Praised be Jesus Christ! Some of you might remember the song “Rain on the Scarecrow” by John Mellencamp that came out in 1985. It’s a melancholic look at the plight of the family farm, which has practically disappeared from our American way of life. My Dad was a lifelong member of the National Farmer’s Organization and he always advocated for family farmers. Like everything else in our fallen world, agriculture has been damaged by greed, making it impossible for small farms to survive. Please understand that running a big farm is not inherently evil, but it’s a sad state of affairs when a smaller farm has no chance of making ends meet. Analogous is what I witnessed in Italy: Italians love little shops that specialize in fruits or vegetables or breads or meats. They used to have little stores that carried fresh items straight from the farm. These days the large supermarkets have taken over in Italy and gone are most of the little shops that once flourished. Once again, supermarkets are not a bad idea, but their drive for efficiency and financial success has had its downside. If you would like to learn more, watch the movies “Food, Inc.” and “King Corn.” Now all of this is a buildup to encouraging you to support our local farmers – and you can do so this week by attending the Central Wisconsin State Fair. For our children we owe them the lesson of where their food comes from and how it gets there. We do not have a garden at the rectory, but all summer long we benefit from those of you who do, and we pray for you all the time! Fresh blueberries, strawberries, corn on the cob, tomatoes, and cucumbers are just a few of the items given to us. Life presents us with many opportunities, one of which is choosing some causes to support. Attending the fair this week is one way to show support for our farmers – and God knows they need our support. As a tribute to all who raise the food that keeps us alive and healthy, I will end with Paul Harvey’s famous 1978 speech about farmers: “And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker." So God made a farmer. God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board." So God made a farmer. "I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait lunch until his wife's done feeding visiting ladies and tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon -- and mean it." So God made a farmer. God said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt. And watch it die. Then dry his eyes and say, 'Maybe next year.' I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from a persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, who can make harness out of haywire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. And who, planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty-hour week by Tuesday noon, then, pain'n from 'tractor back,' put in another seventy-two hours." So God made a farmer. God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor's place. So God made a farmer. God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bails, yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-combed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadow lark. It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week's work with a five-mile drive to church. "Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life 'doing what dad does.'" So God made a farmer.”
May God bless all farmers, that they be good stewards of His animals and His land!
​Father Martin 

​

SHS High School Luncheon Bible Study: Starting Sept 12, then every Tuesday meet in room 310 during your lunch period. Bring your lunch and a hunger to grow in your faith. We read, discuss & share God’s Word and the food. This year, we’ll be reading 1 Corinthians. This is a GREAT opportunity! Bring your friends!!

HIGH SCHOOL CCD CCD class time for high school students will be Wed., 6:30- 7:45p.m. (same as all CCD) It is the hope and expectation that students will continue to be enrolled in CCD during their high school years. Registration for all CCD classes will be Wed., Sept 6 at 6:30pm in the church.
For questions about high school CCD, contact Mr. Dan Kitzhaber. 

Going to College? Know someone who is? Do you know someone who is heading off to college this fall? A new website sponsored by the Serra Club can help. At www.newmanconnection.com , click “Get Connect- ed” and your students coming to campus can sign up to receive information about campus ministry at pro- spective schools across the nation. Don’t miss out on the opportunities to meet great people and experience the prayer, service, and social events that campus ministry offers. If you know someone going to college, make sure they visit www.newmanconnection.com ! 

