Community Effort

10-01-2017Weekly ReflectionFr. Brian Jazdzewski

While some of you are aware of our change with the hot lunch program at Saint Boniface Catholic School, some of you may not be aware of the community-building event the decision has become. To be brief, while enrollment is 19 students Pre 3K through 8th Grade, after some deliberation with parents, we made the decision to discontinue using the Department of Public Instruction Hot Lunch Program. We learned that some limitations were unreasonable in our situation and additional human and financial resources would restrict what we are trying to accomplish at this point in the School history. The students bring a cold "sack" lunch on Tuesdays. On the other weekdays, we are able to provide lunch for them through purchased and donated food. If you would like to join others who have already donated food, or funds to provide food, be in touch with Carrie Venner, our Head Teacher. On Fridays, we have found success in asking people from outside the School Staff to provide hot lunch and this concept has worked famously so far.

In fact, on the First Friday of each month, the Waumandee Country Store is hosting the students and Staff for lunch. We have also had other members of the community come in to the School to provide lunch and discovered that students and the meal providers have found delight in each other's company. Carrie Venner has asked local groups and organizations to provide one or more of these meals on Fridays; if you would like to join in on the activity, be in touch with Carrie.

Community Effort Two

We are blessed to be chosen to host seminarians for our Diocese in recent months. Your impressions upon the men have been good. A quick update on Samuel McCarty, he is on a Pastoral Year at Saint Patrick Parish, Mauston, Wisconsin and will return for his final year of seminary studies in the fall of 2018. Both Samuel and Andrew Dushek have been influenced by the Institute for Priestly Formation (IPF). As you recall, I've been taking some classes for spiritual direction through IPF. The IPF website (priestlyformation.org) has some resources which may be of interest to you. If you click on the Resources tab, and then Resources for the Laity, you will find some aids to your spiritual life. Further, IPF has a program titled Spiritual Moms, in which participants make a commitment to pray for seminarians daily. We all know it takes a lot of prayer and community support to make the journey through seminary and beyond. Our parishes will continue to pray for the seminarians of our diocese as a regular part of parish life.

Annual Retreat

Unfortunately some priests have equated retreat with vacation. For my part, they are quite distinct activities and I find retreat to be a serious matter. Canon Law, the law of the Catholic Church, requires priests to make an annual five day retreat. Also, by diocesan policy, priests are granted the time for retreat along with another 30 days of vacation time each year. All of this is to lead up to inviting you to pray for me as I'll begin my annual retreat on Sunday evening and conclude on Saturday morning. The retreat is part of my participation in the Institute for Priestly Formation Spiritual Director Training Program. We will be following the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola which means I'll meet with a retreat master each day to help guide my conversation with the Lord and help me discern how the Lord is speaking to me. A priest's annual retreat is really an amazing tool to help him renew his relationship with Jesus, the High Priest; and consequently renew the priest's relationship with his bride, the Church. There will be dozens of other priests from our Americas who will be making retreat with me on the seminary campus in Mundelein, Illinois. Know that I'll be praying for you and however the Lord blesses my life, as one of His priests, it will surely be shared with you in direct andindirect ways as your pastor.