HAPPY BIRTHDAY FR. PRATAP!!
Thursday, July 2nd

Weekly Words from The Rock:

Weekly Words from The Rock:

Please keep this bulletin article as it will be a two-part series. Easter is about resurrection faith. Death has been conquered. Father Michael Schmitz in an article found within The Catholic Spirit, on April 12, 2018, page 19 deals with the following question common amongst people when it comes to death, "I have been having a hard time trusting God lately. Ever since a family member died, I keep blaming God and finding it difficult to keep my faith. Do you have any thoughts on what I can do?"

Father Schmitz responds, "The Bible teaches us that death is the final enemy that Christ will ultimately destroy, and until then, we all experience its effects in our lives. I don't know if encountering death ever gets easy. In my life as a priest, I come up against death on a regular basis. If I am simply thinking about death as an intellectual topic, then it is straightforward, and I'm unimpressed by it. But every single time I encounter death concretely - up close - it hurts. Because of that, I want to acknowledge your loss as something that I think I can relate to; death not only destroys the natural life of the person, but it also plows into the lives of those all around it.

Because of that, it is not difficult to imagine why you would say that you are turning toward blame and struggling with faith. But let's take a closer look at this.

First, whenever we are in pain, we desire to find the source of our pain. Think of the last time you got sick. I'm guessing that, somewhere in the midst of your coughing and being achy and feverish, you wanted to know, "Where did I get this bug?" You might have asked, "Who got me sick?"

This is not because knowing that it was that random co-worker who came to work sick or it was your second-grader who came home with the sniffles who was the culprit helps anything. It doesn't actually matter who it was who passed the sickness along to you. But we naturally want someone to blame. I want to know the immediate cause of this pain that I'm experiencing now. That way, my pain can be re -directed as anger and blame, and I will get some relief from that "re-direction." But it doesn't actually do anything. It doesn't help a person get better or help them avoid sickness in the future. It is a useless exercise in time.

Most blaming is just that: useless...

(I will pick up this article next week).

A dog had followed his owner to school. His owner was a fourth grader at a public elementary school. However, when the bell rang, the dog went inside the building and made it all the way to the child's classroom before a teacher noticed and shooed him outside, closing the door behind him. The dog sat down, whimpered and stared at the closed doors. Then God appeared beside the dog, patted his head, and said, "Don't feel bad fella...they won't let ME in either."

If you haven't done so, please send in your pledge for the Catholic Ministries Appeal. Any monies raised over the goal are returned to each respective parish at 100%. Also, any monies raised over the goal are not assessed by the diocese. The Catholic Ministries Appeal is a great way for us to raise funds for our parishes. Please be generous!

Peace be to you!

Father Peter Schuster

Vocation View: How am I being called to feed the lambs of Jesus? (John 21:1-19)

Eternal rest grant unto Lawrence Liepold, Wayzata, MN, who passed away on April 21, 2025. His funeral was held on Friday, May 2nd at Sacred Heart in Heron Lake followed by burial at Sacred Heart Cemetery, Heron Lake.

May his soul rest in peace. We remember his loved ones in prayer.

There will be Confession available 1/2 hour before mass on Sundays.

Christians have used beads to mark the recitation of prayers since ancient times, but in the 12th century, the Rosary emerged as a meditative devotion centering on significant moments in the lives of Jesus and Mary.

©LPi

Huge THANK YOU to everyone that helped with the Chrism Mass from helping in the kitchen to filling oils to handing out programs to helping get people where they needed to be. Special THANK YOU’s to Dianne Freking, Mackenzie Erickson and families for preparing the meal and organizing all the kitchen help, Thomas Krumbach for cooking the meat, Steve Hussong for organizing the oil help, and Jeff Hotzler for helping with all the aspects of the Mass.

Congratulations to Autumn DeWall, Cole Holden, and Colton VandeKamp on your FirstCommunion. May God hold you close on your journey of faith.

