July 24 - St. Philip Neri

St. Philip Neri Catholic Church
A Discipleship Parish
National NFP Awareness Week is July 24-30, 2016
“Be Her Joseph!” By Tom Mealey
When we first married, my wife, Misty, and I were the typical secular couple. We relied on hormonal
contraception. Due to bad side effects, that didn’t last long. Misty found out about Natural Family Planning (NFP) through a Catholic friend. Admittedly, I was suspicious of all the “hocus pocus” involving
thermometers at o’ dark-thirty in the morning and observations written down in cryptic symbols on the
NFP chart. That would all change in surprising ways once we got into living the NFP lifestyle.
Before having children, Misty had been an atheist and I had been an agnostic. With our first child, the
miracle of life spurred a spiritual awakening in us. We realized the Holy Spirit had already led us into a
Catholic life. Even after our conversion, however, NFP grew our relationship with each other and with
God in ways we never expected.
We studied Pope John Paul II’s “theology of the body” and became excited about living out our faith
and sharing it. It was thrilling to learn the compelling reasons behind the Church’s beautiful teachings
on sex and marriage.
Much to my surprise, I also learned how grateful my wife was that I was willing to learn how her body
worked. Sharing the family planning responsibility, as well as finding non-sexual ways of expressing
affection and intimacy when we had good reasons to postpone pregnancy, strengthened our marriage
and made me a better husband and father.
When we became Catholic, I knew I wanted to be the spiritual leader of our family, but I didn’t understand what that entailed besides herding our children to church on Sundays. Through NFP and Scripture, I discovered that I had a choice in the kind of man—the kind of husband—I was going to be.
We often blame Eve for eating the forbidden fruit. But in Genesis, we learn that after taking a bite, she
turned and offered the fruit to Adam, who was with her. Adam didn’t stop her and say, “This is a bad
idea, let’s go.” He did not protect his wife, but stood by silently while the serpent convinced her to surrender her holiness and damage her relationship with God.
Then there was St. Joseph. When Joseph obeyed the angel who told him to bring Mary into his home,
he was accepting the public shame and embarrassment of a pregnant fiancée. He sacrificed his personal
honor and reputation to obey God and protect Mary and Jesus.
The choice for a husband is clear: he can be his wife’s Adam or he can be her Joseph. A man can stand
by silently and allow his wife to suffer the physical and spiritual consequences of contraception. Or he
can defend her virtue, body, and soul by using NFP. Today, contraception is accepted and expected.
Any man who forgoes it for NFP will likely be exposed to ridicule and criticism. But as St. Joseph
taught us, there are some things more important than the opinion of others. May we husbands choose to
be Joseph to our wives!
Tom and Misty Mealey have four children and live in the Diocese of Richmond.
For more info on NFP, visit: usccb.org and click on NFP Awareness Week.
Fr. Neil Pfeifer, Pastor
neil.pfeifer@fargodiocese.org
Cell: 701-208-1124
Gospel Reflections from Fr. Pfeifer…
We all rely on each other. Our Lord commands
us to ask, seek, and knock in our Gospel today.
In First Timothy 2:1 St Paul urges us to use
"petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving
be made for all people.” That admonition is still
valid today.
* How often do we pray for others?
* Do I empathize with the sufferings of others:
even people I don’t know? Do I pray for them?
Today, as we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, let’s
remember that he is listening To us.
A while back I read a quote that said, "if I only
had today what I thanked God for yesterday,
what would I have?"
stphilipnerinapoleon.org
754-2860
A Message of
"Ask and you will receive; seek and you will
find; knock and the door will be opened to
you." – Luke 11:9
Jesus assures us that if we ask Him, God will
take care of what we need. The problem is that
in our culture we often confuse what we really
need with what we simply want. Many people
need very little. However, we usually want so
much more. A good steward only asks God for
what he needs.
Parish Announcements
Area Events and News
Retreat for Couples who have Experienced Pregnancy
and Infant Loss : A couple' s healing r etr eat will be Saturday, July 30, fr om 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Holy Cr oss
Catholic Church, West Fargo. The retreat is free and
breakfast/lunch will be provided. The day will consist of
prayer, presentations by Nathan and RyAnn Carr (Founders
of Immaculate Hope Ministry), time for couples dialogue, and will close with Mass. Registration is required. To register
or for more information please visit www.immaculatehope.org.
Tue., Jul 26 .……...…...7 PM
Next Weekend: We will have a visiting pr iest as Fr . Pfeifer will
be traveling to St. Paul for the Steubenville Conference. Fr. Tom
Poisson will be visiting us from Cross Catholic Outreach which was
founded to create a meaningful link between parishes in America
and the priests and nuns working in the Church overseas in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Central & South America. Please give him a
warm Napoleon welcome as he shares their outreach and mission.
Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth Grotto: Dedication
will take place Sunday, August 7th after the 10:00
Mass. This grotto was built in memory of Jane Silbernagel, and is by the parking lot entrance to the church.
Wed., Jul 27 .….....…...8 AM
Baptism: Evan and Jessa Gr oss br ing their baby gir l, Mar garet “Gretta” Ann, for baptism this weekend. Please welcome the
newest member of St. Philip Neri.
