MISSION APPEAL SPEAKER

St. Michael Catholic Church

MASS SCHEDULE GIRARD
Saturday
5:30 pm
Sunday
10:00 am

ARMA
4:00 pm
8:00 am

CONFESSION
GIRARD
ARMA
Saturday
2:00-2:30 pm 3:15-3:45 pm
Weekdays before Mass
Anytime by appointment
RECTORY HOURS
Tuesday-Friday: 9:00 am - Noon
Closed Mondays
(620) 724-8717
STAFF Pastor: Fr. Max Biltz
Secretary: Faith Paoni
Bookkeeper: Janel Scales
Bulletin Editor: Nancy Bauer
PARISH WEBSITE:
www.stmichaelgirard.com
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Finance Council
Parish Council
Tony Stonerock, Chair Dale Coomes, Chair
TBA
TBA

!Altar Society

Aug. 24 @ 6:00pm
Daltons Back 9

!Helping Hands

Knights of Columbus
1st Tuesday of Month
7:00pm in hall

Daughters of Isabella
Carrie Smith
Marilyn Bradshaw
724-6684
724-7133
Kapauns Men: Fridays at 6:00am in the hall

From the Pastor

Many have expressed interest in the book I recommended last Sunday. I have decided in this
column to write about some of my favorite books, books that have had a profound influence on my
life and which I highly recommend. The first is the book that I mentioned last Sunday. It is called
Life at the Bottom by Theodore Dalrymple. Dr. Dalrymple is not Catholic but he is a remarkably
intelligent man who has many good things to say. This should not surprise us Catholics since the
Church greatly admires the philosophy of Aristotle who lived four hundred years before Christ was
born. Dalrymple worked in an inner-city hospital in England for 15 years. He has also traveled
around the world doing medical work in the poorest countries imaginable. He came to realize that
many (though by no means all) of the poor of the inner-city were making terrible life choices which
were keeping them in poverty. He details his attempts to convince the individuals under his care to
make better life choices and to avoid self-destructive behaviors like drug use. Another great book of
his is In Praise of Prejudice.
Another great book is Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. Professor Lewis (famous to children as the
author of the Chronicles of Narnia) was the greatest spokesman for the truth of Christianity during the
middle of the 20th century. In Mere Christianity, Lewis lays out the logical reasons why it is reasonable
to believe in the Christian religion and in Jesus Christ as our savior. He also gives excellent spiritual
advice on how to grow in prayer and holiness. While Lewis was never a Catholic (he was a devout
Anglican Christian), his ideas are very close to the teachings of Catholicism and (ironically) he has
led many protestants to the Catholic faith. Among his many points, is that even atheists cannot
escape the pressure (so to speak) of a universal morality. If you slash the tires of an atheist, he will
tell you that what you did was morally wrong. But if there is no God to establish a right and wrong,
then on what basis does he say that tire-slashing is wrong?
I would also recommend Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell. I actually do not know of
Thomas Sowells religious beliefs (he never mentions them), but he certainly is a very intelligent
man. An African American who grew up New York in the 30s and 40s, he became a Marxist at a
young age, but abandoned it after working with corrupt individuals at a government economic
department (that is he saw that government agents were just as capable of being selfish as anyone
else). Influenced greatly by Milton Friedman, Sowell acquired a PhD in Economics and became a
champion of Free Market economics. He exposes the reasons why Socialism in any form becomes
corrupt and in fact makes poverty worse (We should note that the Catholic Church, beginning with
Pope Leo XIII, has always condemned Socialism). He argues that for the most part, free individuals
should be free to make their own economic accommodations rather than have a government make
those decisions for them. (As Catholics we cannot ever embrace absolute free markets, which provide
no help for starving people saying that the free market will take care of them; but a moderated
free market is acceptable for Catholics and Sowell himself never advocates absolute free markets).
Lastly I would recommend On the Reliability of the Old Testament by Kenneth Kitchen. Professor
Kitchen is a life-long Egyptologist but with a profound knowledge of the whole Ancient Near East.
He shows how archaeological evidence greatly supports the historicity and factuality of the Old
Testament. His insights are remarkable for anyone who wishes to be convinced that Moses, King
David, The Exodus, Elijah etc. were real factual people and events and not just made up stories.

