HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION

St. Michael Catholic Church

MASS SCHEDULE GIRARD
Saturday
5:30 pm
Sunday
10:00 am

ARMA
4:00 pm
8:00 am

CONFESSION
GIRARD
ARMA
Saturday
2:00-2:30 pm 3:15-3:45 pm
Weekdays before Mass, anytime by appointment
RECTORY HOURS & INFORMATION
Tuesday-Friday: 9:00 am - Noon
Rectory: (620) 724-8717
Fr. Maxs cell: (316) 708-9473
Fr. Maxs email: thomas.becket.fan@gmail.com
STAFF Pastor: Fr. Max Biltz
Secretary: Faith Paoni
Bookkeeper: Janel Scales
Bulletin Editor: Nancy Bauer
PARISH WEBSITE:
www.stmichaelgirard.com
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Finance Council
Parish Council
Tony Stonerock, Chair Dale Coomes, Chair
TBA
TBA

!Altar Society

Knights of Columbus
4th Monday of month 1st Tuesday of month
Parish Hall
7:00pm in hall

!Helping Hands

Daughters of Isabella
Carrie Smith
Marilyn Bradshaw
724-6684
724-7133
Kapauns Men: Fridays at 6:00am in the hall

From the Pastor

Dear Parish Family,

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, which this year comes just one day after
Christmas. We often forget what a great gift the institution of the family is for the human race, and
how blessed we are to have The Holy Family as a model and guide. The importance of the family
for basic human happiness and stability was revealed to me about four years ago when I read a
book, written not by a Christian but rather by a relatively mild atheist. Despite not believing in
God, the author is a very honest man who makes very keen observations about human nature. He is
not hostile to religion and thinks that religious people tend to be nicer than unbelievers. The book is
called Life On The Bottom by Theodore Dalrymple. Dalrymple is a medical doctor and psychiatrist
who spent the first half of his medical career traveling around the world treating the sick in the
most remote and dangerous places, such as war-ravaged Congo, and Communist Albania, among
other places. He then returned to his native Britain and worked in an inner-city hospital serving the
neediest elements of society. He quickly realized that his fellow British were the most miserable and
wretched people he had ever met, far worse than anything he had seen in the poorest countries in
the world. Even the poorest Guatemalans were capable of a very basic happiness but not his fellow
countrymen. He noticed that the level of violence, drug-use, suicide attempts, criminality, and other
horrors were astonishing, and most of it was self-inflicted. Misery, hate, despair, and a total lack of
self-control seemed to be the dominant characteristics of the people that he encountered. Doctor
Dalrymple then asked himself a simple question? Why was this the case? The answer he came up
with was also simple. They had no families. The basic family unit in Britain had almost completely
dissolved. There were of course other minor causes that fed into the problems he saw, but for
Dalrymple the breakdown of the family was the single greatest factor of all.
According to Doctor Dalrymple, the men rarely ever marry their girlfriends and usually
abandoned them after they become pregnant (few of them want the responsibility of fatherhood).
The women (more often than not physically abused) have several live-in boyfriends throughout their
lifetimes, having several children with several different men. The children naturally grow up never
knowing their biological fathers and are often abused by the current live-in boyfriend. These
children grow up not knowing anything else and repeat the mistakes of their parents. Doctor
Dalrymple makes a compelling argument that the loss of the basic family structure has led to the
greatest amount of misery the world has ever seen. Without knowing it, he came to the same
conclusion that the Church had thousands of years ago, a truth that it had received from the infinite
wisdom of God: The truth that the family, that most ancient and holy society deliberately
established by God himself, is the most basic foundation for both human happiness. Mother-FatherChild, this basic community is how God intends humans to come into existence, to grow and to
flourish, to learn about God, and ultimately to reach Heaven. God was so eager to impress upon us
the holiness and sacredness of the family that he chose to bless it by joining one himself. God the
Son willingly chose to become the son of Mary and Joseph, thus forming the Holy Family. Of
course Mary was his biological parent and Joseph his foster father. But his was a deliberate choice as
well. Jesus wanted to show that adopted children were just as valuable and just as much members of
their respective families as biological children. With God himself becoming a member of a family,
we all should become aware of the great holiness of our own families, of how deeply God cares
about the welfare and happiness of our families, and of his great desire to bring healing to any
woundedness within our families. If God has such a high regard for our families, we should as well.
Let us all praise God for the wonderful gift that our families are!

