St. Stanislaus Catholic Church

Rossville, Kansas

Please join us for the
Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebration
on Tuesday, December 12th
starting at 5pm in Dekat Hall. 
Potluck Mexican Meal, Folk Dancers,
Pinata, Door Prizes, &
a Candlelight Rosary Procession.
 

To schedule a time, click this link:  Directory Schedule
 

St. Stanislaus Church is open for adorers Sunday through Friday 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.  

An additional early morning adoration time: weekdays from 5am to 6am.

Religious Education starts September 24 for Preschool through 6th grade/ Confirmation Class Starts August 16/Jr High & High School Starts September TBD. Register your student now by clicking below. Please pay when registering via Easy Tithe.

Religious Ed/JR High Confirmation/HS Youth Group Registration Click Here
2023/2024 Religious Ed/Confirmation/Jr & Sr High Youth Group Registration
 

Liturgy of the Word

Last Saturday, we celebrated the Rite of Acceptance for our RCIA inquirers. This marked an important step in their spiritual journey as they made the decision to move from simply being interested in Jesus Christ and His Church to becoming His disciples and living a life of prayer. They are now officially catechumens of the Catholic Church. This is the first public threshold in the RCIA process and features a powerful “signing of the senses” by which their sponsors trace the sign of the cross over them (lips, eyes, ears, shoulders, feet etc.). This signifies their intention to surrender not just their intellect to Christ and their time to formation, but the whole of their lives to his kingship. Also featured in this rite is a short explanation of the Liturgy of The Word for the new catechumens, who are slowly being initiated into the Sacred Mysteries. This is a perfect segue into the series on the Mass that I’ve been offering occasionally on my pastor’s corner since this is the next part of the Mass we need to cover. I’ve attempted to verify the following quote from St. Ambrose of Milan, but this has proven difficult as it seems to be gleaned from multiple letters he wrote to the Catechumens of the 4^th century. Given that several dioceses use it in their rite of acceptance, I’m going to hope it’s legitimate! I used it for the brief explanation of the Liturgy of the Word at the Rite of Acceptance:

 “Drink deeply of both beverages, the first testament and the second, because in each of them you are drinking Christ. Drink Christ because he is the vine. Drink Christ because he is the rock that gushes forth water. Drink Christ because he is the fountain of life. Drink Christ because he is the river, whose streams give joy to God’s city. Drink Christ because he is peace. Drink Christ because from his belly rivers of living water will flow. Drink Christ so that you can drink the blood that redeemed you. Drink Christ so you can drink in his words. Let the luscious syrup of God’s word flood the veins of your mind, and take possession of your heart.”

To highlight the main point, when we hear the Word of God proclaimed at Mass, it is Christ himself who speaks to us! How many of us have at some point said to ourselves, “I wish I could hear God’s voice in my life” or “God never talks to me”? If you’ve ever heard the Word of God proclaimed to you at Mass, you have heard His voice! After we hear each of the readings, the lector proclaims, “The Word of the Lord” to which we respond “Thanks be to God!” My dear family, do you add an exclamation point to the end of that response when you say it at Mass? Do you thank God for speaking to you or are you thanking him that the reading is finally over?!! Do you hear this declaration (The Word of the Lord) with amazement and gratitude? The Liturgy of the Word is not an optional prelude to the Liturgy of the Eucharist; together, they have an inner unity and form one single act of worship at Mass. We should desire to be nourished from both the table of Sacred Scripture and the table of the Eucharist. 

“Without these two I could not live, for God’s Word is the light of my soul, and Your sacrament the Bread of life. These can also be called the two tables placed in the treasury of holy Church. One table is that of the sacred altar on which rests the holy Bread that is Christ’s precious Body; the other is that of divine law which contains holy doctrine, teaches the true faith, lifts the veil of the sanctuary and leads us securely to the holy of holies” (Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ, 4,11)

If you haven’t read through the entire Bible already, consider joining Father Mike Schmitz on his popular podcast where he walks you through the Bible in a year and provides helpful context and commentary. May we hunger for God’s Word more deeply this week and thirst to hear His voice this Sunday at Mass!

Fr. Justin 

First Fruits - Archbishop's Call to Share

Please consider participating in this free podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz.  "If you ever wanted to understand what it means to be Catholic and allow those truths to shape your life - this podcast is for you!"

Check it out by clicking on this link:  The Catechism in a Year