Teen & Young Adult Retreat Team Looking for teens and young adults to help lead youth retreats.
Living Stones is the name of the group and it rocks! Meet lots of great people, grow in your faith, and have tons of fun. If interested, contact Mr. Dan Kitzhaber. 
​

Praised be Jesus Christ! Before revealing the answers to last week’s quiz, I failed to mention what a perfect score would earn you.... an invitation to Father Sedlacek’s birthday party on August 21st! If Father balks at this and says I failed to consult him, tell him that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. Okay, drum roll please.... the answers are as follows: 1) Genesis and Revelation, 2) Mary’s conception without sin; 3) Saint Luke; 4) fast for 1 hour, believe in the Real Presence (i.e. practicing Catholic), and no mortal sin; 5) Heaven, Purgatory, Earth; 6) St. Francis of Assisi; 7) Cain, Abel, Seth; 8) Saint Luke; 9) Yes – Tuesday, August 15th; 10) 3. Well, how did you do? If you got a perfect score, then you’re welcome to meet Father Sedlacek at the rectory at 10:00 p.m. on August 21st – he will be leading a snipe hunt as this is an ancient Czech tradition used for celebrating birthdays. By the way, please do not ring the doorbell, as I will be sleeping (and I’ve been on enough snipe hunts for one lifetime!). Now let’s transition into a topic apropos of our spiritual growth: reading. Do you like to read? Some people do, some don’t, but for those who do, it’s one of the finest ways to learn more about our faith and about life in general. For example, I read a book earlier this year titled Illuminations by Mary Sharratt that was absolutely enlightening and inspiring. Based on the life of Hildegard of Bingen (d. 1179), the book does an amazing job of showing how God’s will can shape a person and forge true holiness, and all of this in spite of many obstacles that would have seemingly made it impossible. Hildegard was recently made a Doctor of the Church, just the fourth woman so honored (joining Saints Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, and Therese of Lisieux). This is a book you would enjoy reading and your faith would grow as you witnessed how suffering always goes hand in hand with a deepening faith. Another book that married couples would benefit from reading is A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken. “Van” was a good friend of C.S. Lewis and his love for his wife was deepened by the suffering they endured. An excellent book about family life is titled The Story of a Family and describes the crucible that was the life of the Saint Zelie and Saint Louis Martin family, a family that brought into the world arguably its greatest modern saint, Therese of Lisieux. God’s ways are not our ways and this book helps us to accept God’s will, especially when it is at odds with what we expected our life would be. On a lighter note, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is a great story about the admixture of light and darkness that characterizes both the world and the human heart. Finally, The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown tells of the remarkable determination of the 1936 U.S. men’s Olympic rowing team and is sure to inspire. Now for those of you who do not enjoy reading (and maybe none of you are reading this column!), there are countless resources that offer great formation for heart and soul. You are already aware of the website Formed that is a portal to many video series, movies, and other materials. We’ll be offering sessions for married couples beginning in October and will use some of these very same materials. You have access to these things because we have a generous parish that can afford to pick up the tab (in other words, we could not do this without all of you who faithfully give). Another source of learning that does not include reading would be inspiring movies. You are always welcome to join us when we host our “Movie of the Month” – we watch a variety of films, from lives of the saints to true stories of heroism. Allow me to conclude by saying “Congratulations” to those of you aced the quiz! Now go get those snipe!

May God increase our knowledge of the faith so that we will more consistently practice what we preach!
​
Your friend in Christ, Father Martin 

​

News from the USCCB:
Nearly $1.4 million in funding approved for Church in Africa, Including Pastoral Care for Migrants and Youth Summer Vocations Camp - WASHINGTON—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Subcommittee on the Church in Africa approved 54 grants totaling nearly $1.4 million in funding to support dioceses and pastoral projects across the African continent. Projects approved to receive funding include:....Read More

News from the Pope:
Pope at Audience: ‘Divine mercy is foundation of Christian hope’ - (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis continued his catechesis on Christian hope with pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Hall for the Wednesday General Audience, saying that God’s mercy as embodied by Jesus both transforms us and renews our hope.....Read More

News from the Church:
From Coast to Coast, America is Throwing an Eclipse Party - It isn’t every day that the sun completely disappears from sight. And from coast-to-coast, America is throwing a party. For one hour and 40 minutes on Aug. 21, a total eclipse will be visible in a narrow band running southeast over the American heartland, from the coast of Oregon to South Carolina. Benedictine College sits right in its path. The Kansas college will hold a public viewing to celebrate the celestial event and its continuing commitment to scientific education.....Read more