Monthly Newsletter

continued on back cover

JESUS LOVES HIS “LOST SHEEP” Youth Learn About the Sacrament of Reconciliation

There is “Good News” behind those fuzzy cotton-ball sheep many of us have taken home and put on our refrigerators.

These sheep tell unspeakably beautiful news of God’s infinite mercy, calling our little ones home — calling each one of our souls into the embrace of our Heavenly Father for all eternity.

Our parish school and Parish School of Religion (PSR) stu-dents made the sheep last September, prior to receiving the First Reconciliation on Dec. 14. They made them alongside their par-ents at a preparatory Faith Formation meeting, and put their names on them afterwards. The sheep were then placed in the narthex, so that parishioners could come and pick them up, take them home and pray for the child who made them.

“The sheep represent the theme behind the Parable of the Good Shepherd in the Gospel of Luke,” says Martha Rapp, for-mer Pastoral Associate of St. Peter’s. “They are meant to help us visualize the good news of God’s unconditional forgiveness, and remind us that Jesus seeks us out. They can encourage us all to think about the incredible gift that the Sacrament of Reconcili-ation is. This is what we were hoping to impart by incorporating this faith formation activity.”

Further, the creative activity has been a means for our parish family to bond on a spiritual level, and conscientiously pray more for one another.

February 2018

St. Peter Catholic Church

Candy, lowers, romantic

dinners, and excuses for

wooing are the common tra-

ditions we associate with the

once-pagan holiday known as

Valentine’s Day.

Dangling cupids, candy

“message” hearts, and faux

long-stemmed roses clutter

every card store, waiting for

that last-minute purchase.

The question is – how did

this over-commercialized hol-

iday really begin?

There are a few stories sur-

rounding the history of Feb.

14 and St. Valentine himself,

all dating back to the Roman

Empire. The 14th day of Feb-

ruary was a day set aside

to honor the goddess Juno,

queen of the Roman gods and

goddesses. The following day,

Feb. 15, began the feast of

Lupercalia — a fertility festi-

val dedicated to Faunus, the

Roman god of agriculture, as

well as to the Roman found-

ers Romulus and Remus.

As part of the festival tra-

ditions, there was a name

drawing among the young

people. The names of young

Roman women were written

on slips of paper and placed

into a jar. Each young man

would draw a young wom-

an’s name from the jar, and

the two would be partners for

the duration of the festival.

Sometimes the pairing lasted

an entire year, and often, the

couple would fall in love and

later marry.

At the time, Emperor

Claudius II was involved in

many bloody and unpopu-

lar campaigns, and he was

having a difficult time re-

cruiting soldiers to join his

military leagues. Claudius

believed that soldiers were

reluctant to join because

they did not want to leave

their loves or families.

With this in mind, Clau-

dius decreed all marriag-

es and engagements can-

celed in Rome. During this

time, St. Valentine was a

priest in Rome, and he and

St. Marius secretly married

young couples. For this, St.

Valentine was apprehended

and dragged before the Pre-

fect of Rome, who sentenced

him to be beaten and then

executed by beheading. He

suffered this martyrdom on

Feb. 14, around the year

270 AD.

Before his death, it is said

that St. Valentine left a note

for the jailer’s daughter, who

had become his friend, and

signed it “From Your Valen-

tine.” Although the truth be-

hind the St. Valentine’s legend

is murky, the stories certain-

ly emphasize his appeal as

a sympathetic, heroic and,

most importantly, romantic

igure. It is no surprise that

by the Middle Ages, Valentine

was one of the most popular

saints in England and France.

Over time, Feb. 14 became

a time for lovers to exchange

sweet messages, making St.

Valentine the patron saint

of lovers. The date was of-

ten commemorated with the

sending of poems and simple

gifts. During the Middle Ages,

it was commonly believed in

France and England that Feb.

14 was the beginning of the

avian mating season, which

added to the idea that the

middle of February — Valen-

tine’s Day — should be a day

for romance.

