End of May, Beginning of June
With the Easter Season having ended, we continue with two great Solemnities this Sunday and the following Sunday. On the last day of May, we, as a church, celebrate God: the Most Holy Trinity.
“Let us pray: Wisdom of God be with us always, at work within us.”
Next Sunday, the first Sunday of June, we will celebrate the “Source and Summit of our Catholic Faith,” the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
“Let us pray: May the blood of Christ wash away all of our sins.”
The first week of June, the morning Masses are filled with many memorials to a good number of Martyrs:
June 1: St. Justin: After his conversion to Christianity, he used his keen mind to defend Christians against persecution by Roman authorities. Around the year 165, he denounced sacrifices to the Roman gods and heroically defended his own Christian faith in a debate with a Greek philosopher, who reported him to the authorities. He was soon charged and sentenced to death.
June 2: St. Marcellinus and St. Peter: We know very little about these two martyrs except that they were executed together in the year 304. St. Marcellinus served as Pope from 296 to 304. St. Peter was one of the Apostles and is remembered for his faithfulness.
June 3: St. Charles Lwanga and Companions: The martyrs of Uganda in 1886 are a reminder that persecution of Christians continues in modern times. Twenty-two boys and young men were executed for their strong faith and their refusal to serve a wicked king.
Friday, June 5: St. Boniface, Bishop: St. Boniface was a missionary and bishop, known for his dedication to spreading Christianity and his role in the reorganization of the Church in Germany.
Now that the weather has improved and children will be on summer break, I invite and encourage you to join us for the 8:00 a.m. weekday Mass. We have a generous gathering of people of all ages. Come and pray that we may all grow in holiness and draw closer to God with each day of our lives, and pray for the conversion of the whole world.
Firecracker Backer Donations
As a Firecracker Backer, you may choose to donate at any of the following levels:
Diamond $1,000
Platinum $500
Gold $250
Silver $150
Bronze $100
Copper $50
Your name or business would appear on the donor placemat, which is used at our Fish Fry and Chicken Dinners, Pancake and Holy Name breakfasts, and any other special event at St. John’s. Please make checks payable to St. John the Evangelist and drop them off or mail them to the Parish Office by Monday, June 29. Thank you so much for your many donations for our Parish Festival Fireworks.
Any questions? Call Diane Gaffke at (414) 573-5461.
Booth Sponsorship
St. John’s invites you to support our beloved festival by becoming an official sponsor of a festival booth or game for your business or organization, or by honoring a loved one with a sponsorship. St. John’s is an extremely popular festival that attracts thousands of attendees, providing strong traffic for your sponsorship. The cost is $175, which includes a professionally produced custom sign and inclusion in daily announcements on the PA system throughout the three-day festival weekend.
Please contact Dave Radke at (414) 529-2356 to become a sponsor or if you are interested in learning more about the opportunity to not only promote your business, but help St. John’s thrive for years to come.
Donations Needed
There are donation barrels in the narthex for both the Grocery Raffle and Mystery Package. You may also bring your items to the parish office during regular business hours. If you like to bake, keep in mind that the festival dinners will need cupcakes or bars as dessert offerings. And should you still have a festival yard sign from last year, please return it to the parish office or to the narthex. They will need to be updated to this year’s festival dates.
Volunteers Needed
Many volunteers help to make our festival successful each year. We will need people to set up the grounds before the festival, host a game or a booth during the festival, and then tear down once it is all over. Look for sign-up sheets in the near future, or call the parish office and leave your name and phone number. The festival committee for inside-food operations is looking for workers to fill various tasks before, during, and after the festival. A complete list is available in the parish office, and copies are available in the narthex.
Our school gallery night was a wonderful evening filled with creativity, fellowship, and fun! Families enjoyed walking through the building to admire the beautiful artwork created by our students. The event was filled with smiles, conversation, and excitement as students proudly shared their work. A special thank you to our Home and School Committee for providing ice cream and helping with the book fair, which was also a great success!
Gallery Night was a wonderful celebration of our St. John’s school community and our talented students.
Gallery Night was a wonderful celebration of our St. John’s school community and our talented students.
"Live a life that reflects God's love."
The Gift of the Triune God
This Sunday, May 31, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - a feast that draws us into the central mystery of our faith: one God, eternally existing as three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Liturgy of the Hours captures this mystery with prayerful precision in the antiphon for the second psalm of the Office of Readings: “The Father is love, the Son is grace, the Holy Spirit is their bond of fellowship; O blessed Trinity.” Though Trinitarian devotion stretches back to the earliest centuries of Christianity, Trinity Sunday as a universal celebration was formally established by Pope John XXII in 1334. The feast proclaims that God is not solitude but eternal communion - a ceaseless exchange of self-giving love. Because we are made in the image of this Triune God, we are likewise called to lives of unity, charity, and mission. Pope Leo XIV has addressed this truth directly in Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity), the first encyclical of his pontificate. Signed on the 135th anniversary of Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum and published on Monday, May 25, the document takes up what the Holy Father calls the urgent task of “safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence.” He calls Catholics to uphold human dignity and proclaim Christ amid rapid technological change, insisting that technology must always serve the human person and the Gospel - never the reverse. Rooted in the love of the Trinity, Christians are sent into the world not as servants of machines but as joyful witnesses to the truth that every person is made for communion with God. This Trinity Sunday, may we receive with gratitude the gift of human dignity - a dignity that reflects the very life of God. And may the mystery we contemplate deepen our commitment to serve one another in love. As Saint Athanasius writes in this Sunday’s Office of Readings: “When we share in the Spirit, we possess the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the fellowship of the Spirit himself.”
Read more about the Pope’s encyclical letter and read the text in its entirety on the Vatican website at www.vatican.va.
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.
Friends, today’s Gospel gives us the famous assurance that God gave his Son that we might have eternal life.
There is a terrible interpretation of the cross that holds the view that the bloody sacrifice of the Son on the cross was “satisfying” to the Father, an appeasement of a God infinitely angry at sinful humanity. In this reading, the crucified Jesus is like a child hurled into the fiery mouth of a pagan divinity in order to assuage its wrath.
What eloquently gives the lie to this awful interpretation is today’s passage, which is often proposed as a summary of the Christian message. God the Father is not some pathetic divinity whose bruised honor needs to be restored; rather, God is a parent who burns with compassion for his children who have wandered into danger. It is not out of anger or vengeance that the Father sends the Son, but precisely out of love.
Does the Father hate sinners? No, but he hates sin. Does God harbor indignation at the unjust? No, but God despises injustice. Thus God sends his Son not gleefully to see him suffer but to set things right.
-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.