Altar Ministers for August 15 & 16

Mass Schedule and Intentions for August 8 - 16

Aug. 8 Saturday
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

4:00pm
5:30pm
Sunday
8:00am
10:00am
Monday
7:00am
Tuesday
5:30pm
Wednesday 6:30pm
Thursday 8:00am
8:30am-3:00pm
Friday
7:00am
8:00am-6:00pm
Saturday 4:00pm
5:30pm
Sunday
8:00am
10:00am

106 N. Western Ave.

Girard, KS 66743
(620) 724-8717
Pastor: Fr. Max Biltz

Bob Pazzie
Verl Diskin
Dan Black
For the People
Edwin Madl
No Intention
Patricia Haderlein
No Intention
Adoration
Arlene Schulte
Adoration
No Intention
Vera Diskin
No Intention
For the People

Arma
Girard
Arma
Girard
Girard
Arma
Girard
Arma
Arma
Girard
Girard
Arma
Girard
Arma
Girard

Next Saturday (8/15/15)

Next Sunday (8/16/15)

!Altar Servers:

5:30 pm

Carly & Macy Reif,

Luke Martin

Kaleb & Broc Scales,

Teddy Paoni

EMHC:

Nancy Bauer

Jerry Hanson

10:00 am

Lector:

Mary Twarog

Doug Lopeman

Gift Bearers

Tom & Claire

Weston

Robert & Alice

Davied

The weekend of Aug. 15-16, Fr. Philip from the La Salette

Missionaries will be speaking at our masses. Fr. Philip is from
Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and is the director of
the La Salette Missions there.
Having brought the fullness of life to our world when He
rose from the dead, Jesus sent his disciples to share this life with
all of creation.
They went forth and preached
everywhere (Mk 16:20). The Missionaries of Our Lady of La
Salette minister to people of every race, language, culture and
way of life - beginning at the La Salette Shrine in France
where our Blessed Mother appeared in 1846. Her final words,
Well, my children, you will make this known to all my people
echo Jesus Gospel mandate. It is little wonder that the La
Salette Congregation has always been mission orientated.
When called upon by the Vatican to preach the Gospel in
foreign lands, they eagerly responded. This spirit brought them
to mission in 27 countries, especially among the poor in
Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Haiti, India, Madagascar,
Myanmar and the Philippines. With your cooperation, the
Missionaries of La Salette can continue to provide spiritual
and financial assistance to these mission countries as they bring
Gods reconciling message to the poor.

THANK YOU
Thank you to the ladies of St. Michael Church who donated
pies to Angels Among Us to be used at the Crawford County
Fair. If you or someone in our area that you know has been
diagnosed with cancer and needs assistance, please contact
Joan Davied with Angels Among Us at 724-4862.

PRAYERS FOR THE SICK OF OUR PARISH

Please pray for parishioners Ron Breneman, Gerald Davied,

Rosemary OToole, and Stan Thomas who are ill. Also, please
pray for former parishioner John Doherty who is in the
hospital.

ST. MICHAEL ALTAR SOCIETY

The St. Michael Altar Society will hold their first meeting of
the fall on Monday, August 24 at 6:00pm at Daltons Back 9
restaurant at the Girard golf course. All women of the parish
are invited to join us!

FINANCIAL INSERT

The 2014-2015 Annual Financial Statement has been

reviewed and signed by the Finance Council and sent to the
Diocese. The insert in this weekends bulletin shows a
comparison of the 2013-2014 fiscal year and the 2014-2015

Collections

Contributions
Childrens Offering
Expenses - July

Last Week

July 2015 to date

$2,327.00

$11,465.00

$10.90

$20.58

$8,367.53

$8,367.53

Over / (Under)

$3,118.05

Building Fund Contributions

$310.00

Building Fund Loan Balance

$234,403.95

fiscal year. We thank the Finance Council, and in particular

Janel Scales, for their stewardship in managing the parish
finances!

POPE FRANCIS BUILD

Thank you to everyone who has pledged their Time, Treasure,

and Talent! We are still in need of many volunteers to help
build (you do not have to know anything about construction;
we will teach you!) and to provide lunches and snacks to our
build volunteers. Cant commit to a full day build? How about
an hour in the morning to help with check-in or you can
submit a prayer for the volunteers to use at the beginning of
their build day (our goal is to have a different prayer for each
day of the build)! If you have questions or would like to
volunteer in one or more areas listed above, please call Bonnie
or Denise at 316-269-3935 or email
northupd@CatholicDioceseOfWichita.org.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD PROTEST

We invite you to join us August 22 from 9am-11am for a

morning of prayer to protest the ongoing evil in front of both
the Planned Parenthood Offices at 2226 E. Central, Wichita,
or The South Wind Womens Clinic (where our 1st Saturday
Rosary is held), 5107 E. Kellogg Ave. You are welcome to
choose either location, simultaneous prayer will be at both
locations from 9am-11am.

BACK TO SCHOOL BLESSINGS

Let us pray this week for all of our students, parents and
district staff members as they prepare to
go back to school! May God bless them
with a safe and fruitful school year, and
may our young people grow in wisdom
and stature, and in favor with God and
man. (Luke 2:52)

A big Thank You to our advertisers. Please support them!

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