St. Gregory Stewardship: February 22 & 23, 2020

Weekly Fiscal Year Budget Envelopes $ 2,572.00 $180,000.00 Loose $ 128.00 $ 10,000.00 Total $ 2,700.00 $190,000.00 Support Budget/Week $ 3,653.85 $105,171.41 received for year

Difference this Week -$ 953.85 $ 84,828.59 needed by

6/30/20

Total February Green Sunday: $515.00

Worship Schedule

Saturday February 29—Saturday after Ash Wednesday 4pm SG + Randy Riesterer Sunday March 1—First Sunday of Lent 8am HT + Sandy Riesterer 10am SG + Valeria Dewane 7pm HT + Those who struggle with temptation Tuesday March 3—Lenten Weekday 8:15am HT + Francis Steffens Wednesday March 4—Lenten Weekday 8:15am HT + Special Intention Holy Hour after Mass Thursday March 5—Lenten Weekday 5:00pm SG Holy Hour 6:00pm SG + John & Thecla Bertsche Family Friday March 6—Lenten Weekday 8:15am SG + Brothers & Sisters in Christ Holy Hour with Benediction after Mass Saturday March 7—Lenten Weekday 4pm SG + Eddie & Mary Ellen Broeckert Sunday March 8—Second Sunday of Lent 8am HT + Deceased Members of Koenig-Schneider Families 10am SG + Deceased Members of St. Gregory Parish 7pm HT + Beatrice Meyer

Liturgical Ministers

March 7 & 8

Greeters: 4pm SG: N-Mark & Lori Schwoerer M-Ed & Mary Olig 8am HT: Hruby Family 10am SG: N-Alice Petermann M-Mary Ann Ristow 7pm HT: Volunteer

Lectors: 4pm SG: Connie Bell 8am HT: Mike Kleczewski 10am SG: Theresa Zimmermann 7pm HT: Matt Schneider

Extra Ordinary Ministers of the Eucharist: 4pm SG: Jill Riesterer, Gene Riesterer, Meg Post 8am HT: Mary Jo Grube, Sharon Mueller, Joleen Bonde, Cindy Roeck 7pm HT: Cecelia DeBruin

Ushers: 4pm SG: Ed & Mary Olig 8am HT: Kim & Sidney Kammann, Glenn Neils 10am SG: Eric Zutz, Kieth Biese, Rich Galien, Joe Weber 7pm HT: Miranda Schneider

Servers: 4pm SG: Alex Koenig 8am HT: Adam Faust, Cody Joas 10am SG: Alayna Peterson, Kayla Peterson 7pm HT: Mason Schneider

Scrip: 4pm SG: Connie Bell 8am HT: Schneider Family 10am SG: Paula Emme

First Sunday of lent

Holy Trinity Stewardship for February 23, 2020

Weekly Fiscal Year Budget Envelopes $ 1,291.00 $85,000.00 Loose $ 109.01 $12,500.00 Total $ 1,400.01 $97,500.00 Support Budget/Week $ 1,875.00 $62,708.40 received for year

Difference This Week $ -474.99 $34,791.60 needed by 6/30/20

Green Sunday: $832.00 February Total: $907.00

Parish News

Holy Week Chrism Mass—Tues., April 7 at St. Francis Xavier Ca-thedral, Green Bay Have you ever attended this special Holy Week Mass? Now is your chance! Each parish is looking for two individuals interested in attending (4 people total). You will attend Mass, socialize over dinner, and best of all … accompany Fr. Tony and Dcn. Gary. Carpooling will be arranged. Contact the parish office if you are inter-ested.

SG Mass and Holy Hour Changes Thursday’s Mass time is 6pm. Holy Hour—every Thursday at 5pm and Fridays one hour after morn-ing Mass. Attend the full hour or part of the hour.

The Little Black Books are available. Pick yours up at the scrip table after Mass or in the Parish Offices. Books are $1 each. Only a few left at each parish.