VALENTINE’S DAYThe Feast of a Christian Martyr

Lent begins on Wednesday, Feb. 14, Ash Wednesday. Most of us are

aware that Lent is a time of prayer,

penance and giving alms. So, it would

seem that Lent is a perfect time for

stewardship. As we examine our lives

and try to ind ways to deepen our re-

lationship with God, it is good to re-

member that whenever we give our

time, talent, or treasure, we are living

as better stewards.

For each of us, our relationship with God

should be the irst priority. God has given us

the precious gift of time, so we need to thank

Him for this gift by using it wisely. Stewardship

of time is about how we spend every minute of

every day. Most of us probably feel that we do

not have enough time for all the things we hope

to accomplish or achieve. However, each of us

is given the same amount of time — 24 hours

in a day, seven days in a week. So, how do we

choose to use our time? We need to prioritize

this gift of time, which means putting the most

important things irst.

If deepening our relationship with God is

our irst priority, then time spent in prayer, at

Mass, in our personal lives through reading Holy

Scriptures, and meditating on God’s Holy Word

should be paramount. Our second priority might

be our relationship to our family. We need to

spend time building a strong family unit illed

with respect and love for life. And perhaps our

third priority should be our relationship with our

parish and our community of faith. Finally, we

must spend time supporting others in

their faith journeys and ministering to

those in need.

We must remember that irst re-

quirement for our Lenten journey —

prayer. Our Catholic faith is full of

prayer forms and traditions that are

available to us all. Find a prayer form

that works for you, and truly culti-

vate your prayer life in order to con-

nect and build a real, personal rela-

tionship with the Lord. We all need to carve out

time during Lent by dedicating time to prayer.

Perhaps it is only 10 minutes each day for quiet

relection on Holy Scripture. Or it may be some-

thing more substantial — perhaps a relective

weekend retreat.

We might consider Lent our own personal

Stewardship Renewal season. Fasting, prayer

and almsgiving should be what we try to do the

entire year. But we must make an intentional

effort to practice these during the 40 days of

Lent. After all, 40 days comprises just over 10

percent of the year — and that is remarkably

close to our stewardship tithe of 10 percent,

isn’t it?

God bless you in all you do, and especially

during this holy time of Lent.

Rev. Msgr. Leo J. Enlow

Pastor

PREPARING FOR OUR LENTEN JOURNEY AND PRIORITIZING THE GIFT OF TIME

Dear Parishioners,

A Letter from Our Pastor

St. Peter Catholic Church

One of the things we should strive to do as

faithful stewards is to begin and maintain

a regular prayer routine, which can focus our

minds and hearts with the Lord as we proceed

through the rush of daily life. Parishioner Em-

ily Goodapple has adopted one such routine,

which truly starts each day off right.

“I start with thankfulness and a prayer that

I say each morning and especially on Sundays,”

Emily says. “It was in one of Matthew Kelly’s

books — it’s just a simple prayer that says,

‘Lord give me the courage to let my light shine,

to do good works for your praise and glory.’ And

it centers me and keeps me humble, and also

gives me courage.”

Originally from the Bloomington/Normal

area, Emily was raised Lutheran. She irst ex-

perienced using her gifts to serve God as a child.

“My mother sang in the choir at church, so

I just started singing with her at church and it

went from there,” Emily says. “I always loved mu-

sic and when I was younger, I had a pretty good

singing voice — I sang at church and at school.”

Emily entered into the Catholic faith after

marriage. After 30 years living in Bloomington/

Normal, she and her husband Terry moved to

his hometown of Quincy 10 years ago. They im-

mediately became involved at St. Peter’s, with

Emily joining the St. Peter Singers.

“I’m part of this wonderful group of beautiful

voices and talented musicians, and we’re just

a team — we’re a family,” Emily says. “I’m just

one little part. We are there to lead the singing

and it makes us happy to see the congregation

sing along with us.”

After getting away from singing after high

school, and learning to play guitar a number

of years later, Emily eventually discovered

and taught herself to play the mandolin and

joined a classical mandolin group in Bloom-

ington. She now plays at Mass. However, for

Emily, there is something unique about using

her instrument in music ministry.

“It isn’t about me, it’s about God and serving

Him,” she says. “The focus is not on me — God

gave me this gift and I’m just blessed to be able

to share it this way. I just hope that He’s smil-

ing down on us, as we serve Him.”

