From Aleteia.org

​For various reasons we may be prevented from receiving the Eucharist at Mass. We may have broken the one hour fast, be in a state of mortal sin, or we could even be homebound, unable to leave our home to attend Mass.

In these cases the Church encourages us to make an act of “spiritual communion,” where we unite ourselves to God through prayer. It is a beautiful way to express to God our desire to be united with him when we are unable to complete that union in the reception of Holy Communion.
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Countless saints incorporated this type of prayer into their daily lives, not being satisfied with receiving Jesus in the Eucharist once a week or even once a day. Making an act of spiritual communion for them was an essential part of life and drew them closer to God on a daily basis.

St. Josemaria Escriva encouraged everyone to make a spiritual communion as often as they could, “What a source of grace there is in spiritual communion! Practice it frequently and you’ll have greater presence of God and closer union with him in all your actions.”

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Saint Paul
Festival News: Our sincere thanks to all who helped replacing ceiling tiles, installing new lights & painting the church basement walls. It looks beautiful! Also many thanks to everyone who worked so long & hared cleaning tables, chairs, our restrooms & kitchen after our recent water issue in the base- ment. We were able to have Our Annual Fall Festival 3 days later! We feed 220 dinner meals as well as a multitude of mesquites & a few bees. This years festival has been a real test of faith, but all n all, so many wonderful people pitched in & helps us get through this ordeal. A full report of the festival will be printed in one of the upcoming bulletins. Again, our sincere appreciation to all who worked so hard to make this annual event a success! 

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Saint Michael
Priests Appreciation Dinner: Families are invited to attend the Priests Appreciation dinner on Sunday Oct 14, 2018 at the KC Hall, 202 East Juneau St., Tomah. Social at 4 PM with the Polish Sausage, Pork and Kraut dinner served at 5 PM. This years’ honoree is Fr Kyle Laylan. This is a free will offering dinner, with proceeds to the Knights of Columbus Fr Heindl Assembly Seminarian Trust Fund, TV Masses and the Assembly. For reservations please contact Wenzel Felber at 372- 5606 or email Fred LeSavage at fklesavage@charter.net or call 608 374 2617 with name(s) and number of attendees. Please reply prior to Oct 7 2018 

Sunday, October 7 following mass there will be an “appreciation” breakfast to celebrate St. Michaels Day, the patron Saint of our parish. This is a “free” breakfast sponsored by Catholic Financial Life Ins. All parishioners and visitors are welcomed to join us. Come socialize with us! 

Saint James

CCD classes at St. Michaels will begin Wed. Sept. 19th. To register your child for classes, see Deb Granger after Mass.

​Our Camp Douglas food pantry is in dire need of donations. Please con- sider bringing a few groceries and place them in the box at the entry of the church.

Dear brothers and sisters,
I extend my gratitude and blessings to all those who give of themselves during the Fall Festival at St. Paul Parish in New Lisbon. It is good that parishes have events which remind us that the parish is a family, that the Church is a family.

There is no family that is ever perfect. There are arguments, hurt feelings, jealousies, and all sorts of dysfunction mixed in with the joys, the love, the warmth, and the good times.

If this is so in a single human family, how much more for the Church or the world? After all, the family is the most basic building block for society. So it is no wonder that the family is under attack, for the family at it’s strongest and purest, most closely resembles the Holy Trinity. Thus the devil will always work to sub- vert, divide, and destroy families.

However, rather than looking to the external threats to family life, or the Church, St. James in the second reading presents us with a different place to look. He writes “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.” (James 3:16) Then he asks “Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?” (James 4:1)

This means that so long as there is jealousy, and selfish ambition in my own heart, and to the extent that I allow those to reign, there will be discord in my family, and in the world.

The Apostles were arguing about who was the greatest among them after Jesus had just said “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” (Mark 9:31) Our Lord instructs them and us that in the Kingdom, the greatest are those who serve their brothers and sisters. Those who have set aside jealousy and serve for the sake of the other.

That is why family life is of utmost importance. The love between husband and wife, brothers and sisters, and parents and children teaches each of us how to love, how to put the good of the other ahead of my own selfish ambitions.

I have seen a billboard with a simple message: “NO CHRIST, NO PEACE: KNOW CHRIST, KNOW PEACE. This goes for our own hearts, our families, our Church, and the world.
God bless you all, Father Robert Letona

Interested in becoming Catholic, or would you like to learn more about your Catholic Faith?