Our Lenten Food Drive for the Food Pantry begins in March. The following is a suggested list of needs for the pantry:

Week One—paper products (paper towels, tissues, etc) Week Two—summer sausage, canned meats (tuna, chicken, Spam, beefstew, small hams) Week Three—canned vegetables (carrots, beets, peas, potatoes, mixed veggies) Week Four—peanut butter, jams or jellies, canned fruits, ketchup, mustard Week Five—coffee,, cookies (any kind), snack crackers,

chunks of cheese Collection boxes are in the church entryways—including at Holy Trini-ty. Thank you! Faye Riesterer, coordinator

SG Choir Practice is Monday, March 2 at 6:30. Come join us as we practice songs for Lent and Easter.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of LeRoy Sukowaty, St. Gregory Parishioner, who passed away on February 25. May God grant him eternal rest and be with his family at this difficult time. On behalf of the St. Gregory Parish community, we offer our prayers and condolences to his family. The funeral Mass for LeRoy will be Monday, March 2 at 11am at St. Gregory with visitation beginning at 9am.

HT Bible Study Winter Break...Studies resume Tues, March 17.

HT Christian Women Next meeting is March 1, following 8am Mass. Hostesses are Bea Knier and Marion Lenz. All women are welcome to attend.

SHAC Baseball/Softball Registration for summer of 2020 is due by March 1. Registrations forms are in the back of church or can be found at www.schoolhillathleticclub.com.

HT 19th Annual Perch Fry served 1,498 plates, the third highest total served. Thank you everyone for your time, talent, and support. The next meeting will be Thursday, March 5, 5:30pm at Meat’s. Looking for new committee members. Dennis & Lois Albright will chair the 20th year, and then will be stepping down. Prayerfully consider chairing this event for our parish. Next year would be a mentoring year! If you plan to attend the meeting please call the parish office to RSVP.

HT Suggestion Box Can the address of the “Area Parish Events” accompany the announcements? Under the “Area Parish Events” sec-tion of the bulletin, the town where the event is taking place is listed. Space in the bulletin is often limited. If the event provided a flyer, this is posted on the bulletin boards. As for announcements at Mass, both parishes highlight events happening at HT and SG parishes. If you are still unsure of a location, please contact a parish office.

Pastor’s Perspective …

“NOBODY IS ABOVE TEMPTATION” Today, we celebrate the first Sunday of Lent. Every Lenten season gives us the op-portunity to reflect on our faith journey and the battle against sin and temptation.

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus shows us the importance of our Lenten discipline and exercises. He demonstrates how we can triumph over evil, even in our fragile human nature. Anticipating his spiritual warfare, He fasted for forty days and forty nights, in fervent prayers and meditation on the word of God. Hence, He was battle ready and triumphed over the devil’s wicked scheme. The first reading shows us that all human brag-ging comes to nothing. We are mere dust. This under-lines our initial insignificance; only the breath of God in us made all the difference. If we dispense with God, we risk being stripped of all glory and returned to the dust of eternal damnation. All that glitters is not gold. The devil only offers false hopes and empty promises. See how he took ad-vantage of the unhealthy cravings of Adam and Eve, of-fering them false hopes and false notion of knowledge and freedom. The devil pretended to be offering them something more than what God has given to them. Re-grettably, they trusted the devil more than God. What a shame! Immediately, their eyes “were opened”, and they realized they had been duped, ridiculed and stripped of their true dignity. They saw the emptiness of their blind pursuits. Vanity of vanities! All is vanity (Eccl. 1: 2). My dear friends in Christ, the devil is no re-specter of persons. He even dared to tempt Jesus, at-tempting to take advantage of His identity and personal-ity. He also tried to exploit his hunger and his position as heir to God’s kingdom. Jesus remained focused; He knew that He was hungry by choice. He knew that His power and possession were not under any danger. Stand-ing on the word of God, Jesus repelled the devil on all fronts, saying, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word, that comes from the mouth of God.” “It is written: You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” And finally, “Get away Satan! It is written: You shall worship the Lord your God and only Him shall you serve.” My dear friends in Christ, from our Gospel read-ing, and the second reading of this Mass, we can see that where Adam and Eve failed, Jesus succeeded. Like Jesus, we must anchor our lives on the word of God, on faith, prayer and fasting, in order to prevail against the persistent onslaught of the devil. Remember the advice of St. Peter, “Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand up to him strong in faith” (1Pet. 5: 8- 9). We pray at this Mass, that God will give us the grace to always overcome the evil scheme of the devil, so that we will share from the glory of Christ. Amen.

