The Grapevine - September 2016 by St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church

Grapevine the St. Francis

September 2016

Fall 2016 AdultAn Catechesis: Opportunity to Mature in Faith This fall, we challenge all adults in our parish to dive deeper into their faith, maturing in their relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church. Participating in our adult catechsis offerings is just one of many ways you can tackle this challenge!

INQUIRY SESSIONS ABOUT BECOMING CATHOLIC Wednesday, September 7 - 6:30 pm (Baptized Non-Catholics) Sunday, September 11 - 1:00 pm (Adults Seeking Confirmation)

SUN

MON

TUES

WED

THUR 1

25 2

FRI 2

SAT 3

SEPTEMBER 8

More information about these sessions and becoming Catholic: sfatx.org/rcia

LITERATURE AS PROPHECY: CHRIST PRESENT WHERE SO OFTEN WE DON’T SEE HIM with Dr. Robert Alexander Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Othello, and Hamlet Starting Mon, September 12 - 6:30 pm & Fri, September 16 - 9:15 am

The wealth of beauty, faith, and Catholicism found in Shakespeare is so often not taught in most schools today. Dr. Alexander will present the major themes in these three plays over several weeks starting September 12 & 16. Dr. Alexander will offer the same class twice a week — once on Monday at 6:30 pm and again on Friday at 9:15 am.

“DEFENDING THE EXISTENCE OF GOD” with Jared Zimmerer Thursday, September 22 - 6:30 pm

This one-night presentation by Jared Zimmerer will offer ways in which we can cogently and charitably be able to answer the many questions and arguments given by atheists. Learn how to answer questions like: “If God exists, why is there evil in the world?”

“THE CASE FOR CHRIST” with Jared Zimmerer Thursday, October 20 - 6:30 pm

If Jesus wasn’t who he said he was then he was either a madman or a liar. This one-night presentation will offer ways to defend the Lordship of Christ and how we might charitably discuss this with others.

INTO THE WILD WEEKEND  A MEN’S RETREAT in Mexia, TX Thursday, November 10 – Sunday, November 13

Into the Wild is an Authentically Masculine Outdoor, Experiential Retreat Weekend for Men. Men of St. Francis plan to carpool together down to Mexia to attend this retreat, please contact Jared at jzimmerer@sfatx.org if interested.

ADVENT MISSION “LET CHRIST BE BORN IN YOUR SOUL!” with Fr. Brian Mullady Sunday, November 27 – Thursday, December 1 - each night at 6:30 pm Fr. Brian Mullady will preach on growth in prayer and spiritual life using the great spiritual authors like Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and Thomas Aquinas.

Several ongoing bible studies are also available as adult catechesis opportunities. For more information, visit sfatx.org/catechesis/adult.

OCTOBER 9

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

MORE INFO: sfatx.org/catechesis/adult

A NEWSLETTER OF ST FRANCIS CATHOLIC CHURCH • 861 WILDWOOD LN, GRAPEVINE TX • SFATX.ORG

FROM THE PASTOR Summer is coming to an end and students are back to school, but we still have many more weeks until the sun gives us a respite from the heat.

OFFICE HOURS Monday Thursday

9:15 am - 8:30 pm

Friday Sunday

9:15 am - 12:00 pm 8:30 am - 12:30 pm

(closed for lunch from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm)

CHURCH HOURS Monday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

8:00 am - 8:30 pm 8:00 am - 6:00 pm 8:00 am - 6:00 pm 7:00 am - 5:30 pm

MASS SCHEDULE WEEKENDS (nursery/guarderĂa) Saturday Vigil 5:00 pm Sunday 8:00 am 10:00 am (en espaĂąol) 1:00 pm 4:30 pm WEEKDAYS Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

