By Fr. Paul Shovelain

Today we celebrate the birthday of our patron, Saint John the Baptist! His birth brought joy to Elizabeth and Zechariah who were barren. His father doubted the angel when the angel told him that he would have a son. Yet, once he came to believe and his tongue was free he boldly prayed to God this beautiful prayer!

“Blessed be the Lord, The God of Israel;
He has come to His people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
Born of the house of His servant David.

Through His holy prophets, He promised of old
That He would save us from our enemies,
From the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers
And to remember His holy Covenant.

This was the oath He swore to our father Abraham:
To set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship Him without fear,
Holy and righteous in His sight
All the days of our life.

You, My child shall be called
The prophet of the Most High,
For you will go before the Lord to prepare His way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our Lord
The dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
And the shadow of death,
And to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

As you pray that prayer, remember that God is faithful. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He has helped us through this pandemic. As we come to the close of the pandemic and the dispensation to attend Mass is lifted, we rejoice in God’s faithfulness!

Join us tonight as we celebrate his faithfulness with Mass at 5:30pm, dinner and entertainment afterward. See below for more information.

This weekend we will continue to celebrate SJB’s birthday at all the Masses and have hospitality after each Mass as well! We will also have hospitality next weekend to celebrate the 4th of July and the lifting of the dispensation. Please note, there is no 6:15pm Mass on the 4th of July.

Please be sure to read the news about Fr. Magner’s new assignment below. I am grateful for his ministry over the past two years at SJB. We are hoping to announce who the new Associate Pastor will be soon. Please pray for a smooth transition.

A Message From Fr. Kevin Magner

Dear parishioners of St. John the Baptist,
I know this will come as a surprise (or a shock) to all of you—and for that, I apologize—but I wanted to let you know that I will soon be leaving St. John the Baptist for a new parish assignment.

I was surprised as well when I got the call from the archdiocese. I thought that all of the assignments had already been determined for this year. But apparently, this one was still being worked out.

I will be moving back west to Wright County to work with Fr. John Meyer in the parishes of Maple Lake and Annandale. I am supposed to begin there on July 1 but we are still working out the details of when my last day will be here. Fr. Paul is currently in conversation with the chancery about the priest they are planning to assign here as the new parochial vicar. Again, those details are yet to be finalized.

I know this is a sudden departure but the changes in life are rarely convenient. You, as parishioners of St. John the Baptist, have seen many priests come and go over the years. All of them have been blessed by their time among you. I know I have been. I will take with me many good memories of the friendships I made here during these past few years. God bless you all and please pray for the good of the parish during this time of transition.

Sincerely yours,
Fr. Magner