Along with the St. Peter Singers, Emily also

plays in a group that leads music for the Chil-

dren’s Mass on Wednesday, and for the Quincy

Cursillo retreat.

Emily loves being able to serve God by us-

ing her gifts, doing something she’s passionate

about.

“I feel really humbled and blessed to be part

of the St. Peter Singers and to serve God in a

way that I love,” Emily says. “It’s just an in-

credible opportunity and blessing to be able to

do that.”

LETTING YOUR LIGHT SHINE: Emily Goodapple Shares Musical Talents in Glory to God

“It isn’t about me, it’s about God and serving Him. The focus is not on me — God gave me this gift and I’m just blessed to be able to share it this way. I just hope that He’s smiling down on us, as we serve Him.” — Emily Goodapple

Over the years, Emily has experienced the

power of music to help her enter more deeply

into prayer and her relationship with God. She

hopes that, as she uses her talents at Mass,

others will also be moved by the music.

“I always loved music — it just speaks to

my soul and makes me feel closer to God,” she

says. “It moves me — certain lyrics just speak

to me. Music means so much to me, I hope it

touches the hearts of others as well.

“You’re doing it for God’s glory and praise,

and you’re just hoping God is working in [the

congregation], too,” she adds. “God reaches

people in a lot of different ways, and this is the

way He reaches me. And perhaps there are oth-

ers, as well, who He reaches through music.”

From her service in music ministry, Em-

ily has learned of the blessings that come

from choosing to take the things that we

love and give them back to God, in turn

allowing Him to work through them and

bless others. She encourages her fellow parish-

ioners to consider inding ways to use their gifts

for God’s glory, and reminds that it’s never to

late to learn.

“Sometimes, we have to step a little bit out of our comfort zones, but we’re

blessed tenfold when we give and serve God,” she says. “I didn’t take guitar

lessons until I was in my 40s, and was in my 50s when I started playing

mandolin. It is never too late if you have the desire to learn something you

love doing. I am by no means a professional and usually out of my comfort

zone, but I’m never alone with the Holy Spirit giving me the courage to let

my light shine.”

LETTING YOUR LIGHT SHINE: Emily Goodapple Shares Musical Talents in Glory to God

The St. Peter Singers at 11:00 a.m. Mass is always open to adding new members. If you are interested in taking a leap of faith and using your

musical gifts to serve God, please contact Matt Bergman at 217-430-1015 or mattbergman77@gmail.com.

Emily Goodapple (back row, far left) has been a member of the St. Peter Singers since she joined the parish nearly 10 years ago.

St. Peter Catholic Church

We make constant reference to the “three Ts” of stew-

ardship, recognizing that to truly live as a steward-

ship people, we must give God the irst fruits of our time,

talent, and treasure. It is easy for us to see the concrete

reality of the latter two. If we are to give God our talents,

we must irst recognize with what talents He has blessed

us, and then use those talents for His greater glory. And as

we continue our stewardship path, we know very well that

our money is something concrete. When we recognize it as a

gift from God, we know that we are to give a certain amount

back to Him. It is easy for many of us to understand what it

means to give God our talent and our treasure.

But what does it mean to give God a portion of our

time? This idea is much harder to grasp, and yet giving to

God the irst fruits of our time is just as important as the

other two. And if we understand this idea and implement

it properly, our stewardship of time will serve as the very

foundation from which our stewardship of talent and trea-

sure bear fruit.

When we talk about stewardship of time, we are refer-

ring to prayer time. Prayer is of the utmost importance in

a disciple’s life, and in the Diocese of Wichita’s The Pillars

of Parish Stewardship, it is also one of the four pillars of

stewardship.

Does this mean that in order to be true disciples, we

should say the Our Father three times a day or pray a daily

Rosary? Not particularly. Of course, we must not discount

the merits of prayer, as the Church in her wondrous wisdom

has given us certain prayers to help guide our lives. Howev-

er, the disciple’s deep life of prayer involves even more.

