Learn more about our new Icons at St. Johns! Heres a message from Fr. Tix: Last week was a historic one for us as a parish as we blessed our news icons of St. Kateri Tekakwitha and Blessed Father Francis Xavier Seelos. At the 11am Mass, Brother Bruce Davidson was here representing the Redemptorists who are a world-wide religious order with a particular charism to evangelize the most abandoned and forgotten. Brother Bruce was recently reassigned to Minnesota to serve at the Church of St. Alphonsus in Brooklyn Center, and prior to that time served at the Seelos Center in New Orleans. At the end of the 11am Mass, Brother Bruce spoke of the Schwartz family from St. John’s coming to the Seelos Center a few years back seeking the intercession of Blessed Seelos as their son Joey faced an uncertain future with his diagnosis of a rare and aggressive form of terminal cancer. Joey was diagnosed with cancer after just graduating from eighth grade here at St. John’s School. After days of prayer at the Seelos Center, Joey and his family returned to Minnesota very hopeful. Months later Joey was found cancer free. Joey just finished his first year of college and remains cancer free. Joey’s experience has been documented and may serve as the next steps of Blessed Seelos being formally recognized as a saint. Brother Bruce also spoke about the intercession to saints like Kateri for strength in the face of hardship, and Blessed Seelos for healing in the broadest forms in our lives. Finally Brother Bruce presented to the parish on behalf of the Redemptorist community a first-class relic of Blessed Seelos. A first-class relic means that the relic is of the closest relationship to a saint and comes in different sizes. In the case of our relic of Blessed Seelos, the relic is a bone fragment. After Mass on Sunday many had the opportunity to view and venerate the relic. Each of the icons holds its own story, both of the saint, as well as those who sponsored their being commissioned. At the 9 am Mass the icon of St. Kateri Tekakwitha was blessed. St. Kateri is the first Native American woman to be canonized in the history of the church. She was born in New York in 1656 and died in 1680. She not only reminds us of the Native American roots of our area, but also the faith of a young woman who experienced many of the same challenges as our young people today. What we learn from St. Kateri is that she embraced her faith and responded with kindness to others. Her example offers us inspiration in our own challenges as we seek to follow in Jesus’ footsteps today. The icon of St. Kateri is sponsored in memory of Steve Rasmussen. Steve is the only child and son of our parishioners Arnie and Dee. He died in 2005 at the age of 42. On each of the icons you will notice the saint holding a scroll. The words on each scroll are different from the other, but capture the individual saint’s motto and message of faith that they shared with the people of their time and place. You will see in the scroll of St. Kateri’s motto and message written both in English as well as her Native American language. On behalf of all of us, I want to take this opportunity to again thank both families for the gift of these icons to our parish. They serve as a beautiful reminder of our communion with the saints both around the table of the Lord, as well as people standing among us. Our new icons remind us that we are all called to be saints. All of us are called by God in baptism to share in Christ’s mission, and bring God’s Spirit of love to the world by a living faith that is readily reflected in word and deed. Father Mike Tix
Posted on: Fri, 13 Jun 2014 13:57:48 +0000
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