8:30 am 8:30 am 6:00 pm 8:30 am 8:30 am

St. Francis of Assisi Church

861 Wildwood Lane Grapevine, Texas 76051 817.481.2685 // 817.488.3169 (f)

sfatx.org //

The summer at St. Francis was an exciting one. Young Church, our middle school and high school youth program, had a great time cruising around on the party barge on Lake Grapevine. A large group of youth went to the first annual Steubenville Lonestar Retreat and had their faith strengthened through Mass, praise and worship, talks and Adoration. We had several youth who went to Cove Crest and Hidden Lake Summer Camps, where they had a mix of traditional camp activities and faith building, and we had a whole host of social events for the youth throughout the summer. A highlight of the summer for me was being able to take college students who were home for the summer out for breakfast each Thursday after Mass. It was great to have fellowship with these young men and women as they either start or continue their collegiate education. In June, parishioners Guillermo and Patty Munoz and Scott Immel were commissioned as Lay Minister Leaders and a Catechetical Minister respectively, having completed the required studies at the St. John Paul II Institute for the Diocese of Fort Worth. We are grateful for their leadership among our lay community and pray that more parishioners will seek opportunities to grow in their faith both here at the parish and throughout the diocese. As we look forward to the fall, we are preparing for Religious Education (Catechesis) which will begin very soon. Nearly 1000 children will be building their relationship with Christ and learning their faith in this program this year. In September we will have our annual Golf Tournamet, and October will bring our Community Fest, both which help raise money for our Outreach activities. These are two great events that keep us focused on our responsibility to serve the poor. I hope that everyone will get involved and participate this year. We also welcomed Fr. Raul Martinez as our associate pastor in August. It is great to have Fr. Martinez with us. Please make sure to take some time and introduce yourself to him and make him feel welcome. It is always overwhelming to come to a new parish. Finally, make sure to follow us on our website (sfatx.org) and on Twitter and Facebook (@stfrancistx) for the latest parish activities. In His Holy Name, Fr. Flynn Pastor

Parish happenings PARISH HAPPENINGS

VBS

2016

Thank you to the 100+ volunteers that made our Vacation Bible School program, Parachuting with the Angels and St. Catherine Labouré, a huge success! We had 200 children participate in the program during the week of July 25-29, which included learning about the angels, St. Catherine, and the Miraculous Medal, as well as an opportunity for Eucharistic Adoration and Mass. The children collected toiletry items for St. Francis Outreach, totalling 1,849 toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, shampoo, deodorant, diapers, wipes. The children also offered prayers in thanks for the priestly guidance of our pastor, Fr. Flynn. Seeing the children’s joy during Vacation Bible School this year made it clear that the Holy Spirit was present! A special thanks goes out to Lourdes Graves and Marisa Hill for their leadership and selfless service in organizing VBS. We couldn’t have done it without you ladies!

CATECHIST DAY // JULY 30, 2016 Our first annual Catechist Day was one of evangelization, fellowship, prayer, and discernment. Catechist Day is an opportunity for the Evangelization and Catechesis Department to share its vision, feed the catechists of the Church, and thank every one of our catechists for the hard work they do. The day opened up with Edmund Mitchell discussing what exactly evangelization and catechesis are. There were several breakout sessions including introduction sessions to the many catechesis programs offered here at St. Francis, such as RCIA, Young Church, and Children's Catechesis. The other topical sessions included ‘Spiritualty of a Catechist,’ ‘Senses of Scripture,’ and ‘Catechumenal Discipleship’. The day ended with Jared Zimmerer discussing Missionary Discipleship, the call of the Church for all of the baptized to go out and evangelize to the world. Both of the keynotes and all of the topical sessions were recorded and are available online at sfatx.org/catday. Because this is an annual event, we hope that everyone will consider joining us next year!

Despite the rain, the Parish Picnic & BBQ Cook-off on June 11 was a great success! Thank you to the 400+ people who attended, especially the 15 teams who competed in the BBQ competition and the hard-working volunteers (especially the MOMs) who put on the event! A special congratulations to our three winning teams: 1st Place - CRHP Men • 2nd Place - Jarzynka Family 3rd Place - The Notorious Pig the St. Francis

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YOUTH MINISTRY Steubenville Lonestar

A Reflection by Lourdes Buksh

See videos from the Young Church Summer:

sfatx.org/yc-summer/

Steubenville Lonestar 2016 was extremely touching and truly, a beautiful experience. I did attend Steubenville MidAmerica last year, and although it was larger, it was nothing compared to the mass amount of energy from the youth at Lonestar. Every single person was jumping, the ceiling and chandeliers were shaking, and if I were to pause for a moment and stand still, the floor would bounce up and down. For the first time ever, I truly felt everyone in the room was experiencing the presence of God, and not one person wasn’t having the time of their lives, feeling the Holy Spirit move through them. This was the kind of retreat where after we left, everyone from our group was sharing our incredible experiences with the other youth from the parish who did not attend, or even some of their non-Catholic friends. For weeks, all I had heard was “Remember when Father Parks dabbed during mass?” from so many different people, over and over again. Later, during adoration, there were teens standing up all around me, praising the Lord, some even with tears. I, myself, felt utter desperation to experience the Holy Spirit again, as I did the year before. Furthermore, many of the talks were about common issues in today’s society regarding the Catholic church, such as gay marriage. The speakers of the talk set everything about this issue straight, eliminating all of the false views that most of us had thought were what Catholics believed about this topic. They explained it in ways I had never considered before, making it easier for me to explain to my other non-Catholic friends who were curious about our views. Overall, this experience allowed me to grow closer to the youth of this parish, definitely leaving me with memories I will never forget.