Altar Ministers for Next Weekend

Mass Schedule and Intentions for Dec. 26 - Jan. 3

Dec. 26 Saturday

4:00pm
5:30pm
27 Sunday
8:00am
10:00am
28 Monday
7:00am
29 Tuesday
5:30pm
30 Wednesday 6:30pm
31 Thursday 6:30pm
Jan. 1 Friday
7:00am
12noon
6:30pm
2 Saturday 4:00pm
5:30pm
3 Sunday
8:00am
10:00am

106 N. Western Ave.

Girard, KS 66743
(620) 724-8717
Pastor: Fr. Max Biltz

No Intention
Frank Doue
No Intention
For the People
Joe Hofer
No Intention
Joe Martin
Holy Day Vigil
Arlene Schulte
Solemnity of Mary
Solemnity of Mary
No Intention
Jim Davied
For the People
Jim Davied

Arma
Girard
Arma
Girard
Girard
Arma
Girard
Girard
Girard
Arma
Girard
Arma
Girard
Arma
Girard

Next Saturday (1/2/16)

!Altar Servers:
!EMHC:
!

5:30 pm

Next Sunday (1/3/16)

10:00 am

Volunteers

Volunteers

Volunteers

Volunteers

Lector:

Volunteers

Volunteers

Gift Bearers

Volunteers

Volunteers

Collections

On January 1, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of

God, a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass schedule for the Holy
Day is as follows:

Thursday, Dec. 31
6:30pm in Girard

Friday, Jan. 1
7:00am in Girard




12noon in Arma




6:30pm in Girard
Please note that because of the Holy Day, there will be NO
ADORATION in Girard or Arma next week (12/31 and 1/1).

STEWARDSHIP FORMS

If you have not already done so, please return your

stewardship forms in the collection basket. Thank you.

CONFIRMATION MEETINGS

Parents of high school students participating in Confirmation

at St. Michaels are asked to contact the parish hall to schedule
a meeting with the student, their parents and Fr. Max.

PRAYERS FOR THE SICK OF OUR PARISH

Please pray for parishioners Gerald Davied, Dave Garrett,

Herman Masser, Rosemary OToole, Tom Weston, and Judy
Widner who are ill or in need of prayers.

ST. PEREGRINE ITEMS AVAILABLE

St. Peregrine cards, medals and tokens are available free of

charge for persons with a cancer diagnosis or cancer survivors.
St. Peregrine is the patron saint of persons suffering from
cancer. If you would like one for yourself or a loved one, call
Teresa Davenport at 362-3042.

ALTAR FLOWERS DONATIONS

If you would like to make a donation in honor of a loved one

that will be used to purchase flowers for the altar, please
contact Faith at the parish office, 724-8717. The flowers will
remain as long as they are fresh, and the memorial information
will be included in the bulletin.

Childrens Offering

CHRISTMAS CALL TO SHARING

You should have received a mailing from the diocese regarding

the Christmas Call to Sharing, an opportunity to support the
retired priests and current seminarians of our diocese. Please
prayerfully consider making a generous contribution to this
cause. These men answered Yes to Gods call, wont you
answer Yes to this Call to Sharing? Without them, there
would be no sacraments, no mass as we know it. Our parish
goal for this year is $3500. Thank you for your generosity!

Contributions

DAUGHTERS OF ISABELLA

The Daughters of Isabella will not meet in January.

Last Week

July 2015 to date

$2,124.00

$60,668.85

$14.00

$351.73

Expenses

$69,075.23

Over / (Under)

($8,055.50)

Building Fund Contributions

$520.00

Building Fund Loan Balance

$226,577.27

KAPAUNS MEN
Kapauns Men will not meet during the holidays, they will
resume meeting after the first of the year. Kapauns Men meet
on Friday mornings at 6:00am in the parish hall. All men 18+
are invited.

PARISH SHED

The shed just west of the parish hall was purchased to house
the parish lawn mower and the 2 new Christmas trees that
were purchased in recent years. Unfortunately, it has become a
catch-all and numerous items have been stuffed inside. One
of our Christmas trees was damaged because of this. We are
asking anyone with items stored inside to please come and get
them. Any items not removed will be discarded. Thank you.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Next weekend, we will hear cheerful voices saying, Happy

New Year! Its a pleasant tradition to wish others good health
and happiness. It is also the custom to reflect on the past 12
months, and make a resolution to improve. Unfortunately, in
most cases, our resolves dont last long. Soon, it is business as
usual and nothing seems to change except the date on the
calendar.
Perhaps New Year resolutions are a longing on the part of
the secular world for a new beginning. As Catholics, a new
beginning is readily available ANY DAY of the week, not just
at the beginning of a new year. Its called Confession, and a
good one will give what the world wants when they make
resolutions, a new beginning. I dont think its a stretch to
compare reflection on the past year to an examination of
conscience, or making resolutions to the firm purpose of
making amends. Our Church offers this absolution and Grace
each day, for a new beginning. We dont have to wait until Jan.
1. Let your first resolution this year be to make a good
Confession. It could change your life as well as that of your
family. Happy New Year!
- Marcel Normand

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