Mass and Faith Formation have been canceled for Sunday, January 14th. St. Francis Xavier will still be having 10 a.m. Mass in Windom on Sunday.

Any week leading up to the deer hunting opener is filled with excitement and anticipation. First, there is the preparation. Do I have enough slugs? Is my slug gun properly sighted? Do I have all the clothes needed? Enough food? You get the point. Second, work must be completed. Even though it is difficult to concentrate the day’s prior, there are still meetings, people to visit and homilies to prepare. I have been through enough deer hunts to know that as there is a beginning of the hunting season, every season also grinds to an end. With the conclusion of the season, work is awaiting. Before opening morning, I always had my homily prepared for opening weekend and the following weekend. And third, one dreams, dreams, and dreams some more. Is this the year I see a nice buck? Will I fill my tag? Will my brother fill his tag? When I hunted in Lewiston, I invited my brother to come out giving him a break from the farm hoping beyond hope that he would fill his tag.

One opening morning, I was sitting in my stand. When the "opening bell" kicked off, I couldn’t believe all the shooting I was hearing up and down the valley. Granted the valley stretched for miles but the number of shots was staggering. About 45 minutes into the season, I looked and there were two deer standing twenty-five yards away. To this day, I don’t know from where they had come. They just appeared. I sized them up and thought the one looked like a decent sized deer. I had two tags and could take either sex. It was my time to add to the "volley through the valley." I aimed and fired. My shot was true. I went over to look at my "trophy" and couldn’t believe my eyes. I had shot a nub buck (a deer born that year which didn’t have antlers large enough to protrude from its head). I was hot!! I said words that no priest should say. I couldn’t believe I could have misjudged a deer’s size so badly. I went back to my stand on three separate occasions only to walk over to take another look. The deer’s size never changed. I never intended to tag a fawn, but because of my lack of discretion, I was left with no choice.

Have you ever had something like that happen? Maybe not deer hunting but where you misjudge things. That is the story of this week’s gospel. In Luke 24:36b-37 we read, "He (Jesus) stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." But they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost." A ghost? Speak about a massive misjudgment! Jesus takes great pains to prove he is not a ghost:

All of this leads to the realization that before them is the risen Lord.

Don’t be mislead! Our Lord, Jesus Christ is alive. He is risen. May these words be proclaimed to the ends of the earth. Amen! Alleluia!

Blessings to you!

Father Peter Schuster

Vocation View: On this Good Shepherd Sunday we celebrate World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Pray for an increase in vocations to priesthood, diaconate, and religious life. May God raise up good shepherds in our midst. (1 John 3:1-2)

Continuing on June 15th, Adoration and Confession will be in Heron Lake from 11-12. Adoration and Confession is also available on the 1st Saturday of each month at Saint Francis Xavier Church from 9-12 and the 2nd Saturday of each month at Sacred Heart Brewster from 11-12. May 18th’s Adoration in H. L. has been cancelled.

Congratulations to Agnes Lohse who won the quilt made by Delores Pelzel and to BARB APPEL who won the second quilt. The drawing took place at the annual COF Pancake breakfast that was held on Sunday, April 14th.

Congratulations to Jonah Becker, Cameron Brunk, Alex Kueny and Renae Salentiny on receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday, April 5th in St. James. THANK YOU to MACKENZIE ERICKSON for preparing our youth for this wonderful celebration.

May God bless our First Communicants Adley Haberman, Bennett Haberman, Jessa Liepold and Caleb Olsem who celebrated on April 7th. THANK YOU to Judy Stenzel for teaching, guiding and preparing our youth for this moment.

Congratulations and Well Wishes to Bonnie Henkels. She has retired from Choir Director after many years of being involved in all aspects of the choir. We appreciate all the dedication you have put in throughout the years and wish her the best for her retirement. May God bless you in whatever your future holds!

The Pilgrimage to Paris and Rome. If you are planning to take part in the tour, please sign up as soon as possible. The tour is scheduled for May 6 - 7, 2025. Sign up forms are in the brochures at entrances of the church.

Consider visiting the cities of Paris, Lourdes, Rome, and Assisi. This is an opportunity to explore the rich Catholic tradition of these places and experience the miracles of our Faith. If you are planning to take part in the tour, please sign up as soon as possible. The tour is scheduled for May 6 - 17, 2025. Sign up forms are in the brochures at entrances of your church.

In Preperation for spring cemetery mowing please remove, as soon as possible, anything that is not attached to the headstone. This specifically means anything that is on the grass of your descendants gravesites. Thank you.

Eucharistic revival – Consider going to the National Eucharistic Revival, Indianapolis, Indiana, in July of 2024 from the 17th-21st.

For more information, go to https://www.eucharisticrevival.org/ and click on the Congress tab. If you wish to go as a procession with the diocese, click here, THIS LINK, (for digital bulletin readers. ) Or contact Zach Rawson, zrawson@dowr.org.