Hidden Lake Middle School Camp A Reflection by Charlie Nelson

Here is a bit of my experience before, after, and during Hidden Lake, a religious based camp that I recently went to with some other members of the Young Church community (ex. Other kids, volunteers, and Nic Gutierrez). So, let’s start as all things should, at the beginning, which is “before,” looking at me (surprise, surprise) before I went to Hidden Lake. Before I went to the camp, I was deeply immersed into the Faith but not quite as much as I was during the school year, seeing that: A) I wasn’t seeing my Catholic friends every day and B) I wasn’t going to Middle School Young Church every week. (If you’re reading this and your middle schooler doesn’t go to Young Church, send them when it starts again at the beginning of the year!) Now to the “during”- during camp I was not only having a lot of fun but I was also getting so much deeper into the Faith. Among other things, we went to Mass and Eucharistic Adoration every day. I know I can’t speak for every body who went to the camp, but my personal opinion is that every man, woman, and child in the Catholic Faith should go through this experience or some similar experience. And now for the “after”- I obviously am not as immersed in the Faith as I was during the camp, but I am significantly more immersed than I was before I went. So I recommend that you sign-up your kids to go to Hidden Lake [or Cove Crest for high schoolers] next year! That being said, please sign them up after I do because there is a limited number of slots and I really want to go next summer!

Community Fest ANNUAL

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016

Schedule 8:30 AM

Taco Breakfast Garage Sale Book Nook

10:00 AM

Pet Adoption & Prizes

10:45 AM

Pet Blessing & Games

Afternoon Hot Dog Lunch Free Kids Games Free Piñatas Kids Baskets Free Face Painting Free Bounce Houses Bingo Gift Basket Bidding Free Petting Zoo

Please make plans to join us for our annual Community Fest! We would not be able to put on such an awesome event without many volunteers. Sign-up sheets will be available in the Parish Hall and on the website in September! We are also in need of items for the Live Auction (value of +$200), Book Nook, Silent Auction Baskets, and Wine Pull.

6:15 PM

Dinner Auction

Italian Dinner by Chef Cesar ‘Spirits’ • Live Auction • Silent Auction Wine Pull Raﬄe • Live Music

$25/person • $50/family max

Beneﬁting

The Grapevine Animal Shelter & St Francis Outreach

MORE INFO:

sfatx.org/fest the St. Francis

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OUTREACH IN ACTION

Preparing for Adopt A Family

A THANKSGIVING & CHRISTMAS MINISTRY OF OUTREACH While it might be hard to believe, St. Francis of Assisi Outreach is already beginning to prepare for the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. In fact, on October 18, Outreach will begin family sign-ups for Adopt a Family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We expect as many, if not more families, to request assistance as last year! Therefore, our dependence on the generosity of our parish family in assisting these families is greater than ever. Here's how you can help: Angel Trees will go up in the foyers of the Church 1. Our on November 19-20 and will remain up through

December 3-4. All gifts purchased for this project are due no later than December 8, so that we may sort, package, and distribute to the adopted families in time for Christmas. Because it's humbling enough to ask for assistance during the holidays, we ask for the gifts to be unwrapped so that the parents of the adopted families may have the joy of seeing and wrapping their own children's gifts. e adopted families are also assisted with any financial 2. Thneeds for utilities, rent or unforeseen expenses during

the holidays as well as into the New Year. Look for angels on the trees that specifically list some of these needs. adopted family also receives a complete dinner 3. Each box for Thanksgiving and Christmas! The boxes

include giftcards so that the families can purchase any perishables for the meals. Our goal is to allow them to celebrate a special holiday meal with their families without the financial constrain of the extra food cost. We welcome donations of food and giftcards for this purpose in the coming months - look for more details in the bulletin! We at St Francis Outreach love this time of the year and are so very thankful to our generous parishioners for all their support!