Sacred Heart Catholic Order of Foresters would like to thank you for your generosity. They were able to get the maximum amount for matching funds, which was $1,500. The total raised at the Pancake Breakfast was $3,501.74. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped make the day a success. A special THANK YOU to Dennis Damm and Tom Krumbach for grilling, and Andrew Rasche and Chad Diemer for flipping pancakes. We couldn’t do it without all of your help.

St Francis De Sales Catholic Church in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas is looking to replace many religious items that they lost to a hurricane. One of the main items they are looking for is Crucifixes with Corpus attached. Please contact Pat Bonnell with questions or for more information at 507-360-6278. You can drop items at the rectory, also. Thank you!

Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota:

Mother’s Day, May 11th is the traditional Catholic Charities Campaign of Southern Minnesota in our diocese. There will be a second collection on the weekend of May 10-11.

The mission of Catholic Charities is to provide service to people, families and communities in need, to advocate for justice in social structures and to call the entire church and all people of good will to do the same.

Jesus bids the disciples to bring their bounty of fish to the fire, to gather around it, to be warmed and fed. God’s invitation is for all of us: Come to the fire of His love. Be warmed. Be fed. Then, go forth, and feed the sheep.

©LPi

Week Day Mass schedule Change: The weekdays of May 12th through May 16th; May 26th through May 30th, and June 9th through June 13th; there will be no weekday Masses, in the Windom-Heron Lake-Brewster tri-parish. Our regular weekday Mass schedule will resume on the week of June 16th. See page 1 of the bulletin for the current schedule of the weeks Masses.

Two Representatives from each parish are needed to serve on a Synod for Evangelization & Vocations that will be taking place in Mankato Aug 21 starting at 4pm - Aug 22, full day. You MUST be available during these days/times. Limited hotel rooms are available. Please contact Dana: 507-836-8030 if you are interested in serving. Each church MUST have 2 representatives.

The Diocese of Winona-Rochester will provide a prompt, appropriate and compassionate response to reporters of sexual abuse of a child by any diocesan agent (employees, volunteers, vendors, religious or clergy). Anyone wishing to make a report of an allegation of sexual abuse should call the Victim Assistance Coordinator at 507-454-2270, Extension 255. A caller will be asked to provide his or her name and telephone number. Individuals are also encouraged to take their reports directly to civil authorities. The Diocese of Winona-Rochester is committed to protecting children, young people and other vulnerable people in our schools, parishes and ministries. The diocesan policy is available on the diocesan web site at www.dowr.org under the Safe Environment Program. If you have any questions about the Diocese of Winona's implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, please contact Michael Gerard, at 507-361-3377, or mgerard@dowr.org.

Anyone working or volunteering in a Catholic parish or school is a mandated reporter. Anyone who knows or has reason to believe that a minor (a person under the age of 18) or vulnerable adult is or has been abused or neglected, must report all suspected abuse or neglect to proper civil authorities/law enforcement within 24 hours of the abuse or neglect becoming known to him or her and must also follow up with a written report to civil authorities within 72 hours, exclusive of weekends and holidays. Many people working or volunteering in a Catholic parish or school, including clergy, are mandated reporters under state law.

Please like and share our Facebook page. The page is intended to connect current parish members and members that have moved with the activities of Sacred Heart Heron Lake.

We welcome you into God’s family! If you are interested in learning more about our church, or would like to join, please stop in the Parish Office.

Please notify the Parish Office of any change of address.

Contact the priest 6 to 12 months in advance of the date of marriage to fill out the forms, to do FOCCUS Test and to attend Marriage Prep Mentoring sessions. Please contact your parish office, if interested.

Contact the parish office a month in advance to fill out the form and to attend Baptism Mentoring Sessions.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation still available by appointment for each Parish.

When booking a Quinceanera and needing a 1st Reconciliation and a 1st Holy Communion. There is a three month preparation time. Please schedule your Quinceanera 3 months in advance. Thank you. It is also required that the family is a member of the parish.