STATIONS OF THE CROSS

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 & INFORMATION
Tuesday-Friday: 9:00 am - Noon
Rectory: (620) 724-8717
Fr. Maxs cell: (316) 708-9473
Fr. Maxs email: thomas.becket.fan@gmail.com
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

Monday, Mar. 28
6pm at El Caballo

!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

Mar. 12 Saturday
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

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

THE RELIGION WISDOM OF OUR FOUNDING FATHERS

Since the Pittsburg post office was forced BY ONE INDIVIDUAL to remove the sign on its
building proclaiming God Bless America, weve seen area residents pushing back with similar
signs, provided by Jakes Fireworks. Theyre displayed in their yards and/or businesses all over
Pittsburg and even area towns like Arma and Girard. Whoever forced that post office sign to come
down surely opened a can of worms, because political correctness backfired! Crawford County,
like most others in America, is 90% Christian and were not going to take this lying down! The
protest is silly, for most of us believe in a Creator and does it matter what that person is called,
whether it be God, Allah, Jesus, Yahweh, Mohammed, or Jehovah?
We know these dissenters base their objections on the so-called wall of separation between
church and state, based on faulty interpretations of the First Amendment to our Constitution.
That amendment NEVER mentions separation; it NEVER mentions the church; it NEVER
mentions the state; nor does it mention a wall. It simply says: Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or forbidding the free exercise thereof. In my forty years
of teaching American Government, Ive never figured out WHERE the federal courts could have
come up with this separation of church and state business and make it LOGICAL enough to
endure for nearly 70 years! Its a short amendment, but it has a tortured history. The words make
the intentions of our founding fathers quite clear. Theyd just fought a War for Independence
against England and their State Church; therefore, they had no intention of allowing our
Congress the authority to set up a National Church to dominate the new nation. And so, they
denied Congress the power to create a State church. The amendment placed No Prohibitions on
the States or its citizens from being free to be as religious as they wanted to be!
The result was a miracle of history that lasted nearly 150 years. (1791-1947) The U.S. was the
only nation where religion was free to exercise by all, yet the state did not control it. But, in 1947,
came the disastrous Everson case before the Supreme Court. This nine-member body of
unelected judges broke with legal precedent and history when Justice Hugo Black wrote the
majority decision that adopted a phrase from Jeffersons writings in 1802 when he wrote a letter to
Baptists in Connecticut about a separation of church and state. Jefferson was a Christian and
his words were taken from context about a local problem Baptists had concerning the treatment of
their ministers. Justice Black wrote: The 1st amendment has erected a wall between church and
state and that wall must be kept high and impregnable. This so-called wall has been used to
drive religion from our public life and secularize our schools. In 1962, another Supreme Court
decision, Engel v. Vitale, banned public prayer in schools. Today, federal courts persist in
dismantling our institutions and symbols for the sake of a small minority. We accommodate the
atheist who is offended at the mention of Gods name, but no atheist or skeptic can be forced to
accommodate a single religious person who might be offended by their unbelief !
And what has resulted from secularists like ACLU and others who drive religion from our lives?
We see religious signs removed, no prayer in school, more juvenile crime and suicide,
pornography, and mass shootings everywhere! It was a mistake to exclude faith from public life.







- Marcel Normand

Altar Ministers for Next Weekend

Mass Schedule and Intentions for Mar. 12 - 20

Jim Davied
Mary Davied
Elfrida Staub
For the People
No Mass
No Mass
No Mass
No Mass
No Adoration
No Mass
No Adoration
No Intention
Catherine Madl
No Intention
For the People

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

Next Saturday (3/19/16)

!Altar Servers:
!EMHC:
!
Lector:

Gift Bearers

5:30 pm

Next Sunday (3/20/16)

10:00 am

Josh Duling &

Sarah Goble

Broc & Kaleb Scales,

Teddy Paoni

Nancy Bauer

Eileen Bland

Mary Twarog &

Tony Stonerock

Faith Paoni &

Ruth Duling

Wayne & Ruth

Leritz

Collections

We will have Stations of the Cross at both parishes at their

regular times: Tuesdays at 6pm in Arma and Fridays at 6pm in
Girard. We will also have childrens Stations of the Cross at St.
Michaels at 9:00am on Sunday, March 20.