STAFF Q&A NORA DIEMICKE

Nora is truly an unsung hero among the staff, as she directs the parish nursery services for events and Mass. Without her, we would not have as many young parents attending our programming. A bit about her: Describe your role AT THE PARISH. I am the Childcare nursery coordinator for St. Francis. I am responsible to make sure we have suďŹ&#x192;cient sitters scheduled to cover parish events requiring childcare. I am also responsible for the safety of the children in our care and assure we have a safe environment in accordance with diocesan guidelines. Tell us a bit about your family AND BACKGROUND. I am married to my husband Jim for 37 years and have 3 wonderful children, Nicholas, a fireman paramedic in Haltom City who is married to Jen, a nurse at JPS hospital, Michael, who works at the Great Wolf Lodge and Lenore, a band director at Mesquite High School, who is married to Brandon, a graduate of Texas Tech with a degree in Bio Medical Engineering. What ARE 3 WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF? Faithful, Loving and Loyal. What IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? Purple. FAVORITE FOOD? All food and anything Italian. FAVORITE MOVIES? I enjoy the family movies on the Hallmark Channel. What is your favorite PLACE? Italy, especially Rome and the Vatican. We have been fortunate to have been able to get Papal Blessings for our children's weddings. What is AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOU? My husband and I are members of the wedding ministry. What is SOMETHING YOU HAVE DONe THAT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF? Raising three wonderful children who are respectful, loving and carrying on their faith. What is your favorite part about working here? I enjoy being around and caring for children and meeting all of the wonderful parents and members of the parish. I feel I have been very blessed doing this ministry for the past 18 years.

Ministry spotlight The Sisterhood of St. Francis began September 11, 2010, as many Catholic women in our parish began to recognize the gift of female friendships during their journey of faith with the Lord, and with one another. These women began asking if there could be other women who are facing today’s challenges, while desiring to be a women of grace as in Proverbs 31. The group strives to provide all parish women an opportunity to take time away from their busy schedules and routine, and make time just for themselves - as a Catholic woman sharing with other Catholic women. The focus is to share and be rejuvenated with our faith, our family, our parish, and our community. Meetings consist of a blessing, a meal, some open conversation, a speaker and more prayer. Sisterhood welcomes all women of our parish from all walks of life and all stages of life, visitors, and friends. Their leaders reiterate, “Sisterhood is a time to enjoy the company of other women, to be encouraged or encourage, to inspire or be inspired. We are all daughters of our Lord, we all have different gifts to share, and we all can learn from one another as a Catholic community. Mary found comfort and support from Elizabeth, and the ladies of Sisterhood have found they too, need a bolster of comfort and support from each other.” Many participants find amazing community within the group, stating “I look forward to our meetings, it is a time for ME and a time that I can connect with other women who believe in what I believe and live what I live” and “What a breath of fresh air, to escape from everyone, and be inspired just being Catholic with women who are all in this together.” The leaders encourage the participants to share their gifts with other ministries in the parish, making all women feel connected and loved in our beautiful St. Francis Parish. For more information on the group, contact MaryBeth Soto at manypets1@verizon.net or 214-280-0183.

PADRE PIO PRAYER GROUP

The Padre Pio Prayer Group is all about intercessory prayer! The group meets on Fridays after Mass in the reservation chapel to pray the Eﬃcacious Novena to the Sacred Heart. Cecilia Knecht, one of the group leaders, states, "We begin by asking Padre Pio to pray with us and intercede for us! We will pray and fast until everyone's intentions have been answered (even if in a different way than we expect)!!" Although the group's focus is on prayer, they have grown in community as well. They have also volunteered at the Chili Cook-off and have provided several auction baskets for the Community Fest. The Padre Pio Prayer Group is open to everyone in the parish and the group encourages you to come and join their ministry! For more information, contact Cecilia at candjack@msn.com.

ST. FRANCIS

GREETERS NEEDED! Is the SFA family important to you? Do you enjoy welcoming people to church? Are you searching for a way to serve the parish?

