Fr. Kevin Schmittgens, Pastor
August 9-10, 2014
Saturday:
5:00 p.m.
Sunday:
8:00 & 10:00 a.m.
(636) 583-2806
Web: www.stjosephneier.com
Email: kevin.schmittgens@borgia.com
Chris: cbstjoe@yhti.net
Rev. Kev’s Cell Phone (314) 960-4745
Rev. Kev’s Thoughts: “Wise and Otherwise”
FYI, this Friday is a Holy Day of Obligation, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary.
We will have our regular Mass at 6:30 am and Mass in the evening at 7 pm.
As I mentioned previously, school has already started for me. I will be at Borgia at 2 am on
Tuesday morning monitoring an all night lock-in. (What have I gotten myself into!) We
then have Teacher’s Meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Our Freshmen come
in on Friday, and I will have Mass for them as they begin their High School career with a
retreat called Luke 18. The rest of the students will be there on Monday, August 18th. And
then we are off to the races. Because I am only teaching one class each semester, the
beginning of school does not feel so overwhelming. As I ease into my new job, that may
change. Say a prayer for me and for our school.
As I have been preparing for my class, I have been researching the film Citizen Kane. Kane
is generally regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time. If you watch it now, you may
not agree with that critique. It is a bit slow, a bit stilted at times, and some of the acting
seems overblown and affected. Nevertheless, any serious student of film (I am about 70%
there) has to take note of that film, because it changed movies forever. I could write for
days about it, let me just give you one quick example. When sound synchronization (i.e. the
talkies) came into vogue, film took a huge step backwards. Everything had to be “miked”
and as such, filming was very static and inert. You never saw a low angle shot, because then
you would see the microphone. Orson Welles, the director of Citizen Kane “solved” this
problem by making fake ceilings made of fabric. The microphone was over the ceiling. If
you watch the film, all the ceilings seem really low. That is the reason.
One of the actors who is prominent in the film is an actor by the name of Everett Sloane. He
plays Mr. Bernstein, a friend of Kane’s, and he ages from a young man to middle age to an
older man in the film. It is a great performance. (Sloane wrote the lyrics to the Andy
Griffith Show Theme, which sadly, you never heard since they just did an instrumental of
it.) As he aged Sloane began to lose his eyesight. (He was still acting up until that time.)
This malady was too much for him and he ended up taking an overdose of barbiturates. This
is the part that got me: he was only 55 years old. I got to thinking, would I face blindness
more or less courageously. I love to read. I love to watch movies. A lot of my work
depends on sight. It is a scary thought. I would like to think that I would find something
more, something beyond, something deeper. I would like to think that God would grant me
a reason to live, a reason to continue, a reason to hope. That is what our faith teaches us. I
only wish poor Everett would have understood that.
Quick Inspiration: “If I were again beginning my studies, I would follow the advice of
Plato and start with mathematics.” -Galileo Galilei
“I am a part of everything that I have read.” -Theodore Roosevelt
Excerpts from Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all small stuff by Richard Carlson
Contrary to popular belief, negative feelings don’t need to be studied and analyzed. When
you analyze your negative feelings, you’ll usually end up with more of them to contend
with. The next time you’re feeling bad, rather than getting stuck in “analysis paralysis,”
wondering why you feel the way you do, see if instead you can use your feelings to guide
you back in the direction toward serenity. Don’t pretend that the negative feeling don’t
exist, but try to recognize that the reason you’re feeling sad, angry, stressed, or whatever is
that you are taking life too seriously – you are “sweating the small stuff.” Instead of rolling
up your sleeves and fighting life, back off, take a few deep breaths, and relax. Remember,
life isn’t an emergency unless you make it so.
Holy Humor: Evening news is where they begin with “Good evening,” and then proceed to
tell you why it isn’t.
A Bit of Useless Information: In chess, a player is “in zugzwang” (good Scrabble word)
when it would be better to lose one’s burn than to make a move.
100 Simple Secrets for the Best Half of Life:
#44 It All Looks Better Over Time The past never changes. Few things are more concrete
and obvious than that. Yet, what we make of the past changes all the time. The good and the
bad, the lessons and the mistakes, are subject to constant revision. Understand that we all
have a tendency to rewrite our personal past, often smoothing out some of the rough edges
to make the past look unrealistically good compared with today. People interviewed over
the course of several years became 2 percent more likely to report they had been generally
happy in the past each time they were asked the question.
Neighboring Activities
Tuesday, August 12th
D of I will meet at 7:30 pm at the Union KC Hall.
Important information regarding the upcoming MO State
Workshop will be discussed
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, August 14th to 16th SFB Rummage Sale. See flyer for
times in back of church
St. Francis Borgia Grade School is looking to hire a part time Computer
Lab teacher and 2 people to work the aftercare program from 3-6PM Monday Friday. If you are interested or would like more information please
contact Michelle Etter 636-239-2590 ext. 1271.
St. Joseph News & Event
St. Joseph Neier Homecoming Information
We would like to thank everyone in advance for your help on this year's homecoming. An envelope
for each family is in the back of church with raffle tickets, worker's list, and this year’s flyer. Any
leftover raffle tickets will be needed to sell at the picnic. Please put in back of church prior to the
picnic. Also, if your name is not on the list and you would like to work, please contact Chris Fiedler
at 314-616-7770. It’s a great weekend! Come Join Us.
Thanks,
Chris & Deanne Fiedler - Chair
Roger & Tammy Mitchell - Co-Chair
The Sick of the Parish who need your prayers
Anna Marie Brueggemann
Diane Schwentker
Joanne Brockmiller
Zachery Gossage
Sondra Ewing
Jane Schroeder
Eugene Brueggemann
Mark Stuesse
Phil Hubenthal
Ryan Elbert
Margaret Pillen
Cecelia Helling
Ralph Schroeder
Jeffrey Allen Straatmann
Dale Wienstroer
Karen M Bobbitt
Melinda Helling