Remain Blessed, Father Tony

Area Parish Events & Faith Formation Opportunities

Sun., Mar. 1 Chili Dinner—St. James UCC, Spring Valley 12-1:30pm Chili, Hot dogs available. Carry outs available. Adults $8, Children 6-12 $5, Children under 5 free. Hosted by St. Mark’s/St. James’ Youth Fellowship. Tues., Mar. 3 Differentiating the Roles of Palliative Care & Hospice— St. Thomas the Apostle, Newton 10am Learn about these services and how they fit into our Catholic faith; Presented by Sr. Marlita Henseler and Nicole Reno, RN, CHPN, HFM Hospice. FREE Fri., Mar. 6 Fish Fry—SS Peter & Paul Parish, Kiel Dinners served 3:30—7:30pm; Fish, homemade potato salad, baby reds or fries and coleslaw. Homemade desserts are $1. Sat., Mar. 7 Esto Vir Men for all Seasons Conference—Going Forth Answering the Call to Missionary Discipleship—St. Pius X Catholic Church, Appleton 8am-4pm; Drew Mariani, Emcee; Mass with Bishop Ricken; See bulletin board for more information.

Mass Readings for Week of March 2—March 8 Readings Gospel

Mon/Mar 2 Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 Mattew 25:31-46 Tues/Mar 3 Isaiah 55:10-11 Matthew 6:7-15 Wed/Mar 4 Jonah 3:1-10 Luke 11:29-32

Thurs/Mar 5 Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25 Matthew 7:7-12 Fri/Mar 6 Ezekiel 18:21-28 Matthew 5:20-26 Sat/Mar 7 Deuteronomy 26:16-19 Matthew 5:43-48

Sun/Mar 8 Genesis 12:1-4a II Timothy 1:8b-10 Matthew 17:1-9

Dates to Remember

Sun., Mar. 1 HT Christian Women mtg following 8am Mass Tues., Mar. 3 Alpha Program 6:30-8pm @ SG Thurs., Mar. 5 Perch Fry Meeting, 5:30pm @ Meat’s Mar., 7 & 8 SG Birthday/Anniversary Blessings (No Hospitality) Mon., Mar. 9 Caring Hearts & Hands 1pm at SG Tue., Mar. 10 HT Finance/Parish Council mtg 6pm/7pm Thurs., Mar. 12 SG Book Study Resumes 9am Sun., Mar. 15 HT Birthday/Anniversary Blessings, Hospitality Sunday Tues., Mar. 17 HT Bible Study Resumes 9:15am Tues., Mar. 17 SG Food Pantry 1pm Tues., Mar. 17 SG Finance Council Mtg 6pm; Parish Council 7:15pm Thurs., Mar. 19 Mass of the Sick—SG 6pm (main church) Sat., Mar. 21 First Communion Retreat 9am-1pm Mar. 21 & 22 Second Collection: World’s Poor Tues., Mar. 24 Alpha Program 6:30-8pm @ HT Tues., Mar. 24 SHAC 7pm Baseball Complex Sat., Mar. 28 Alpha Retreat Mar. 28 & 29 Second Collection: Green Sunday

Knightly News

K of C State Raffle Tickets now available. See any K of C member or stop at either parish office to purchase tickets today!

Meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of the month.

For more information about our Council contact Dave Christel at (920) 773-3113

Alpha Schedule

Tuesday, March 3 6:30—8:00 St. Gregory Tuesday, March 24 6:30—8:00 Holy Trinity

Saturday, March 28 Retreat—Journey with the Holy Spirit

Community Events

Fri., Mar. 13—St. Nazianz 1st Responders Annual Fish Boil, SN Fire Station Serving 3pm-8:30pm; Carry Outs & Drive Thru Avail- able; Fish, potatoes, carrots, applesauce, milk; Hot dogs & desserts available; Adults $11 (adv) $12 (door), Ages 5-12 $5 (adv) $6 (door), Under 5 Free.

Lent is about becoming, doing and changing; whatever it is that is blocking

the fullness of life in us right now.

Wed., Mar. 4—No Classes Wed., Mar. 11—6pm Classes Wed., Mar. 18—6pm Classes

** Mrs. Patty Wilhelm, Coordinator-

pwilhelm@stgregorycatholicschool.org ** Mrs. Rita Steffen, Assistant Coordinator-

rsteffen@stgregorycatholicschool.org

From March 2—March 8 the Sanctuary Candles are burning

in memory/honor of:

Weekend of February 29 & March 1, 2020

Pray for the Sick:

John E. Meyer, John Casper, Mary Mueller, Orville Bonde, Leon Mueller, Kay Binversie, Jasmine Bertschy, Tony Scharenbroch, Ken

Kozminski, Wendy (Riesterer) Puddy, Monica Clark, Marie Koenig, John Ryan, Jim Riesterer, Tom Hardy,

Gary Mueller, and Deacon Jim Steffen.