Then join the St. Francis Greeters! The commitment is only 1-2 times a month immediately preceding a weekend Mass at the entrances to the Church. Your smile and friendly “welcome!” are just what we are looking for! If you feel called to this ministry, contact Mary Elwood at melwood1111@verizon.net or 469-571-9329. All volunteers must be Safe Environment Certified (sfatx.org/safe-environment).

the St. Francis

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CIS OF A N A

SS ISI

ST. FR

PRESCHOOL NEWS

P RESCHOOL

St. Francis of Assisi Preschool is about to start its 23rd year of classes and care for the children of our parish and community. We have a few spaces left in our Pre K 3 and Pre K 4 classrooms. We have two classes for our toddlers and two year olds also, so be sure to contact the Director, Karen Bedore, for more info or to schedule a tour at 817-481-2685 x230 or kbedore@sfatx.org. The last month of this past school year was truly a busy one. We had our May Crowning in the Chapel and left a basket of flowers for Mary for the month. We talked about all the wonderful things our parents do for us, and made both Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day and Fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day gifts. Our End of the Year School Blessing was beautiful and reverent. And our Pre K 4 graduation ceremony was fun for all the children and enjoyed by so many family members and friends. It is wonderful to see how much the children have grown in 9 months. Our 2015-16 School Year ended with a fabulous Tropical Splash Day. Sand table, water play, bubbles and popsicles made this a day to remember. The summer months have us making preparations for a lot of special activities and visitors coming to the Preschool. We will also have a Giving Tree in the Family Life Center so our families can make donations to different organizations each month. We hope to teach the children about stewardship and helping those who are less fortunate through this great project. Please stop by and visit us if you are at the Church on a Tuesday or Thursday between 9am-2pm!

Holy Trinity Highlights Mr. Mark Rist, Middle School Theology Teacher

New Teachers in the New School Year! Getting ready for the new school year at Holy Trinity is always very exciting. This year we are happy to introduce some new names and faces who will add an enthusiastic dimension throughout the school. Deacon Jeff Heiple, New Principal

Our new principal is Reverend Mr. Jeffrey K. Heiple who comes to us from the Diocese of Austin. His ministry, leadership and humble manner will deeply support the mission of the school.

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE:

holytcs.org

Mr. Rist comes to us after retiring from Nolan Catholic High School. He feels like he is coming home because his girls went to Holy Trinity in the early years of the school. Mr. Rist's depth of knowledge and commitment to the faith will serve the middle school students well.

Ms. Rachel Wappel, 4th-8th Spanish Teacher

Ms. Wappel comes to Holy Trinity after teaching in a local emersion campus. Ms. Wappel holds a degree in Spanish Language and Literature as well as English Language and Literature. While she sounds like a native speaker, she learned the language much like we do and can lend that understanding to her students.

Mrs. Michele Lindsey, 6th-7th English/LA Teacher

Mrs. Lindsey comes to us from the Birdville School District, and previously the Grapevine Colleyville School District. She is certified for teaching the Gifted/Talented student and brings many years of experience in the Intermediate and Middle School levels.

Mrs. Anne Pottinger, 3rd Grade Teacher

Mrs. Pottinger has been teaching Math with the GCISD. She is a parishioner at Good Shepherd and is also certified for teaching the Gifted/Talented student. Anne has a love of children and of learning that will motivate any child in her classroom.

St. Francis Families What parish ministries are your family involved in? Kelli is a catechist for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Noelle and Isaac participate in this program. Tim has been an amazing support as Kelli follows this calling. We also participate in VBS and Kelli is involved with the St. Francis MOMS group.

Lyon Family Tell us a bit about your family. We (Tim & Kelli) have been married for 12 years and have 3 children - Noelle (5), Isaac (3) and Wesley (4 mo.). We met at Iowa State University where we both played in the marching band and music continues to play a very important role in our family today. It is something we enjoy together on a daily basis and is very â&#x20AC;&#x153;instrumental" in our worship experience. We also love exploring nature and traveling as a family. Tim works for American Airlines and Kelli is a stay-athome mom. What is an interesting fact about your family that people may not suspect or know? We moved to Texas 2 1/2 years ago from Arizona. Our first two children (Noelle & Isaac) were born in Arizona and each of our children were born in a different city.

What do you love most about the parish? The experiences we have had in our 2 1/2 years at St. Francis leave no doubt that Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hand is at work in this parish. He is continuously orchestrating different areas of parish life to deepen the faith and community of the current parishioners and to expand and grow his kingdom. As Father Flynn, the staff and the parishioners remain faithful and open to answering his call, God continues to breath life into this parish. It is amazing to be a part of that! In every issue, we will feature 1-2 families from our parish. Each of these families contributes to what makes St. Francis a thriving community. We are honored they call us home. To nominate a family to be featured, contact dmilliken@sfatx.org.

