February 3, 2022

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. John’s,

I hope you are having a blessed memorial of St. Blaise, bishop, and martyr. And I pray that through his intercession, you may be protected from all disease of the throat, and from every other evil. As you may know, St. Blaise’s connection to the throat comes from his miraculously freeing a boy choking on a fishbone from imminent death.

I am aware that many members of our community find that they are struggling for air in their finances. Many of us have massive debt from school or credit cards. Many of us have little saved for emergencies or retirement. And even if this isn’t our problem, we have friends and family members whom we worry about because they face this.

It is a great gift to us that some of our parishioners have come forward to bring air to those who are struggling financially. Laurie Spiess and a team of our parishioners will be hosting Financial Peace University, which is a weekly, nine-session workshop focused on becoming debt-free. It will begin on Thursday, Feb. 24. Please consider enrolling in the course if this suits you. And please suggest it to any family member or friend who could use it. To register, call the parish office at 651-633-8333 ext. 1210.

In seminary, I had the gift to give the Heimlich to an old man who was choking on a piece of steak during a Serra Club dinner. There was no miracle there, but I’m glad that afterward, he was able to sit down and enjoy the rest of his steak.

That my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete,