’s Body & Blood. Observe the one-hour fast before
Holy Communion. Get to church early, so they aren’t rushing in
and still settling down when Mass begins. Even simply dressing
appropriately. (Have you ever noticed how people behave
differently when they dress up or at least wear nice clean
clothes? Some people say that how someone is dressed
shouldn’t affect how people act! And they’re right, it shouldn’t –
but it does. Plus, think of it this way, in Rev 19:9, the Mass is
described as “the wedding feast of the Lamb” [Jesus is the Lamb]
– the celebration of God’s covenant with His Bride the Church.
Shouldn’t we be dressed appropriately for a wedding? Wouldn’t
you expect people to be dressed appropriately for your
wedding?)
Are those dissatisfied people actively engaging in Mass – e.g.
actually listening to and participating in the prayers and
responses? Do they do anything beyond the bare minimum of
meeting their obligation? Often, those same people (if they are
parents) wonder why their children are inactive, or have left the
Catholic Church. We don’t always realize that we are telling
others – and ourselves – what we treasure by what we are willing
to do to get that treasure. (But what about those parents who
are actively engaged with their faith, yet struggle with family who
have fallen away from the Catholic Church. What should they
do? Remain faithful; and continue to pray for your children. St.
Monica is a wonderful saint to ask for help. Why? Her many
years [over 20] of persistent prayer helped bring her son to the
Church – i.e. St. Augustine, one of the greatest theologians, and a
Doctor of the Church.)
The current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic may actually
have some blessings associated with it. People are having to be
more intentional about coming to Mass – having to get a
MassPasSM, arriving early to be able to get into church safely as
we keep appropriate social distance, reciting the Gloria and the
Creed more slowly as we breathe through masks, etc.
Regarding Mass and MassPasSM, as announced last weekend,
starting in August the weekend Mass schedule is changing to one
Saturday evening Mass at 4:00 pm, and three Sunday Masses:
9:00 am, 12 noon, and 6:00 pm. All those with a MassPasSM will
be seated in the church. There will now be a limited number of
seats in the parish hall for those who did not receive a MassPasSM.
Those people will be able to see the Mass live on a large screen
and have the opportunity to receive Holy Communion. These
seats will be 1st-come, 1st-serve, and once filled no one else will
be admitted.
Remember those two parables at the beginning of this article?
Another way to look at them is from the perspective that we —
you and me — are the found treasure or the pearl of great price,
and God the Father as the one doing the searching. And you
know, we must be because the Father gave everything, even His
only begotten Son, to suffer and die for us. Hmmm … what if God
had only done the bare minimum?
I hope you treasure your family, your friends, your faith.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit • 2
Scripture Readings Sunday Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12; Ps 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-
128, 129-130; Rom 8:28-30; Mt 13:44-52
or Mt 13:44-46
Monday Jer 13:1-11; Dt 32:18-19, 20, 21;
Mt 13:31-35
Tuesday Jer 14:17-22; Ps 79:8, 9, 11, 13;
Mt 13:36-43
Wednesday Memorial of Saint Martha
Jer 15:10, 16-21; Ps 59:2-3, 4, 10-11, 17,
18; Jn 11:19-27 or Lk 10:38-42
Thursday Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor
of the Church
Jer 18:1-6; Ps 146:1b-2,3-4,5-6ab;
Mt 13:45-53
Friday Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest
Jer26:1-9; Ps 69:5, 8-10, 14; Mt 13:54-58
Saturday Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop
& Doctor of the Church
Jer 26:11-16, 24; Ps 69:15-16, 30-31,
33-34; Mt 14:1-12
Sunday Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Is 55:1-3; Ps 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18; Rom
8:35, 37-39; Mt 14:13-21
Mass Intentions Fr. Joe & Fr. Scott will both be celebrating Mass
daily (without a congregation). The following
are the scheduled intentions for this week.
Monday, July 27
† David J. Kieliszewski
Tuesday, July 28
†† Jay & Jason Charoth
Wednesday, July 29
† Betty Ludlow
Thursday, July 30
†† Deceased Members of the
Martin & Mary Minton Family
Friday, July 31
† Clair Tibbals
August 1/2 Weekend Masses
Living & Deceased of the Parish
† Karl & Alta Nensewitz
† Sr. Mary Edwardine Stoppa
†† Edward & Ginette Piontkowski
*The Mass intention that was scheduled for
Sunday, August 2nd, †James Kuchnicki, has
been moved to Monday, August 3rd. The
reason for this is we no longer have five Masses
each weekend, for the time being.
**Weekday Masses are celebrated and honored
privately, but are now livestreamed via our
YouTube channel and on Facebook.
***Our weekend Mass schedule is subject to
change weekly based on the availability of
volunteers. Beginning next weekend, August
1/2, Mass times will be as follows:
Saturday, 4:00 pm
Sunday, 9:00 am, 12:00 pm, 6:00 pm
To check available Mass times visit
www.alpenacatholics.org
United in Vibrant Service • 3
July Prayer Intentions All Saints Parish: For the safety of all.
Rosary Society: For the homebound and for
evangelization.