July 24, 2016
Seventeenth Sunday
In Ordinary Time
Mon., Jul 25 .…….…...7 PM
+Alfred Gross by Phyllis Barnick
+Roger Wingerter by Tony &
Alvera Leier
+Loren Moch (Anniv.) by Clarence & Liz Moch & Family
Thurs., Jul 28 ...…........8 AM
+Leo Unser by Tom Wald &
Family
Fri., Jul 29.….......NO MASS
Sat., Jul 30 ……...…….8 PM
+Reiny Eissinger by Theresa
Eissinger & Family
Sun., Jul 31 ……..…..10 AM
For Our Parishoners
Sunday Care Center 8:45 AM
Helper: Phyllis Johnson
Exposition of the
Blessed Sacrament takes place
from 6 AM
Thursday until
midnight Friday.
Reminder: Ther e is a mandatory Steubenville meeting for all
youth, parents, & chaperones this Sunday after mass in the Holy
Family Hall. Students will leave on Friday, July 29th for the
Steubenville North Conference in Minneapolis/St. Paul. They will
meet at the church at 6 a.m. Please keep them in your prayers
Extra Ordinary Eucharistic Ministers: If you ar e inter ested in
becoming an EMHC please contact Fr. Pfeifer.
Condensed St. Philip Neri Finance Council Minutes of July 13,
2016: Fr. Pfeifer requested purchasing a durable flooring for the
church entrance area. Printing of the bulletin was discussed. St.
Philip Neri will be hosting a NET Retreat for students grades 9-12
on Tues., Dec. 6. Fr. Pfeifer reported someone is looking to contribute money as part of a trust. Fr. Pfeifer said possible projects
could be social hall construction/expansion or social hall air conditioning. Council agreed the fund could be used for social hall construction/expansion. Fr. Pfeifer reported he is hoping to recruit
more servers and suggested offering some type of incentive. Fr.
Pfeifer will work out details of offering a scholarship for servers.
Fr. Pfeifer will check with a plumber to repair the leaking drain
pipes under the sinks in the parish center social hall.
Come to adoration and talk to the Lord. Trust that He will listen to
your concerns and questions, making them part of your prayers.
Trust that God will listen and bring you peace. You will find an answer to most questions if you wait with the Lord to answer.
Catechist Retreat: Fr i., Aug. 26, Valley City or
Sat., Aug. 27, Lake Metigoshe: Fr. Andrew Jasinski will direct us on retreat with a series of talks
on Pope Francis’ motto, “Pitiable and yet Chosen”, which is also the theme for the Jubilee of
Catechists. This is a retreat for anyone who is
involved in Catechesis. There will be Mass, lunch, sharing, and reflection time with the chance to enjoy the beautiful grounds. 9:00am
to 4:00pm. Deadline to register for both retreats is Wednesday, August 17. Fee of $20 per person. Please register on-line at
www.fargodiocese.org/catechistretreat. Any questions please contact
mary.hanbury@fargodiocese.org.
St. Philip Neri
Catholic Church
Confessions: 1/2 hr befor e every Mass, 1 hour before Saturday
Mass, OR by appointment any
time
Weddings: Contact Fr . Pfeifer
at least 8 months prior.
Baptisms: Contact Fr . Pfeifer
before Godparents are chosen.
Saturday, Jul 30
Sacristan
Phyllis Johnson
Lectors
Phyllis Johnson,
Brendal Weigel
Ushers/ G. Marquart, S. Holt,
Gift
R. Kerzman,
Bearers
T. Silbernagel
Charmine Haas,
Servers
MckenzieHaas
Char Young,
The Diocese of Fargo has 80 pilgrims heading to Wor ld Youth
Helen
Braun,
EMHC
Day in Krakow, Poland on Sunday, July 17-August 3. Please pray for
Phyllis
Johnson
their physical safety, their enjoyment of Polish culture, and their spirituality, that they find peace and contentment by growing closer to
Christ as they encounter Him on pilgrimage.
Sunday, Jul 31
Putt 4 a Purpose - Join the fun at the 10th annual Bishop’s Charity
Sacristan
Mark Wangler
Golf Classic benefiting Seminarian Education and Youth Programs.
The event is at Edgewood Golf Course in north Fargo and will be
Tom Gross,
held on Mon., Aug. 8th. Register 3 golfers and bring your Priest, Dea- Lectors
Jackie Weigel
con or Seminarian as your 4th player free! Register online at:
Ushers/ Jerome & Christine
www.fargodiocese.org/puttpurpose. For further information please
Gift
Schwartzenberger,
contact Steve Schons in the Stewardship and Development Office, at
Bearers Terry Weigel Family
701-356-7926 or by email steve.schons@fargodiocese.org.
*If you are a golfer, and
Blaise Bitz,
Servers
would like to golf, Fr. Pfeifer
Jacob Bitz
is looking to put a team toAnita Fettig,
gether, and also looking for
Lori Gross,
EMHC
pledges. If you are interestCindy Weigel
ed, please call the parish or
notify Fr. Pfeifer.
Stewardship of
Treasure
This Week: $ 3,180.04