St. John Chrysostom explains, “You should not think of

prayer as being a matter of words. It is a desire for God, an

indescribable devotion … the gift of God’s grace” (Hom 6).

Prayer: COME TO KNOW Lo r d

Prayer: That is, if we look at prayer as a mere regimen that we must follow every day, then we do not see to the

heart of it. The reality is that prayer will take on different forms for every one of us. One person may have

a deep devotion to the Rosary, and in praying it, he is closely united to the Lord. Another person might

feel deeply connected to Him through constant conversation – in the car on the way to work, before bed

at night, or at other hours throughout the day. Meanwhile, for another person, a daily or weekly hour

of silence before the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration is the best place for him to offer the Lord his heart.

No matter how we choose to pray, we must get to the root of it all. If we are to truly give God our time, it

must be a gift of ourselves. It must come from the heart and not take the form of mere word repetition. If

we offer an Our Father without meditating on the words, it can simply become recitation.

The point of prayer is to get to know the Lord. If we are committed to living as His disciples, we must

be on personal terms with Him. The irst disciples didn’t know what it meant to pray the Rosary. And

until the Lord taught them the Our Father, they couldn’t pray that either. But they were deinitely true

stewards of their time. They walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, and ate meals with Him. He was their

best friend, and the more they got to know Him, the more they longed to serve Him.

The same holds true for us today. We can walk with Him, talk with Him and sit with Him, just as they

did. And He wants us to do this, too. St. John Chrysostom proclaims, there is nothing more worthwhile:

“For prayer unites us to God as His companions” (Hom 6). How can we serve Him if we don’t know Him?

If we truly desire to be a servant people, we must talk to Him whom we wish to serve. We must get to

know Him. Then, most assuredly, we will fall in love with Him. We will undoubtedly desire nothing more

than to serve Him.

Recognize Jesus as your best friend and spend time with Him as such. He is the Lord, the Creator of

the Universe, without whom we would cease to exist. Bring Him your cares and concerns, your excite-

ment, your worry, your fears and your frustrations, and allow Him to comfort you. He is there, and He

wants to speak with you.

Lo r dTHE

No matter how we choose to pray, we must get to the

root of it all. If we are to truly give God our time, it must

be a gift of ourselves. It must come from the heart and

not take the form of mere word repetition.

MASS & RECONCILIATION SCHEDULE

Sunday MassesSaturday: 5 p.m.,

Sunday: 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m.Weekday Masses

Mon-Sat: 8:00 a.m., except for Wednesdays: 8:30 a.m.

ReconciliationSaturday: 7:30-7:50 a.m.,

3:30-4:30 p.m. or by appointment

2600 Maine StreetQuincy, Illinois 62301

Return Service Requested

St. Peter Catholic ChurchNon-Profit Org.

U.S. PostagePAID

Permit No. 105, Quincy, IL 62301

“Many of our parishioners put the sheep in their homes where they can see them frequently and remember to pray for the child as they pre-pare for their First Sacraments,” Martha says. “We have been praying that the children would grasp the beauty of this sacrament and realize that Jesus truly is their shepherd. Our prayers are an expression of our community of faith.”

Through tangible activities such as this one, our parish children can see the message of the Gospel of Christ come to life before their inquis-itive eyes.

“God does not want us to live on ‘automat-ic pilot,’” Martha says. “We are trying to com-bine theology with a hands-on experience, and help them understand the deeper mean-ing of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Cath-olics tend to treat it as an obligation or an

embarrassment, but it has nothing to do with that. God has created us for a relationship with Him, and through this beautiful, beautiful sac-rament, He welcomes us back.”

As we enter into the grace-filled Lenten Sea-son, let us remember what these “fuzzy sheep” have to teach us about the infinite mercy of our Creator.

“The Sacrament of Reconciliation is an invi-tation to model Jesus and seek reconciliation, forgiveness and healing in our own lives,” Mar-tha says. “Jesus the Good Shepherd seeks out His lost sheep. Jesus loves us even though we are not always doing what we are supposed to be doing. Especially during Lent, we need to en-courage people to take advantage of the bless-ing of this sacrament.”

YOUTH LEARN ABOUT THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATIONcontinued from front cover