To add or remove a name from this listing, a family member should call your Parish Office-SG: 773-2511 or HT: 773-2380 Thank you.

Holy Trinity:

Francis Steffens

HT Christian Women Calendar Winners are…

Feb 16 - $30 Carol Daun, Kiel #313 Feb 17 - $20 Tim Schultz, Kiel #1253 Feb 18 - $20 Ben Toepfer, Waukesha #1223 Feb 19 - $20 Tom Miller, Valders #731 Feb 20 - $20 Jane Mrcma, Valders #1274 Feb 21 - $20 Shirley Henschel, Kiel #946 Feb 22 - $20 Kraig Binversie, Kiel #198

ST. GREGORY SCRIP Scrip is sold in the parish office:

M-W 7-Noon & 12:30-4, Th & F 7-Noon Scrip is also sold after all Masses

Scrip sales for week ending February 24: $3,147.80 3% (average) profit to the parish: $94.43

Scrip Coordinators: Debbie Griem 773-2708 Marlene Zutz 775-4253

Thank you Scrip purchasers and volunteers!

Sold in office: M, T, TH 8am –Noon & 12:30-4pm,

W 8am-Noon, F 8am-noon & 12:30-2pm Before and after 8am Mass on Sunday

HT Scrip Coordinators~Betty Hardy &

Sandy Neils~920-565-4588 **Arby’s will no longer be carried in inventory, will continue to be

available by special order.** Thank you to all who continue to purchase SCRIP!

HOLY TRINITY SCRIP

PROGRAM

Sales ending February 23 — $1,425 (includes online sales) Profits ending February 23 — $65.40 (includes online sales)

St. Gregory:

SG Families ———————

Religious Leaders

Legacy Gifts to St. Gregory Parish Current projects for donation consideration:

• Main entry doors on the Parish Center

• Decorations for church environment (by liturgical seasons)

• Church ceiling rib repairs & paint

SG Prayer Line: Lucille Heinzen at 773-2317

SG Nursing Home/Assisted Living: Melissa Frost 773-3270

SG Caring Hearts & Hands: Melissa Frost 773-3270

SG Food Pantry: Faye Riesterer at 773-2422

HT Prayer Line: Complete card by suggestion box in back of church or call the parish office.

Would you like to receive Communion at home?

St. Gregory parishioners please contact: Mary Olig 775-4756, Gene Riesterer 773-2585, or the parish office 773-2511.

Holy Trinity parishioners please contact: Dennis and Karen Graf 693-8700 or the parish office 920-773-2380.

Parish Outreach

Legacy Gifts to Holy Trinity Parish Current projects for donation consideration: Update Parish office computer Liturgical Decorations in worship space (colored banners) Upgrading stain glass windows-worship space

The following parish family members are serving our nation in the Armed Forces:

Jesse Augustine, Kurt Binversie, Dustin Koenig,

Matthew Koenig, Samuel Koenig, Brandon Mueller, Greg Mueller, Adam Satori, and Anton Simon.

Please contact the parish office to

add a family member.

2020 Goal 2020 Donated Percentage Met St. Gregory: $22,317.00 $3,107.00 0.14% Holy Trinity: $14,528.00 $1,615.00 0.11%

To assure proper credit, please include the parish name and town when sending your gift. Thank you!

How Has HT & SG Benefitted? Religious Education Support

Have you or someone you know ever been called to share your faith with the young people in our parishes? It can be an intimidat-ing or scary feeling. That is often the initial response we hear from people. Catechists not only receive support and guidance from the parish staff and fellow catechists but also from the Diocese. Through the Bishop’s Appeal, opportu-nities are provided to strengthen personal faith journeys. The Appeal has given financial support to develop several mini-classes for catechists in the areas of Bible, morality, prayer & spirituality, sac-raments, liturgy, and methods. These mini-classes are offered at no cost to the catechist or parish. It is reassuring to know that all who serve also receive the support and training opportunities to teach the youth in our parishes. What a wonderful way to help our parishes grow to their fullest potential!

