Pentecost 2026
Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Lord Jesus Christ, who, before ascending into heaven, did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the life of Your Apostles and Disciples; Grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul the work of Your grace and Your love.
Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable
things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal.
The Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth.
The Spirit of Counsel, that I may ever choose
the surest way of pleasing God and gaining Heaven.
The Spirit of Fortitude, that I may bear my cross with You, and that
I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation.
The Spirit of Knowledge, that I may know God and know
myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints.
The Spirit of Piety, that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable.
The Spirit of Fear, that I may be filled with a loving reverence
towards God and may dread in any way to displease God.
Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and
animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.
Come Holy Spirit, be with me/us, always at work within me/us.
Parish Council Elections
Parish Council elections were held last weekend after the three weekend Masses. The top two winners were Len Felske and Juliet Adogamhe. Congratulations, and thank you to the other three parishioners who agreed to join in the election process.
Our first Pastoral Council meeting will be on Monday, June 1, at 5:30 p.m. We plan to pick officers and assign committees to the council members. Let us all pray for a productive and holy upcoming year.
Pyx Available
A Pyx is a container used to transport Holy Communion to someone who is homebound or hospitalized. In the past, linen cloth containers were often used. We would like to move away from the cloth containers to a more stable, cleanable metal Pyx.
I recently bought five new metal Pyxes at $20 each. If you are presently using a cloth Pyx, please consider stopping at the parish office and exchanging it for a metal one. If you are able to reimburse the parish, that would be great.
The Parish Office will be closed on Monday, May 25, 2026, in honor of Memorial Day.
We resume normal office hours on Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
Spiritual Bouquet for Nicholas Emsing
Parishioners are invited to help prepare a spiritual bouquet for Nicholas Emsing. As you may know, Nicholas has been our teaching parish seminarian for the past three years and will be ordained to the Transitional Diaconate on Saturday, June 6, at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary, Indiana. He will return in the fall to finish his seminary formation and continue to serve in our parish. In the meantime, we can offer him our prayers and support. You may fill them out and return them by the weekend of May 23/24. There will be a collection box in the narthex to collect the forms, or you can turn them in at the parish office. The forms will be gathered together in a gift album and given to Nicholas at his ordination. Your participation is much encouraged and appreciated!
Our Parish Festival will be here in no time. A few recommendations from the Festival Committee include:
Additional volunteer opportunities will be included in future bulletins. If you have never volunteered at the festival, give it a try this summer. You will make new friends and have a lot of fun. There are also opportunities for families to volunteer together and begin to make special memories for years to come.
- If you still have a festival yard sign from last year, please return it to the parish office or leave it in the back of the church.
- You can begin donating to the Grocery Raffle and Mystery Package in the back of the church or at the parish office.
- If you like to bake, keep in mind the festival dinners will need cupcakes or bars, and there is also the bake sale after Mass.
- Inside food operations is looking for workers to fill many slots before and after the festival. A complete list is available in the parish office.
The Festival Committee is looking for someone to take over for Mary Mitchell. After many, many years, Mary is leaving her duties on the Food Committee, and she will be missed.
If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Marie Stemo (414) 427-7467 or Mary Mitchell (414) 916-2298.
Additional volunteer opportunities will be included in future bulletins. If you have never volunteered at the festival, give it a try this summer. You will make new friends and have a lot of fun. There are also opportunities for families to volunteer together and begin to make special memories for years to come.
May Crowning is a joyful tradition that holds a special place in our hearts and in the life of the Church. On May 15, our students celebrated Mary with our May Crowning celebration. During this special event, students offered flowers, sang hymns, and crowned a statue of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth.
The celebration was led by our soon-to-be eighth-graders and our second-grade students, who received their First Communion earlier in the month. Deacon Steve shared his love of Mary with us. An ice cream social in the Church hall followed the celebration. A big thank you to the Christian Women for their generous donation to fund our May Crowning and ice cream reception. A big shout-out to our second- and eighth-graders for leading us in prayer.
The celebration was led by our soon-to-be eighth-graders and our second-grade students, who received their First Communion earlier in the month. Deacon Steve shared his love of Mary with us. An ice cream social in the Church hall followed the celebration. A big thank you to the Christian Women for their generous donation to fund our May Crowning and ice cream reception. A big shout-out to our second- and eighth-graders for leading us in prayer.
"Live a life that reflects God's love."
This Sunday, the Church throughout the world celebrates the great Solemnity of Pentecost. In the antiphon for the third psalm of the Office of Readings, we pray: “Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created; and you will renew the face of the earth.”
Pentecost is truly a time of renewal and sending forth. Over the last few weeks, we have seen Spirit at work in our own parish community. This year, we sent forth more than twenty First Holy Communicants and more than twenty Confirmandi. We sent more than 20 adult participants through a four-month-long study program called Foundations of Faith. And, soon, we will send forth many children and youth participating in our Vacation Bible Camp.
To be sent forth is to be set in motion by the Holy Spirit and invited to respond with faith and hope. At times, this call can feel challenging, even uncomfortable, because it requires trust in God’s providence. Yet the Holy Spirit does not leave us unprepared. He strengthens us with His sevenfold gifts—Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord—so that we may go forth with humility, courage, and grace.