Diocesan Mass at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester - June 2, 2024: Bishop Barron is inviting the whole Diocese to come celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, the close of the Parish Year, and the beginning of the Year of Mission with Mass at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. There will be a Eucharistic procession from the Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist to the Civic Center before Mass, and from the Civic Center to St. Francis of Assisi after Mass. All are invited and welcome to participate in the Mass on June 2nd. Mass is scheduled to begin at 2 pm at the Mayo Civic Center.

We are growing and want you to consider joining our staff. St. Mary’s Catholic School and St. Mary’s Catholic Parish are looking for the following: Elementary Principal, Director of Advancement and Admissions, Elementary School Teacher, Middle School Teacher, Music Teacher, Pre-School Teacher (full and part-time), Paraprofessionals (full and part-time). Youth Ministry and Parish Faith Formation (full and part-time positions available). If you are looking for a sign from God – perhaps this is it. We are unique because we are competitive with employee compensation. For further information or to request a detailed job description, please email: info@smswgtn.org for details.

Open Enrollment is now happening for St. Mary’s Catholic School and Little Blessings Preschool at 1206 8th Avenue in Worthington. St. Mary’s is an accredited school with individualized attention for each student to grow to their fullest potential. Here we are Forming Tomorrow’s Saints Today. Serving 3-year-olds to 8th grade. Consider this outstanding Catholic School in your discernment. Join us for a no-obligation Open House on Wednesday, April 24th from 5:30pm. – 7:30pm serving supper, providing tours and giving you hope for life-long Catholic committed children. For more information visit www.smswgtn.org or contact us at (507) 376 – 5236 or info@smswgtn.org

Register by May 20. This year's focus will be the third year of the Eucharistic Revival: The Year of Mission. It will place our attention on the role each of us is called to play in sharing the Gospel. Our theme comes from the Gospel of Matthew 5:13, "You are the salt of the earth." Our keynote speaker on Tuesday morning will be Deacon Keith Strohm, Executive Director of M3Ministries. We will pray with and hear from Bishop Barron as well as he will be celebrating Holy Mass both days. Finally, on Wed., we will be offering breakout sessions that are ministry/ apostolate-specific and will be led by diocesan staff and other great leaders. All clergy, parish staff, parish volunteers, and apostolate leaders are encouraged to attend. Learn more and register on the Ministry Days webpage: dowr.org/offices/lay-formation/ministrydays.html

The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass recalls the Paschal Mystery and makes it new in every celebration. Celebrating the Eucharist is the highest form of liturgy celebrated by the Church. As such, it is effective for those who take part in the offering as well as for others who are not present at the Mass.

In particular, it is the immemorial custom of the Church to ask that priests apply the celebration of each Mass for a particular intention. Intentions may be persons who are living or deceased. Intentions may also be made for a particular cause, a group of people, or for a commemoration (e.g., a wedding anniversary). Specific details of private intentions should always be made known to the priest. Pastors are also expected to offer one Mass every Sunday and holy day of obligation for the people of the parish (canon 534).

The Christian faithful themselves are encouraged to make known to priests the intention for which they wish the priest to offer the Mass. In doing so, those who are able may contribute a stipend that would be attached to the particular intention. Priests are encouraged to review canons 945-958 to ensure Mass stipends are treated appropriately and fulfilled in a timely manner.

Jesus tell us in Matthew 10:10 that "the laborer deserves his keep." The church has interpreted this statement to refer to, among others, the priests of the Church. It is fitting, therefore, that a priest receives a stipend from the Christian faithful who are able to give it, not as a payment for a sacrament, but as part of his wage for the most important work that priests do: confect the Eucharist so that the people of God may benefit.

Therefore, I herby decree that, in accord with the decision of the bishops of the province:

This decree is effective July 1, 2024

The 2024-2025 Compensation Policy for Priests will reflect this decree. Any intentions made prior to July 1, 2024 will be honored according to the number of Masses intended with the original offering. All Masses celebrated after July 1, 2024 will be afforded the stipend at the new rate.

The Most Reverend Robert Barron

Bishop of Winona-Rochester

Christmas letter from Lisa Kremer OFS of the Worthington Deanery

click here to view the PDF

Please like and share our Facebook page. The page is intended to connect current parish members and members that have moved with the activities of Sacred Heart Heron Lake.

We welcome you into God’s family! If you are interested in learning more about our church, or would like to join, please stop in the Parish Office.

Please notify the Parish Office of any change of address.

Contact the priest 6 to 12 months in advance of the date of marriage to fill out the forms, to do FOCCUS Test and to attend Marriage Prep Mentoring sessions. Fr. Pratap is seeking married couples who are practicing Catholics, and have children, who would be willing to volunteer to help prepare our engaged couples for marriage. Please contact Fr. Pratap at 507‑226‑4536, or your parish office, if interested.

Contact the parish office a month in advance to fill out the form and to attend Baptism Mentoring Sessions. All Baptisms will be celebrated during Mass.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation still available by appointment for each Parish.