Holy Trinity Parish Tuesday, March 31 at 5:30pm

St. Gregory Parish Wednesday, April 1 at 6:15pm

“Confession is the soul’s bath. Even a clean and unoccupied room

gathers dust; return after a week and you see that it needs dusting again!”

St. Padre Pio

Walk alongside Christ on the journey of his Passion and remember our brothers and sisters both around the world and in our own cities

who experience suffering and poverty each day.

(SG) Wednesday, March 4 6:15pm Stations of the Cross Followed by Soup & Bread

(HT) Friday, March 6 5pm Stations of the Cross

(SG) Wednesday, March 11 6:15pm Stations of the Cross Followed by Soup & Bread

(HT) Friday, March 13 5pm Stations of the Cross

(SG) Wednesday, March 18 6:15pm Stations of the Cross Followed by Soup & Bread

(HT) Friday, March 20 5pm Stations of the Cross

(SG) Wednesday, March 25 6:15pm Stations of the Cross Followed by Soup & Bread

(HT) Friday, March 27 5pm Stations of the Cross

(HT) Friday, April 3 5pm Stations of the Cross

**Additional Soup & Bread dates for Holy Trinity are TBD. Watch here for updates.

Holy Trinity Parish Bible Study:

Resumes Tues., Mar. 17 at 9:15am

Parish Hall

St. Gregory Parish Book Study:

Resumes Thurs., Mar. 12 at 9:15am

Parish Center

LIVING LENT 2020

Remember to pick, up your Lenten Rice Bowl at the entrance of

church!

BY AMANDA LAUER | FOR THE COMPASS

APPLETON — The sacrament of baptism is one way parishes welcome new members into the church. At St. Pius X Parish, a group of volunteers take the welcoming of infants one step further: They sew the garments worn for their baptisms.

For more than 20 years, a group of parish women has gathered to create the white garments that are given to families for their babies.

Mary Leitermann coordinates this effort, along with fellow parishioner Gail Heyrman, who is in charge of baptism prepara-tion at St. Pius X.

“Del Kaiser was always in charge of (sewing the baptis-mal garments) and when she wanted to step aside, Gail and I took over,” said Leitermann. “I know how to sew. Gail knows how to coordinate things. The fi rst three times or so, we made 150 each time but we had to do it every other year.”

The last time the group got together was in 2015, when about two dozen women made

275 gowns. This year the group sewed 290, which they estimate will last them until 2025. The parish had 43 infant baptisms from July 2018 to June 2019, according to the parish.

Leitermann explained the process of making the baptis-mal gowns.

“I buy a cotton polyester blend at a local fabric store,” she said. “I bought 75 yards, which was three bolts. At home

I fi gured out how many gar-ments I could get out of a work-able piece of fabric.” By cutting the fabric into 1 ¾-yard pieces, Leitermann said they are able to make six gowns.

The women met on Feb. 12 in the Holy Family Hall at St. Pius X and worked from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Our full story appears in the Feb. 21 issue.

IN T

HE

Appleton parish’s outreach includes sewing baptismal garments

www.thecompassnews.org | www.gbdioc.org

FRANKLY,FRANCIS

@PontifexFollow Him On

Dear Brothers and Sisters,In our continuing catechesis on

the Beatitudes, we now turn to the second proclamation: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mt 5:4). Such mourning — described by the desert Fathers with the Greek word “penthos” — is more than mere grief: it is an interior sorrow that can open us to an authentic relationship with the Lord and with each other. The Bible speaks of two types of such sorrow. The fi rst is the pain we feel when faced with the suffering or death of our brothers and sisters. The second involves mourning for sin. Both are grounded in loving concern for others, but above all in love for God. Sorrow for sin — as seen in St. Peter’s tears after his betrayal of Jesus — comes as a gift of the Holy Spirit the Comforter. Let us continually ask for the grace to grieve for our sins and to be open to the healing grace of the Spirit, so that we can comfort others with the same consolation.

+ Pope Francis, Feb. 12, 2020

March 2020

Sister’s online ministry features video interview seriesJEFF KUROWSKI | THE COMPASS

ALLOUEZ — If you visit the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity (Manitowoc) social media sites, you will become familiar with Sr. Cecilia Joy Kugel. Last fall, she started a new ministry conducting video interviews, which can be accessed through fscc-calledtobe.org.