Come to St. Paul’s Thursday, September 27th at 6:30 pm for more information!
Adult Faith Formation/ RCIA: 

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Diocese of La Crosse Sesquicentennial Celebration Mass and Reception

October 7, 2018  |  10:30 a.m.
Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman 
530 Main St., La Crosse, WI

Reception following Mass until 3 p.m. at the La Crosse Center 
300 Harborview Plaza, La Crosse, WI
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Click here for more information...

From Aleteia.org

​Sometimes throwing away the Bible doesn’t feel “right.” What should a person do?

In the case of sacramentals (devotional items blessed by a priest), Catholics are instructed to dispose of old sacramentals in a way that shows due reverence. All sacramentals can be either burned or buried in order to properly dispose of them. This type of disposal honors their sacred purpose and returns them to the earth in a dignified way. If a person is unable to do either, the sacramental may be dropped off at the parish office and someone on staff can take care of it.

Bibles could be disposed of in a similar way, acknowledging the sacred text that it contains. However, it is up to the person’s conscience to dispose of a Bible as it is generally not considered a sacramental because there does not exist a specific blessing for it. However, if the Bible has been blessed in any way (making it into a sacramental), then the above guidelines should be followed. In all other cases, it is up to the person to decide how the Bible is disposed. God won’t send down a lighting bolt if you do the “wrong” thing, but it is worthwhile making a careful decision as to how we treat our Bibles.

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“Who do you say that I am?” That is the question Jesus posed to St. Peter today in the Gospel. In a larger sense he is asking that of each of us. “Who do you say that I am?” This is of utmost importance because the world needs the witness of strong faithful Catholics who can confidently give an answer to that question.
We need to know Him before we can say “I am a follower of Jesus” or even “I love Jesus.” We cannot truly love that which we do not know. We come to know Him through Scriptures, through the study of our faith, through the sacraments, and through our personal prayer life. Our answer, inspired by the Holy Spirit, will then be the same courageous proclamation and confession of St. Peter: “You are the Christ! The Son of the living God!”

All three parishes begin Religious Education on Wednesday September 19th. It is good to see our youth continuing their formation to be those new faithful disciples of Jesus Christ for today and the future. I thank the parents and families who bring their children.

When a husband and wife accept the responsibility of parenthood, they become partners with God in creation. Parenting includes not only the temporal or physical well-being of a child, but most especially, it calls for the spiritual nurturing of the child. Parents see to it that their child becomes a man or woman of God first and above all else. Everything else we hope our children to be: courageous, hard working, excellent, virtuous, flow from this identity of being first and foremost a child of God.

“Parents must regard their children as children of God and respect them as hu- man persons. Showing themselves obedient to the will of the Father in heaven, they educate their children to fulfill God's law. Catechism of the Catholic Church” (2222).

The very act of parenting, calls the parents to be the primary educators. This concept has been supported and advocated by the Church. "Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children." (CCC # 2223) "They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgive- ness, respect, fidelity and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues." This means that all education begins at home, and that schools, CCD classes, and teams are at the service of the family, not vice versa.

We at St. Paul, St. James, and St. Michael parishes are honored to assist you in the religious education of your children.

Dear students in CCD, I know and understand that after a long day at school and with sports or other obligations, sitting through CCD can be a little difficult, but I encourage you to push yourself to get as much out of the hour with us as you can. It is important for you to know your faith, but most importantly, it is important for you to know Jesus Christ.

Thank you to all catechists, especially Sue LaBudda and Deb Granger for your work as Coordinators of Religious Education. May God reward your service.

God bless you all this week, Father Robert Letona 

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From the Church:

Anna Kolesarova lived a devout life in former Czechoslovakia during the Second World War. When she was young her mother died and Anna took over the household duties, cooking and cleaning for her father and brother. The family often attended daily Mass at a nearby parish.
In November of 1944, Anna’s hometown was being liberated from Nazi rule by the Russian Red Army. The Russian soldiers were violent, and many townspeople hid themselves from them.
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From Aleteia.org

Below is a prayer that Mother Teresa prayed on a daily basis; it was one of her favorite prayers and is attributed to Blessed John Henry Newman. The prayer is a perfect summary of her own spirituality and expresses her desire to spread Christ’s love everywhere she went.


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