St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church

Steeped in a rich and vibrant history of service and growth, St. Francis of Assisi has been serving the needs of Catholics for almost 125 years and welcomes young and old from all walks of life into our faith and social community. St. Francis prides itself on being a family-friendly church. We believe that all members of our church community are important to the celebration of the Eucharist.

We invite you to learn more about the parish by exploring this website. Please visit the “Our Parish” section to learn more about the church and its rich traditions. You can also learn how to exercise your stewardship of time and talent in one of the wonderful parish ministries by visiting the “Parish Ministries” section. Some of the many ways that you can become involved include: being an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion or Lector, singing in our choir, serving the needy through the Ministry to the Poor, or by joining our Senior Associates group. For the youngest members of our parish family, opportunities to get involved include serving Mass as altar servers and Children's Ministry, a group which coordinates a variety of activities including weekly Children’s Liturgy of the Word, Christmas Nativity Program, and May Crowning.

We invite you to join our parish community by filling out the online registration form. Someone from our Newcomers Group will contact you shortly thereafter. As one family we come together to know, love, and serve the Lord as instruments of his peace.

Also,

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Parish E-bulletin.

Reverend Michael J. Schneller
Pastor

Uptown Canticle by Father Michael
August 1 2021
 

Pope Francis designated the fourth Sunday of July as World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. I decided to postpone this month’s  teaching article for the Year of the Eucharist to this weekend. The multiplication of the loaves and fish in last week’s gospel of John precedes and serves as an introduction to Jesus’ Bread of Life Discourse. Proclamation of this discourse concludes on the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time on August 22. 
 
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” (John 6:9) These words of Andrew from the Gospel of John are the perfect image for us as we continue our Year of the Eucharist and St. Joseph preaching series on the Mass. Today we focus upon on the Presentation of the Gifts and Preparation of the Altar. In this well-known Gospel, Jesus takes the seemingly insufficient loaves and fish from the boy and transforms this gift into abundance! Something similar, yet even more miraculous occurs each time we gather together to celebrate Mass. Early church writers frequently spoke of the “mysterious exchange” whereby we come forward with bread and wine – simple gifts of creation and the work of human hands – and in turn God takes our gifts and transforms them into the greatest of gifts – the Body and Blood of Christ!
 
Following the Universal Prayers aka Prayers of the Faithful each week, the collection begins and then all that is collected along with the bread and wine are brought forward to the altar. This is an incredibly significant part of the Mass and one that calls for the full, conscious, and active participation of the assembly. This is the time when we must be prayerfully gathering up all our gifts – our sacrifices from the week, our monetary contributions, our pains, our joys, and our thanksgivings – and we present these along with the gifts of bread and wine. The bread and wine are central for they are what Jesus offered at the Last Supper and asked us to continue to do in memory of Him. In connecting our gifts – our very lives – to the gifts of bread and wine which will be transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, we too seek to have our lives (with our joys and pains) transformed and offered wholly to God. So each week we should come prepared bringing the events and experiences of that week which we truly place on the altar of our Lord!
 
As the gifts of bread and wine (and really so much more!) are brought to the altar and offered to God, the prayer of the priest acknowledges that these gifts we give to God are only possible because of His goodness. Prior to offering the chalice, the priest or deacon mixes water and wine, saying quietly “By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” In preparing these gifts, everything continues to foreshadow the Divine Gift. Then the priest washes his hands praying, “Lord, wash away my iniquity; cleanse me from my sins.” He seeks to be purified for these hands will be the hands of Christ who will transform these gifts. We all can be praying at this time that God will give us, too, a pure heart as we offer our gifts to Him.
 
You will notice that at special feasts and solemnities we also use incense during this time of Mass: the priest incenses the bread and wine, the altar, the cross, and then an altar server or deacon incenses the priest, and finally the assembly. When we use incense, we see smoke and smell a fragrant aroma. These images that appear very often in Scripture symbolizing reverence and worship, our prayers rising up to God (e.g., Psalm 141:2; Rev. 8:3-4), the very presence of God (e.g., Exodus), and the aroma reflects that which is pleasing to God (Ephesians 5:2; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16). So, we use incense to symbolize our prayer, to reverence the holy offerings, and to add aroma to make them pleasing to God. Note well: the deacon/server incenses the people of God because they are part of the offering!
 
Then comes the priest’s words we hear each Sunday: “Pray, brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father”. We worship together! Together with the priest, we offer the sacrifice of Christ, and together with Christ, we offer our lives to God!
 
Just as Jesus requested for the crowd to recline as he brought about the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 from the lowly offerings of a young boy, we bring our own offerings to the Lord. We bring all that we are – even when that might not seem to be enough – and we trust that as the Lord joins our offering to His own, we will be acceptable to God and transformed by his life-giving Body and Blood.
 
This month’s Catholic Update focuses on The Liturgy of the Eucharist. From the procession of the gifts to the concluding rites, God’s people, enriched by God’s word, enter into holy Communion. You may either pick up a hard copy of the Catholic Update or choose to access it online when you click here