“Discussion with a Deacon,” an interview

with Deacon Kevin Ripley, who is scheduled to be ordained to the priesthood in May, was conducted on Jan. 29. Sr. Cecilia Joy’s next guests are Julianne Stanz, director of Parish Life and Evangelization for the Diocese of Green Bay, and Fr. Edward Looney, pastor at St. Francis and St. Mary Parish, Brussels, and St. Peter and St. Hubert Parish, Lincoln/Rosiere.

“Our sisters had wanted to do some-

thing where we could interview sisters in Nebraska and Arizona about their mission lives,” she added. “It started as a service to interview our sisters and has developed into a service of interviewing (various) people who are building up the kingdom of God and live as disciples.”

Our full story appears in the Feb. 14 issue.

BRAD BIRKHOLZ | FOR THE COMPASS

Linda Cherrier sews the outer seams on a baptismal gown made at St. Pius X Church Feb. 12. The event produced 290 gowns that will be used by parish families for infant baptisms.

BRAD BIRKHOLZ | FOR THE COMPASS BRAD BIRKHOLZ | FOR THE COMPASS

Parish SNAPSHOT

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Colors of the liturgical yearBY PATRICIA KASTEN | THE COMPASS

1 The church divides the year into seasons linked to colors. These adorn

vestments and liturgical decorations.

2 Lent’s color is purple. Unlike Ad-vent, Lenten purple is tinged with

red. This reminds us of Christ’s blood, shed in his Passion. Advent’s purples contain blue tones.

3 The color of Easter — and feasts of non-martyred saints and most

feasts of Christ — is white.

4 Red is for Pentecost — reminding us of the Spirit’s fi re — and for the

feasts of martyrs. It is also used at Confi rmations and on Good Friday.

5 Green marks Ordinary Time. Green is the color seen most in the

church year. It symbolizes our new life in Christ. The Gospels of Ordinary Time often tell of Christ’s ministry on earth.

5 The example of St. Joseph: Three things we knowDear brothers and sisters in Christ:

A few weeks from now, on March 19, we will celebrate the feast of St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

While this is an important feast day every year, this year is also the 150th anniversary of Pope Pius IX’s declaration giving St. Joseph the title, “Patron of the Universal Church.” In anticipation of this special occasion, I wanted to share with you how St. Joseph can be an important example for us in living as disciples of Christ.

One of the things we learn about St. Joseph very clearly

is that he was a faithful man. He was obedient to the religious traditions of his time, as can be seen when he learns of Mary’s pregnancy. Rather than exposing this publicly, which would have cost Mary her life, he decides to “divorce her quietly.” But more than his faithfulness to his Jewish faith, St. Joseph was faithful to God through the promptings of the Holy Spirit. This gave him the courage to take Mary as his wife when he heard the voice of the angel. We might ask ourselves, how are we being called to be more faithful? How can we make more time to listen for the voice of God and to respond to where the Holy Spirit is leading us?

A second characteristic we know about St. Joseph is that he was the protector of his family. This is clear in the way he responds to

Mary’s pregnancy, but it’s also clear when he takes his family to Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod. St. Joseph willingly leaves behind everything he knows in order to ensure that his family is safe.

Like St. Joseph, we are all called to be protectors. Our fi rst responsibility is to our family. Is there someone in your family that needs special protection or care right now? How might you support them? As Christians, though, we must remember that we are all part of the family of God. Thus, we are called to care for and protect all people, especially the poor and vulnerable. So perhaps God is calling us to take a special role of protection, care and support for the unborn, or for the homeless in our community, for the sick and elderly, or for immigrants and refugees who are trying to start a new life in our diocese.

The third characteristic of St. Joseph that I want to highlight is his humility. We fi nd this trait more from what is not said in the Scriptures than what is said. We know he was a carpenter or laborer, but beyond that, we don’t know much about St. Joseph’s life. But we see his humility in his willingness to fade into the background. It’s safe to say that St. Joseph had a signifi cant infl uence on Jesus, laying a foundation for his life and preparing him for his ministry. But rather than assert-ing himself, St. Joseph remains hidden from his sight, known more by his actions than his words. How might God be calling us to model this life of humble service? In what ways can we lay the foundation for Jesus to work in the lives of others?

The entire column appears in our Feb. 21 issue.

BISHOP’SCORNER Bishop DavidRicken

SUBMITTED PHOTO | FOR THE COMPASS

Members of the St. Anthony T-Birds of Oconto Falls and Pulaski’s Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Knights basketball teams pray before a basketball game Feb. 12.

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