Congratulations

to the 225 youth who received their First Communion this spring!

What is one way your family prays together? We view prayer as an continuous conversation with God so we try to weave it into the fabric of our day. We do this many different ways, from praying together at meals to singing songs of praise to seeking out God in his creation and lifting up needs and thanks throughout the day. We end our days in prayer together. These bedtime prayers typically begin with each of us thanking God for the things we are grateful for and end by lifting up any needs for our family and for others. What drew you to St. Francis of Assisi Parish? The authenticity of faith and the welcoming atmosphere. the St. Francis

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Staff Blog Samplings

The Laborers are Few Laura Nelson Coordinator of Children's Catechesis

"The harvest is plentiful, but laborers are few; pray therefore the lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (MT 9:37-38) Moms know - summer doesn't always equal fun. With children home from school and either unoccupied or overscheduled, there's a lot to do to keep the family going. Either you're surrounded by teenage slugs and bored children or you're running around carting offspring from camp to camp. Let's be honest - lots of the time, you feel like a maid and chauffeur more than a mom. The only way for us moms to enjoy the summer fun is to beg the Lord of the harvest to send us some laborers. But wait! He already has! It's easy to forget that we're surrounded by laborers that just need to be sent into the harvest. Friends and family are great laborers who need to be sent into the harvest more often to ease our burdens but... You actually have a host of laborers right under your roof that need to be put to work. I'm talking about your children. Sure the amount that they can help depends greatly on their age and development but they can actually be helpful to you. Really!

The Important Stuff about Lumen Gentium Nic Gutierrez Coordinator of Middle School Ministry

To begin, I want to make it absolutely clear that the "important stuff " I mention in this post is what I've found to be, for me, the highlight points of the document, or in other words, the crucial points the document makes. Addressing the Triune God's activity in founding and sustaining the Church, while looking at the justifications for those claims, along with the relationship to the mystery of the Church to its people, and all the way to the "marks" needed to identify a

I have to admit, I'm one of the worst when it comes to asking for help but I am getting better at it with time. There are two areas that have tripped me up in the past:

Unhealthy Thinking - I used to think that asking

someone to help me was an inconvenience to them. The reality is most people are glad to have an opportunity to help. It's actually a gift to others to include them in your life and to give them a chance to serve. It's also a good way to practice humility.

Inappropriate Expectations - One thing that's

held me back in the past is knowing what were appropriate expectations for my children. I would either overestimate what they "should" be able to do or underestimate their abilities. The trick is knowing your child and accepting that the help they give you won't be perfect. Here's the thing though - as awesome as you are at housework, it's never perfect. So, unless God has given you the supernatural gift of perfection in housekeeping, let your kids do some of it! There are lots of website that can give you lists of age-appropriate chores (links available at sfatx.org/ laborers). What are some ways that you utilize your laborers? This post is from 7/5/2016 on catholicmom.com.

church/ecclesial body will be addressed to further understand what we mean when Catholics refer to as their "Church." For starters, God the Father, in His "utterly free and mysterious design of his wisdom and goodness, created the entire universe" (LG, 2), and He chose to raise up men and women to share in His own divine life. Despite man's fall through Adam, He never abandoned them, but at all times offered them the means of salvation (through Christ obviously). "Prefigured at the beginning of the world, this church was prepared in marvelous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and in the ancient alliance" (LG, 2). And it is in this Church which will be brought to glorious completion at the end of time.

Paragraph 2 of Lumen Gentium truly harps on the fact that God indeed prefigured this. One can't help but also look at the paragraph 1 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and breath in the resemblance of the two... "God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life." (CCC, 1) Jesus now comes into the picture in Paragraph 3 of Lumen Gentium. The principle objective for Jesus is to carry out the will of the Father. As far as the Father is concerned, it was in Jesus Christ that it was most pleasing for Him to restore all things; and Jesus indeed did just that. It was the will of the Father that Christ inaugurate the kingdom of heaven on earth and reveal his mystery to us. Jesus preaches the Kingdom of God, and the Church ultimately declares the Kingdom of God has come about in Jesus' Life, Death, and Resurrection. Therefore, when Jesus decides to leave, the Church can continue preaching this utterly amazing truth. Last but not least, the Holy Spirit is surely not left out of this shin-dig. The Holy Spirit has been given marching orders to see to it that this proclamation of Jesus (Life, Death, and Resurrection) is carried out strongly to the end of time. Smack yeah, you read that right. The Holy Spirit was also given a mission, that it can't bear (or is able) to be unsuccessful in, to allow Jesus' promulgation of his Father's Kingdom see the end of time. "By the power of the Gospel he rejuvenates the church, constantly renewing it and leading it to perfect union with its spouse. For the Spirit and the Bride both say to Jesus, the Lord, "Come!" (LG, 4). Now that the declaration of God's masterminded plan has hit the record books, we can't ignore Christianity's many interpretations of what Jesus said and came to do. The universal church is seen to be "a people

