Feast Days Celebrated This Week
Monday, August 10: Feast Day of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr:
St. Lawrence was a Deacon and entrusted with the Church’s treasures and the distribution of alms to the poor. His commitment to charity and service made him a beloved figure in the early Christian community. However, under the rule of Emperor Valerian and the execution of Pope Sixtus II in the year 258 AD, he was arrested and told to hand over the Church’s treasures. When he refused, he was gruesomely executed. His Feast Day is a day to honor his legacy of faith, charity, and courage in the face of persecution.
Tuesday, August 11: Feast Day of St. Clare, Virgin: St. Clare was the eldest daughter of a wealthy and devout family. She led a life of prayer and spiritual devotion, resisting her family’s plans for an arranged marriage. Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, she embraced a commitment to poverty and founded a women’s branch of the Franciscan order, known as the Order of Poor Ladies, later called the Poor Clares. She governed her community for 42 years. Her feast day continues to inspire devotion to simplicity, prayer, and service in the Catholic Church worldwide.
Wednesday, August 12: Feast Day of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious: St. Jane was a French noblewoman, widow, and cofounder of the Visitation Order. She is venerated as the patron saint of forgotten people, widows, difficulties with in-laws, and parents separated from their children. She is remembered for her charity and dedication to the poor. Her Visitation Order welcomed women who were rejected by other religious communities due to their age or health. Her Feast Day is an occasion to honor her life of service, humility, and devotion.
Thursday, August 13: Feast Day of St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus: St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus were early Christian martyrs who lived in the early 3rd century. Pope St. Pontian was exiled to the mines of Sardinia, where he died, and St. Hippolytus, once an antipope, was reconciled with the Church before his own death in exile. Their Feast Day celebrated their courage and ultimate reconciliation, overcoming both internal conflicts and external persecution.
Friday, August 14: Feast Day of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr:
St. Maximilian Kolbe was born to a poor but devout Catholic family in Poland. From an early age, he showed a deep love for the Blessed Virgin Mary and a desire to serve God. He became a Franciscan friar, priest, and missionary. He was captured by the Nazis during World War II, and he volunteered to die in place of another man in the prison camp Auschwitz in 1941.
Saturday, August 15: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: The celebration of Mary’s Assumption dates back to the 5th century. The Assumption highlights Mary’s unique role in salvation history and her participation in her Son’s resurrection. It signifies that both body and soul are destined for glory, reflecting the ultimate hope of all Christians in the resurrection and eternal life. Mary’s Assumption is also a model of holiness and a reminder to live in accordance with God’s will, showing mercy and love to the vulnerable.
This year, it is NOT a Holy Day of Obligation as it falls on a Saturday.
Leave of Absence
Hello Parishioners. I would like to let you know that I will be taking a temporary leave of absence from my ministry as music liturgist and organist as I undergo knee replacement surgery on August 7. My recovery is expected to take about six to eight weeks. During that time, our parish liturgies will be supported by several highly qualified musicians, and I am grateful for their willingness to share their gifts with our parish community. I humbly ask for your prayers for a successful surgery and a smooth recovery. Please know that I will be keeping all of you in my prayers as well. I will miss making music and worshiping with you each week, and I look forward to returning to the organ bench and rejoining our parish family as soon as I am able. Blessings to all of you.
—Karen Schulteis, Director of Liturgy and Music
Parish Blood Drive
The next St. John’s Blood Drive, administered by the Christian Women Society, is just eight weeks away on Monday, September 14. With that in mind, please do not donate blood at any other upcoming blood drive; schedule with our blood drive instead. Your efforts truly make a lasting impact as our blood drive gives patients and their families the gift of a brighter tomorrow. Your generosity brings hope and healing to those who need it. Our parish goal is to collect 35 blood products to help meet the high demand from local hospitals for patients such as new mothers, car accident victims, and heart surgery patients. Each donation means three patients will benefit from this lifesaving gift.
Prayer Shawl Ministry News
St. John’s Prayer Shawl Ministry will hold its next meeting on Friday, August 14, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at 8101 W. Dreyer Place, with easy access and no stairs. Please bring your new creations of Prayer Pockets, Shawls, Lap Blankets, Twiddle Muffs, and Baptismal items. If you are not able to join us, you can drop off completed items at the Parish Office.
If you enjoy knitting and crocheting, please join us to learn more about this ministry. Thank you for your monetary and new yarn donations brought to the Parish Office. For more information, please contact Diane Oakland at 414-617-0721 or email her at dianeoak@gmail.com.
24th Annual Seminary Dinner
The Saint Francis de Sales Seminary’s 24th Annual Dinner will be an evening to remember! You are invited to celebrate as our seminary prepares to welcome 27 new men in August, bringing the total to 90 seminarians. What a blessing to have so many men willing to give their lives to Christ and His Church!
Please consider uniting with several hundred faithful Catholics for the Seminary Dinner at the Baird Center, 405 West Kilbourn Avenue, Milwaukee, on Friday, October 9. If you are unable to attend and would like to offer important help, you can do so by making a donation (a check, addressed to St. Francis de Sales Seminary, can be dropped off at the parish office).
Please consider joining your fellow parishioners at this joy-filled evening! Dennis and Mary Baumgardner are organizing the group from St. John’s (checks are usually sent in together). If interested in further details, making a donation, or if you would like to attend, please contact Dennis/Mary by August 18 at the latest (414-427-0832). If you need transportation, that can be arranged. Thank you in advance for your generous consideration!
Sunday, August 9, 2026 | Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time | Matthew 14:22–33
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus rescues Peter and says, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” When we live wrapped up in our own egos and their fears, we inhabit the narrow space of the pusilla anima (the little soul), but when we forget our awful seriousness, when we live in a risky freedom, we inhabit the infinite expanse of the magna anima (the great soul).
Holy people are those who realize that they participate in something and Someone infinitely greater than themselves. Far from crushing them, this awareness makes them great. In a hundred ways, our theological and spiritual tradition attempts to cultivate the great soul, to lure us into that wonderful conviction that it is not about us.
John’s Gospel says that in his youth, Peter labored under the illusion that he could control his life: he walked where he liked, and he tied his own belt. But in his old age—the time of wisdom—he will realize that his life has been under the direction of a Power that his ego cannot begin to manipulate. In taking him where he does not want to go, this Power will introduce him to the magna anima.
Holy people are those who realize that they participate in something and Someone infinitely greater than themselves. Far from crushing them, this awareness makes them great. In a hundred ways, our theological and spiritual tradition attempts to cultivate the great soul, to lure us into that wonderful conviction that it is not about us.
John’s Gospel says that in his youth, Peter labored under the illusion that he could control his life: he walked where he liked, and he tied his own belt. But in his old age—the time of wisdom—he will realize that his life has been under the direction of a Power that his ego cannot begin to manipulate. In taking him where he does not want to go, this Power will introduce him to the magna anima.
-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 are THREE open hours of Adoration:
Fridays 2:00 to 3:00 a.m.
Saturdays Midnight to 1:00 a.m. and 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 temporarily to see how it works with 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.