St. John the Evangelist

Congratulations to the 2020 graduates of Hoisington High School from our parish -
      Chandler Blackwell
      Taylor Boxberger
      Avery Brewer
      Zachary Rubio
      Paul Rziha
      Bailey Sanders
      Kameron Schneweis

First Holy Communion will be held at St. John’s Church in Hoisingtgon on Sunday, August 16th at the 9:00am Mass. Two pews per student (7 children) will be reserved so seating will be limited. If possible, you may want to attend Mass on Saturday evening, August 15th or during the week. Sorry for any inconvenience.

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Today’s Gospel opens with the information reaching Jesus about the beheading of his cousin John the Baptist. The reality of this event and especially the brutality of the death of John would have crushed Jesus. Remember they were cousins, not just cousins who gathered at funerals and weddings, but cousins whose mothers were very close. Close enough that Mary had to spend 3 months with Elizabeth when she was pregnant and even remained there until the birth of John the Baptist. John even recognized Jesus and rejoiced while both of them were still in the wombs of their respective mothers. Jesus had walked long distances to hear John preach and be baptized by him. Simply put, John was a hero to Jesus. So you can imagine what the news of the death of John would have done to Jesus. Jesus chose to go away to the desert, to a lonely place to mourn his loss and also process what that meant for him and his ministry in Galilee.

But when Jesus arrived the lonely place he encountered something he didn’t bargain for; he encountered human suffering at a different level. He saw hunger and sickness among the people he had come to save. Remember that in John 10:10 he had said that he has come for us to have life and have it in abundance. The situation before him provided him with opportunity to make his promise come to life. He was moved with compassion when he saw the plight of the people who have been let down by their leaders, both religious and civil leaders, people who have been abandoned and who needed help. He forgot his own needs for rest and comfort after the death of John and began to address the needs of the people. Our God cares; he sees our needs and he is always willing to do something about our needs, whether they are spiritual, emotional, physical, or material; whether they are personal tragedies or natural disasters. God is always ready to satisfy the hunger that we feel, he is ready to give us food in abundance and through the prophet Isaiah he invites us to come to him: All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! What a beautiful invitation?

However we realize that Jesus did not solve the hunger of the crowds directly by himself, he used what the people had with them, the 5 loaves and the 2 fish. This tells us that a great deal of God’s care and compassion rests on our own shoulders. A great deal of the human suffering in the world has been caused by human agency and can also be relieved by human agency. Jesus also used his disciples for the organization of the people and the distribution of the food. He still does that today through his Church and his disciples. We, like the disciples, are called again and again to be mediators between Jesus and others, offering the little talent, time and resources we have with total generosity.

We might find it easier to blame God, or to blame governments, or generally to see the hunger and suffering in the world as other people’s problems. But they are also ours, they are mine. That is the meaning of the Eucharist we celebrate here today, namely, that as Christians we commit ourselves to share, to work with God in communicating his compassion to all. The community must put in common all it has in order that food may be available for all. Only when we accept to come together and put in common all we have including our talents, time and treasures will we be able to find a solution to the numerous problems of mankind. As long as people remain selfish with everyone acting on their own, seeking the realization of their selfish desires and satisfaction of their personal interests and welfare, we shall continue to have the scandalously rich living next to the abjectly poor. This is a situation that is unacceptable by the gospel values. Christian disciples must rise today to work with Christ to create a more balanced world where we show compassion for the sufferings of our brothers and sisters and also take care of one another.

Please call the parish office to schedule an individual appointment with Father for the sacrament of reconciliation (confession).

Prayer intentions may be called to Nancy Kirmer at 620-653-2466.