Ryan & Paula Sevart

family

Contributions
Childrens Offering

PARISH PENANCE SERVICE

Expenses - Feb.

Parish penance service for Lent will be on March 23rd at

6:30PM. There will be multiple priests available to hear
confessions.

ST. JOSEPH SPAGHETTI FEED

ALTAR SOCIETY MEETING

The St. Michaels Altar Society will meet Monday, March 28

at 6:00pm at El Caballo de Oro. All ladies of the parish are
invited.

BIRTHRIGHT ASSISTANCE

The Knights of Columbus will be collecting baby items to

donate to Birthright over the next few weeks. A basket will be
in the back of church. Diapers, baby blankets, etc. are needed.

KAPAUNS MEN FISH FRY

The mens group Kapauns Men will be holding their 3rd

annual St. Michaels Parish Fish Fry on Friday, March 11 from
5:30 to 7:00pm. A free will offering will be accepted. Please
plan to support them and enjoy a delicious Lenten meal!

KAPAUNS MEN

Kapauns Men meet every Friday morning at 6:00am in the

parish hall. All men 18+ are invited.

PUBLIC ROSARY RALLY

Gods marriage and the traditional family need our prayers.

That is why you are invited to join our 2016 Rosary Rally at
noon on Saturday, March 19th at St. Joseph Church in Arma.
For more information or to volunteer to help, call Herman
Masser at 724-4593.

PRAYERS REQUESTED

Please continue to pray for parishioner Madison Smith and Fr.

Roger as they return from the medical mission trip to the
Philippines that they took part in this past week. Madison is
very grateful to our parish for joining in the mission through
financial contributions, donated supplies, and prayers, and will
be sure to come back and share her experience with us.

July 2015 to date

$2,439.00

$89,852.37

$17.00

$536.08

$10,131.90

$103,178.73

Over / (Under)

St. Josephs in Arma will be holding their annual Spaghetti

Feed this Saturday, March 12 from 5:00 to 7:30pm in their
parish hall. Join us for a delicious meal, fellowship, and prizes!

Last Week

($12,790.28)

Building Fund Contributions

$35.00

Building Fund Loan Balance

$220,707.26

ST. BRIDGETS FISH FRY FRIDAYS & MEAL

Its time for St. Bridgets Knights of Columbus Council #3316
Famous Fish Frys again! They will be serving Catfish, Cod,
and Shrimp Dinners, along with the St. Elmos Platter, Grilled
Cheese and Chowder. Dinners are every Friday from Feb. 12 Mar. 18, at St. Bridgets Parish Hall in Scammon. Carryouts
are welcome.

!St Bridgets parish is also hosting their St Josephs Table on

Sunday, March 20th from 11AM to 2PM. Cost is $15.00 per

person (full menu), $6.00 for children 6-12, and $2.00 for
children under six. See Church bulletin board for more
information.

PRAYERS FOR OUR PARISHIONERS

Please pray for parishioners Doug Lopeman, Herman Masser,

Thurma Masser, Rosemary OToole, Tom Weston, and Judy
Widner who are ill or in need of prayers.

MIDWEST CATHOLIC FAMILY CONFERENCE

The 17th Annual Midwest Catholic family conference will be

held Aug. 5-7 in Wichita, Ks. Call the parish office for more
information or visit catholicfamilyconference.org.

DIOCESAN BULLETIN BIT

Once One Chooses to be a Disciple of Christ, Stewardship is

not an Option. The Lord has done great things for us!
Throughout salvation history the Lord's intervention in human
affairs shaped our world. The first reading today recalls the
flight of the Israelites from Egypt and the destruction of
Pharaoh's army. The powerful right arm of God showed no
mercy to the Egyptians. In the Gospel Jesus shows mercy to
the woman caught in adultery and uses it as a lesson to the
scribes and Pharisees that each of us can become trapped in
sin. May we turn to our Lord and seek his mercy and show
mercy to each other.

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