made one by the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" (LG, 4). It is precisely this that drastically separates our (a Catholic's) theological thinking compared to one of our beloved Protestant brothers and sisters. For Catholics, the Holy Spirit came to vivify the Church, make it new, make it living. The Church is an act of the TRIUNE GOD, each one playing a desperately crucial part. On the other hand, for Protestants, they will conclude that the Church is only an act of Christ. In order to address the justifications and sources for the claims that the Triune God sought to bring about the Church, and not just Christ, can be found in none other than Sacred Scripture (which has beautifully dispelled from Tradition). Scripture identifies the Church as many things. It uses symbols and metaphors to attempt to articulate for us what the Church is. Though not limited to just these interpretations, Lumen Gentium gathers from scripture that the Church is: a sheepfold, a flock, a farm, a field, a building, a holy temple, our mother, the spouse of Christ, and so on. Since this Living Word articulates the Church in this way, we must use Theology to help probe it's metaphors. Theology helps us understand how these images work well, but also how they don't (Just a small little Theo plug). "The mystery of the holy church is already brought to light in the manner of its foundation" (LG, 5), meaning that since the Lord Jesus inaugurated his church by preaching the good news of the coming Kingdom of God, the Church has been equipped with one absolute mediator and "the way" of salvation. "For the Church is driven by the Holy Spirit to play its part in bringing to completion the plan of God, who has constituted Christ as the source of salvation for the whole world" (LG, 17). Finally, the membership of the Church is determined by the mediation of the Sacraments, and in this unique Church of Christ, which we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic, has firmly been rooted into history. It's foundation cannot be blemished. The Church will see to the end of time. The Church has always been one. The Church has always been the means of sanctification. The Church has always pleaded universality. And lastly, the Church has always and will always be prevalent in history. This post is from 10/22/2014 on sundaypsalm.com. the St. Francis

Grapevine

NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID GRAPEVINE, TX PERMIT NO. 87

861 Wildwood Lane Grapevine, TX 76051 Return Service Requested

PARISH EVENTS

2016-2017 DATE EVENT 9.2

NET Team Announcement Night

9.11

13th Annual SFA Golf Tournament

9.11 / 9.14 Catechesis & Young Church Begins 9.17

NET Team Arrives

9.22

"Defending the Existence of God" Talk

10.1

St. Francis Annual Community Fest

10.20

“The Case for Christ” Talk

10.31

Trunk or Treat

11.27-12.1

Advent Mission with Fr. Brian Mullady

12.11

Annual Christmas Concert

1.20-1.22

Conﬁrmation Retreat

1.27

Volunteer Appreciation Event

2.10

Father-Daughter Dance

2.25

Chilli Cook-off & Mardi Gras Party

3.19-3.23

Lenten Mission with Fr. Bill Casey

4.15

Easter Egg Scramble

4.16

Easter Sunday

returning this fall! It’s a new catechetical year which means we’re getting a new NET Team! If you’d like to be a host family or would like more information on hosting a few of our missionaries for a couple weeks, please fill out our Host Form at sfatx.org/ministries/net/ or contact Emily, the Host Coordinator (emilybethgutierrez@gmail.com)! We are also very proud to announce that two of our very own young people will be proudly serving as NET Missionaries this year, while continuing to discern seminary vocations and school. Please keep them in your prayers and support them!

Some NET dates to remember: •

Friday, Sept. 2 (7PM) - Team Announcement Night (this is kept a secret to the team members). We will have another viewing party in the Family Life Center where we’ll be able to watch our team being picked via live video stream!

•

Saturday, Sept. 17 - Our Team arrives in Grapevine!

4.26 / 4.30 Catechesis & Young Church Ends 5.21

Young Church Senior Mass & Banquet

6.10

Parish Picnic & BBQ Cook-off *All event dates subject to change*