Pope Francis: We pray that today’s families may be
accompanied with love, respect, and guidance.
LARCC Prayer Intention We join our brothers and sisters in the LARCC community (Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Congregational)
in praying for this weekend’s intention: Grace Lutheran Church: Quilting Ministry
Blessed Mother Shrine Votive Lamp
In Memory of
Karl & Alta Nensewitz
requested by: Ann, Lynne, Jill, Marie, & Mary
(14 day candle at St. Mary Church)
July Contact Confidential Prayer Group
Julie Kowalski | phone: 356-0427
Embraced by God’s Love • 4
Pray for the Departed Harold “Bill” Albright
Elmer Chojnacki
May they rest in peace.
Pray for Success in Resuming Perpetual Adoration
Heavenly Father, increase our faith in the Real Presence of your Son, Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. We are obliged to adore Him, to give Him thanks, and to make reparation for sin. We need your peace in our hearts, in our families, in our communities, and among nations. We need conversion from our sins and the mercy of your forgiveness. May we obtain this through prayer in our union with our Eucharistic Lord. Please send down your Holy Spirit upon the people of All Saints Parish to give them the love, courage, strength and willingness to respond to the invitation to Eucharistic Adora-tion. We beseech you to bless us in our efforts to resume Perpetual Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Al-pena. We ask this in the Holy Name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“Prayer is the root, the fountain, the mother of a
thousand blessings.”
Saint John Chrysostom
2021 Mass Book Open for Intentions
Reminder: our 2021 Mass Book is
open to schedule intentions.
What 2021 Masses will look like in
terms of social distancing, is anyone’s
guess. For this reason, we will only
be scheduling two intentions for
Sunday Masses and we will not assign
them to any particular time.
Reminder: at this time, weekday
Masses are still being honored, but
celebrated privately by our priests.
Update on the Petition to Ban Dismemberment Abortion
On Tuesday, July 21, 2020, Michigan
Right to Life announced that they would
not contest the recommendation by the
Bureau of Elections, that the petition
drive to end the dismemberment
abortion procedure did not meet the
requirement of 340,047 valid signatures.
Throughout the process, there has been
some question as to the validity of why
some signatures were discarded.
Now, instead of pouring time and
resources into appealing the Board of
Elections’ recommendation, Michigan
Right to Life will be focusing on the
upcoming 2020 elections. We, as
Catholic Christians must do our part.
Every human life matters and should be
protected by law from destruction.
There are at least 3 important things we
can do to help make this happen.
1. Pray and fast. Every day, we need to
pray for an end to abortion and for the
conversion and healing of those who
misguidedly support abortion. Along
with our prayers, we need to fast. Can
you skip a meal today? Can you put off
watching your favorite TV program and
pray the rosary instead? Can you pass
on a favorite dessert and offer it up for
this intention? Fasting is something that
we can and should be doing to
supplement our prayer life.
2. Get involved. There are many pro-life
resources within our very own
community. They can use our help and/
or financial support. The more we help,
the more they can help single mothers
or families in need and show them that
there is hope and joy in choosing life.
3. Vote for pro-life candidates. Honestly
look at candidates and their voting
records. Put aside what you hear in the
media and the opinions of others. How
is this candidate going to vote on life
issues? What is their record and why do
they vote the way they do? According to
the U.S. Catholic Bishops, “Respect for
the dignity of each person is the core of
Catholic social and moral teaching. This
is our most basic principle.” When a
choice is available, we must always vote
for candidates who will stand against
the evil of abortion.
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-
action/faithful-citizenship/upload/
forming-consciences-for-faithful-
citizenship.pdf
Serve the Needs of Our Community • 5
Congratulations to Students On Saturday, July 18 at the 7pm Mass, several students completed their Sac-raments of Initiation: Nolan Werda, Conner Kauffman, and Jacquelyn Frantz received their Confirmation and First Holy Communion. Otto and Milo Dahleen received the Sacrament of Confirmation. God bless all of you!
Job Opportunities All Saints Parish in Alpena is seeking a
Business Manager. The successful candidate
must be a practicing Catholic in good
standing with the Church and have
knowledge of the Catholic faith. Additionally
this candidate must have at least 5 years of
accounting/business manager experience;
familiarity with accounting programs and MS
Excel; and the ability to work cooperatively
and communicate effectively. Experience
with human resources, employee benefits,
payroll, insurance, and facility management
is preferred.
The person in this position must be able to
prioritize and manage time effectively; and
oversees all business/administrative aspects
of a large, busy parish that includes a school,
cemetery and soup kitchen.
Please apply on the Diocese of Gaylord
website:
http://www.dioceseofgaylord.org/job-
openings-42/
Date of Adoration Ending Early In the event of a scheduled funeral Mass, Adoration will end at 1:30 pm (instead of 2:00 pm).
All Saints Parish Masses Livestreamed Weekend and now Weekdays too! By this time in the pandemic, you have already found your
preferred method of participating in Mass from home.
But may we suggest another option which is watching
weekend Mass livestreamed from All Saints Parish. If you
are unable to come to weekend Mass at All Saints (and we
do understand), this may be a way for you to still feel
connected to your home parish.
