ARNE'S PEACE POLE

Last Advent and during the Christmas season we had a Peace Pole in the church sanctuary. This was a gift in honor of long time parishioner Arne Strom who passed away over a year ago. Arne was a great advocate of peaceful living and sobriety, and especially wanted to share that vision with young people. Our Peace Pole is specially dedicated to that vision.

A Peace Pole is a hand-crafted monument that displays the message and prayer "May Peace Prevail on Earth" on each of its four sides, usually in different languages. There are more than 200,000 Peace Poles in 180 countries all over the world dedicated as monuments to peace. One is at the Vatican. They have been dedicated by Pope John Paul, Mother Theresa, the Dali Lama, and President Carter. They serve as constant reminders for us to seek and pray for world peace.

Our Peace Pole is made from western red cedar and the message is in four languages, Latin (our Roman Catholic roots), Aramaic (a version of Hebrew spoken by Jesus), Dakota (the language of the people who earlier lived in Bloomington), and English (so I can read it).

Our Peace Pole will be located in the lower level entrance of the church. We will have a simple dedication ceremony on Sunday, June 4, at 3:30 pm. All are welcome. This will be held in conjunction with the blessing of bikes event.

FIRST EUCHARIST AND CONFIRMATION

This weekend we celebrate First Communion for many of our young people and on Tuesday we have our youth confirmed at the Cathedral of St. Paul. I have been very impressed by all the preparation done by these candidates and by the support they received from their families and our preparation teams. God bless you.


CONGRATULATIONS RENA AND CHAD

Two of our staff have recently completed Master of Arts in Theology programs. Rena Chrysler, our Director of Stewardship and Administration, completed her degree at St. Catherine's College and Chad O'Leary, our Youth Minister, graduated from St. Mary's. Congratulations to both of them.

YOUNG AT HEART ANNIVERSARY

Our senior citizen group celebrates 30 years this week. On May 24, 1976, it began with Helen and Ann Carroll, Frank and Virginia Sheehan, Gertrude and Alan Moir and Mary and Arne Strom. The Strom's chaired the group for over 19 years and Joe and Mary Albarella have helped lead them the last nine years.

This is a group of people 55 and older who meet monthly to celebrate mass followed by a luncheon and entertainment. They also do much charitable work and volunteer at St. Ed’s in areas such as the monthly mailings. Best wishes to all members and thank you for your special ministry.

IT'S ONLY A MOVIE

Forty million hardcover copies have been sold, the paperback is a bestseller, and the movie will open to sellout crowds this weekend. What's fueling The Da Vinci Code interest? Is it something in the story or in us?

Sure, it's got a winning combination of suspense and secrets, spiced with art history and a little romance. But is there something more fundamental behind the success of Dan Brown's fiction?

People want to know Jesus, how he lived and who he loved. But that is accomplished through the Gospels, which are proclaimed and preached at Mass every week. This weekend especially we hear the good news of Jesus' passionate love for his friends and his challenge to live that message. Love one another as I have loved you. He did not limit this statement to Mary Magdalene. And that's no fiction.

Your brother in Christ, Fr. Mike

ALL SHALL BE WELL

I am still on a high but not chemically induced, an Easter high. A number of people have asked me if by the end of Holy Week I am pretty exhausted. I have to say that I feel very energized. The liturgies really inspire me with all the wonderful participation, great music, dramatic readings and their
powerful message about the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The final song of Easter Sunday Mass, ‘All Shall Be Well,’ is still in my head. We do need the full 50 days of Easter.

I have to share a message that I received from a parishioner:

"Since I'm rather new in the parish...I want you to know how much I appreciate the Triduum liturgies. The services were both aesthetically beautiful and liturgically sensitive. I particularly liked the manner in which we celebrated the Adoration of the Cross (on Good Friday). It got the emphasis off of personal devotional experience and onto a shared community experience. Additionally, I think it is wonderful to see so much lay participation."

I have to agree. All went well. All Shall be well.

EARTH DAY PRAYER

On this weekend, Saturday, April 22, is Earth Day. Pope John Paul has spoken of the need for a renewed sense of stewardship. In 1990 he wrote the following in "The Ecological Crisis: a Common Responsibility":

"The earth is ultimately a common heritage, the fruits of which are for the benefit of all. Today, the dramatic threat of ecological breakdown is teaching us the extent to which greed and selfishness-both individual and collective-are contrary to the order of creation, an order which is characterized by mutual interdependence."

And the Catechism of the Catholic Church at number 340 states:

"God wills the interdependence of creatures. The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: no part of creation is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other."

The Scriptures have many psalms and prayers giving praise to God for the gift of creation. I enclose a prayer in this spirit:

Holy Creator, We commit ourselves to care for all the gifts of Creation. We commit ourselves to explore and understand environmental concerns. We commit to work with others for environmental justice for all. Come Holy Spirit, enkindle in us the fire of your love. Send your breath over the waters and we shall be re-created. And you shall renew the face of the Earth.

DOUBTING THOMAS REVISITED

A week ago, as the prosecution was ending its case in the Moussaoui trial, they played the recordings from Flight 93 testifying to the heroic efforts of the passengers including our former parishioner, Tom Burnett, Jr. In the last seconds before the plane crashed, the transcript records the hijackers constantly repeating the phrase, God is the greatest. It brings to mind that after 9-11, the opposite of faith is not doubt but misguided certitude.