This Pentecost Sunday, may we pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a deeper awareness of His presence in our lives. May we, like the Apostles on that first Pentecost, go forth with renewed courage to share the Gospel with everyone we encounter. And as we do so, let us remember with gratitude and prayer all the catechists, teachers of the faith, and brothers and sisters in Christ who have helped us—especially throughout this past year—to listen more attentively to the voice of the Spirit, praying, “Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created; and you will renew the face of the earth.”
To stay updated, join our SJE Adult Formation Flocknote or follow us on Facebook.
Pentecost is truly a time of renewal and sending forth. Over the last few weeks, we have seen Spirit at work in our own parish community. This year, we sent forth more than twenty First Holy Communicants and more than twenty Confirmandi. We sent more than 20 adult participants through a four-month-long study program called Foundations of Faith. And, soon, we will send forth many children and youth participating in our Vacation Bible Camp.
To be sent forth is to be set in motion by the Holy Spirit and invited to respond with faith and hope. At times, this call can feel challenging, even uncomfortable, because it requires trust in God’s providence. Yet the Holy Spirit does not leave us unprepared. He strengthens us with His sevenfold gifts—Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord—so that we may go forth with humility, courage, and grace.
This Pentecost Sunday, may we pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a deeper awareness of His presence in our lives. May we, like the Apostles on that first Pentecost, go forth with renewed courage to share the Gospel with everyone we encounter. And as we do so, let us remember with gratitude and prayer all the catechists, teachers of the faith, and brothers and sisters in Christ who have helped us—especially throughout this past year—to listen more attentively to the voice of the Spirit, praying, “Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created; and you will renew the face of the earth.”
To stay updated, join our SJE Adult Formation Flocknote or follow us on Facebook.
Vacation Bible School
Elementary school–aged children entering grades K5 through 6 are invited to join us for an exciting week of faith and fun at our 2026 Vacation Bible School: Rainforest Falls – An Epic Adventure of Faith! Vacation Bible School will run from June 15-19 from 9:00 a.m. to Noon.
Each day, children will discover God’s love through engaging Bible stories, music, games, and hands-on activities in a vibrant rainforest setting. A snack will be included.
Space is limited, so please register today. The cost is $10 per child or $30 per family (for families sending three or more campers).
Students entering grades 7 and 8 are welcome to apply as Junior Crew Leaders, and high school students may apply to serve as Rainforest Rangers. For more information about the Rainforest Rangers program, please contact me.
To register campers (grades K5-6) and Junior Crew Leaders (grades 7-8), click here, or contact me at jpshimek@stjohns-grfd.org.
To stay updated, join our SJE Adult Formation Flocknote or follow us on Facebook.
Sunday, May 24, 2026 | Solemnity of Pentecost | John 20:19–23
Friends, in today’s Gospel, on the evening after his resurrection, the Lord appears to his disciples and greets them, saying, “Peace be with you.”
According to the Gospel accounts, the risen Jesus typically did two things: he showed his wounds, and he pronounced a word of peace. The wounds of Jesus are a continual and salutary reminder of our sin. The author of life appeared in our midst, and we killed him, and this gives the lie to any attempt at self-justification or exculpation.
But the risen Lord never leaves us in guilt; instead, he speaks the word “Shalom,” peace. This is the peace that the world cannot give, for it is the Shalom that comes from the heart of God.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul said, “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” How does Paul know this? He knows it because we killed God, and God returned in forgiving love. He knows it because the enemies of Israel have been defeated.
According to the Gospel accounts, the risen Jesus typically did two things: he showed his wounds, and he pronounced a word of peace. The wounds of Jesus are a continual and salutary reminder of our sin. The author of life appeared in our midst, and we killed him, and this gives the lie to any attempt at self-justification or exculpation.
But the risen Lord never leaves us in guilt; instead, he speaks the word “Shalom,” peace. This is the peace that the world cannot give, for it is the Shalom that comes from the heart of God.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul said, “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” How does Paul know this? He knows it because we killed God, and God returned in forgiving love. He knows it because the enemies of Israel have been defeated.
-Bishop Robert Barron
St. John’s is fortunate to have 24-hour Perpetual Adoration. Please take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to draw closer to God.
There is one open hour of Adoration:
.
Saturdays 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
We are also seeking Adorers for several hours during the week, with many options to fit your schedule! Please consider an hour during the day, the evening, or overnight.
You are welcome to sign up on a temporary basis to see how it works for your schedule. Please call or text Mary-Eileen Swart at (414) 687-3512 if you are interested.
Live-streaming: Mass and Adoration
We are live-streaming daily and Sunday Masses as well as Adoration for those who are unable to attend:
Daily Masses:
Monday thru Saturday 8:00 am
Weekend Masses:
Saturday at 4:30 pm
Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 am
If you miss the Livestream, you can watch the upload of each Mass on our YouTube channel.
Scrip is available at most weekend Masses (unless it's a holiday weekend), or during regular business hours at the parish office.
Download the RaiseRight app to reload cards, purchase ecards, or purchase physical cards. Contact the Parish Office or School Office for the enrollment code.