Visit our website, alpenacatholics.org, and click on the
YouTube button in the top right corner. Once you are on
our All Saints Parish YouTube homepage, click on the
videos tab and you should be able to find the recording.
• You can watch the 10:00 am Sunday Mass live as it is
happening or, if that time doesn’t work for you, check
back later and watch it when it is more convenient.
• Daily Mass (which is not a public Mass) is now being
livestreamed weekdays on Facebook and YouTube at
9:00 am. Because of this addition, there will no longer
be the 4 o'clock live feed.
United in Vibrant Service • 6
Stewardship of Treasure Week ending July 19, 2020
Offertory needed to sustain parish each week: $20,481
(7/13/20 - 7/19/20) Direct
Donations
Online
Giving
Regular Offertory—Weekend
Masses of July 18/19 and
donations that were mailed in or
dropped off.
$10,555.50 $2,626.25
# of Donors/Envelopes Used 180 33
Loose $47.00
Combined Total Offertory $13,228.75
Budgeted Offertory Income $20,481.00
Difference -7,252.25
Building Fund $161.00
Capital Improvement $11.00
Utilities $16.00 $20.00
Livestream Fund (as of 7/21/20) $6,715.00
CSA—Week 4 Totals Pledged as of 7/21/20: Pledges, totaling $156,993.25
(79% of our goal)
Remaining goal is $42,073.75
*When making a pledge, please keep separate from offertory if
possible, and remember to
make checks payable to All Saints Parish.
Scrip—Online Option Did you know All Saint School’s
Scrip program is also accessible
online and that many of the cards
are instantly available (ecards)?
And when ordering online, All
Saints School still gets the profit.
See below for the website address
and the All Saints School enrollment
code to get started.
shopwithscrip.com
Enrollment Code: CA56343B6298L
Scrip Online Payment Options
• Credit Card (2.6% fee/total or-
der)
• Bank Account “Presto
Pay” ($0.15/total order)
*You may also place your order and
pay at All Saints School or All Saints
Parish Office with a check or cash
during business hours
Stewardship in Our Readings "The law of Your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold
and silver pieces," says the Psalmist today. Does the amount of my
offering suggest that I could honestly say the same?
Value Each Other’s Gifts and Talents • 7
All Saints Catholic Parish Directory 817 Sable Street Alpena, MI 49707 Phone ........................................................(989) 354-3019
www.alpenacatholics.org Monday-Friday .................................. 10:00 am—2:00 pm Pastor .............................................. Rev. Joe Muszkiewicz Associate ................................................ Rev. Scott Lawler
[email protected] Business Manager ......................................... Kim Krajniak
[email protected] Bookkeeper ............................................ Bette Tadajewski Business Office Assistant .................................. Angie King
[email protected] Parish Secretary ............................................ Penny Jones
[email protected] Office Assistant .................................................Judy Quast
[email protected] Office Assistant…………………………………….Dawn Ringsmuth
[email protected] Parish Catechetical Leader .......................... Jackie Benson
[email protected] Discipleship Coordinator ......................... Kristin Carriveau
Music Ministers ............................................ Suelyn Bartz, John Luke Grabiel, Julie Wood Maintenance Supervisor .......................... Joe Pokorzynski Maintenance Staff .............................................Ken Smarr School Maintenance ................................... Chris Johnston Part-Time Maintenance............................... Jim Bouchard Pastoral Council Bob Mischloney, Ann-Marie Ruder, Mark Balko, Virginia Tadajewski, Christopher Benedict, Deb Spleet,
Bill Kuchnicki, Jane Hiske, Marty Gougeon Finance Council Jenny Poli, Don Bartosh, Vaune Bieker, Dylan Wallace, Ralph Stepaniak Diocesan Pastoral Council ...................... Seth Wm. Peters Diocesan Finance Council .............................. Don Bartosh
All Saints Catholic School 500 N. Second Ave
www.alpenaallsaints.org Phone ....................................................... (989) 354-4911 Principal ........................................................ Nicole Hatch
Local Ministries Madonna House ....................................... (989) 354-4073 Catholic Human Services .......................... (989) 356-6385 Friendship Room ...................................... (989) 354-8018 St. Vincent dePaul Society ........................ (989) 354-3671 Options Pregnancy Center ........................ (989) 354-6089 Baby Pantry .............................................. (989) 356-9317 Children’s Closet ....................................... (989) 356-9545 Caring Place Adult Day Center .................. (989) 358-7928 Salvation Army (Call Us for Help) ............. (989) 358-2769 NEMCSA ................................................... (989) 356-3474 Holy Cross Cemetery ................................ (989) 354-3831
Confession Times
Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday:
11:00 am - 12 noon
Wednesday & Friday: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm.
An open-air confessional is located in the
vestibule area in the back of church near Ninth
Street. If needed, please wait in a pew near the
center aisle, keeping a distance of 2 EMPTY
PEWS between those waiting. There is no chair
upon which to sit since we expect confessions
to be brief to allow everyone a chance to speak
with one of our priests.
