St. Stanislaus Catholic Church

Rossville, Kansas

ADORATION
5am to 6am and 3pm to 7pm Every Weekday
8:30am to 7pm Every Wednesday
3rd Tuesday of the month- Parish Family Holy Hour:
          Exposition and Benediction from 6pm to 7pm

CONFESSIONS
7am Sunday Mornings
 

Dear Family,

As we move into the heart of Summer and the season of Ordinary Time, we may be tempted to take a vacation from our prayer life and from Sunday Mass. This seems like a good opportunity to remind ourselves of a few of the many reasons that Sunday Mass isn’t optional, even if we wish it was at times. To jumpstart this reflection, I want to share a couple of portions of Sean Cardinal O’Malley’s 2011 pastoral letter which I ran across the other day. It is an excellent explanation of why our life must revolve around Sunday Mass: 

“The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year.  Every year so many of us willingly endure highway traffic jams and overcrowded airports because we want to be with family members on Thanksgiving, even when we know the turkey might be overcooked, the stuffing barely edible, and the conversation boring.  Why?  We go because we know our presence matters to our parents, siblings, family and friends — and we love them.  We each witness to this love for each other when we are present at table for Thanksgiving and other milestones such as birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, First Holy Communions, weddings and funerals.  Our presence is a sign to each other of the gift and the importance of family in our lives. 

The Thanksgiving meal of our Catholic family occurs every Sunday. Jesus’ eager desire is to celebrate this thanksgiving meal with every one of us each Sunday.  We pray in many good and helpful ways but none equals the prayer that is the Sunday Mass.  It is the one that Jesus implored us to do in His memory. 

We live at a time when many people state that they are “spiritual but not religious.”  If this is the way that you see your relationship with God, I am grateful that you are reading this letter.  You recognize your hunger for God and want to have a relationship with God because He created you, redeemed you and loves you.  Perhaps you have drifted over time from the regular practice of our faith or possibly you have made a conscious choice not to join our family each Sunday.  Please know that you are missed.  Jesus instituted the Eucharist and founded the Church to gather His chosen people and to foster communion with Him, and through Him, communion with each other. 

Our culture today promotes an unhealthy individualism that has certainly crept into the way some members of our Catholic family practice their faith.  But Christian discipleship is never a solo flight; it is a lifelong family pilgrimage.  At the heart of that adventure is the Eucharistic banquet where the Last Supper and Calvary become present.  Pope Benedict describes what happens at Mass in this way: 

At the celebration of the Eucharist, we find ourselves in the ‘hour’ of Jesus. . . [and] this ‘hour’ of Jesus becomes our own hour; His presence in our midst. . . By making the bread into His Body and the wine into His Blood, He anticipates His death, He accepts it in His heart, and He transforms it into an action of love.  What on the outside simply brutal violence — the crucifixion — from is within becomes an act of total self-giving love. . . In their hearts, people always and everywhere have somehow expected a change, a transformation of the world.  Here now is the central act of transformation that alone can truly renew the world. . . Jesus can distribute His Body, because He truly gives Himself. . .  The Body and Blood of Christ are given to us so that we ourselves will be transformed in our turn. We are to become the Body of Christ, His own Flesh and Blood. We all eat the one bread, and this means that we ourselves become one.(6)  

Some people say, “Mass is boring” or “I don’t get anything out of it” or “I pray in my own way.”  Consider for a moment how parents would feel if their children said similar things about the family celebration of Thanksgiving or a birthday party.  “I don’t get anything out of the celebration” or “it’s boring” or “I’ll celebrate your birthday in my own way.”  We would feel disappointed, incomplete, and certainly hopeful that the family would be fully reunited at the next gathering.  Similarly, Jesus’ eager desire is to have us all present each Sunday for His thanksgiving meal.” 

To conclude this week’s reflection, I would invite you to reflect on the following questions: Why do I go to Mass on Sunday? Can I give an answer other than “because we always have” or “because it’s what we do?” I might answer, because I long for a change and transformation of the world and it is at Mass that I finally found the central act of love that alone can renew the world. I might also answer that it is because I don’t want to attempt to be a solo Christian, which is really an oxymoron. We are saved as a family and we travel as a family. I need my family and they need me. 

I hope you consider sharing this article with a Catholic who does not attend Sunday Mass regularly. Perhaps you might feel prompted to tell them they are missed by their faith family or ask them why they stopped going, not out of judgment, but because you genuinely care for them and want to know. 

Fr. Justin 

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Join us at St. Stanislaus for a different kind of holy hour on Tuesday, June 21st, from 7-8pm.  We will worship our Lord in Eucharistic Adoration & through song.

We will begin with Exposition at 7pm and have a brief reflection before beginning praise & worship songs. We will conclude with Benediction at 8pm.

This is a great opportunity for Youth Groups or for anyone who wants to start their summer in a beautiful way.

All ages welcome.

Please feel free to invite loved ones of other faiths to join us. While they may not be familiar with the Holy Eucharist, we welcome the opportunity to share this evening with them as members of the faith community.

St. Stanislaus Church will remain open on Wednesdays after daily Mass until 7pm.  Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday the church is open from 3pm to 7pm.
On the 3rd Tuesday of each month, St. Stanislaus will offer a Parish Family Holy Hour which will begin at 7pm with Adoration & conclude with Benediction.  

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