This weekend we begin our Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) — the annual appeal that sustains our Diocese in Northern Wisconsin.

• St. Joseph Parish Goal: $65,127

• St. Ann Parish Goal: $15,973
  (We met our goals last year, and with your help, we can do it again!)

But this isn’t just about meeting a financial goal. The true call is to grow in Prayerful Generosity:

• Prayerful — Jesus prayed for us and intercedes for us.

• Generous — Jesus gave his life for us.

Why Support the CSA?

• Funds the education and formation of seminarians (7 this year, most in 16 years, at $50,000 per seminarian annually).

• Brings international priests to serve our parishes (currently 26 of our 42 active priests are international).

• Supports youth faith experiences (Extreme Faith Camp, Totus Tuus, March for Life, retreats).

• Offers adult retreats and formation.

• Provides essential administrative and legal guidance for parishes.

• Strengthens Catholic schools, including St. Francis Solanus in our cluster.

How to Give

• Use CSA envelopes mailed to you or found at church entrances/bulletins. Return in the collection, bring to the parish office, or mail directly.

• Give online at haywardcatholic.org under the Give tab, designating the 2025–2026 CSA for St. Joseph or St. Ann.

Any amount above our goal comes back to our parishes!

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Challenge: Grow in Prayerful Generosity. Give more this year than last — and pray for the causes you support. In doing so, we become more like Jesus.

Retirement: For Me or For God? 

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 08/03/25

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells of a wealthy man who stored up riches for himself, only to be called a fool by God—not for working hard, but for forgetting eternity. He lived as though his future belonged to him, not to God.

This challenges us in a culture that views retirement as finally doing what we want. The Christian question is different: Is retirement about me, or is it about God and others?

• Ecclesiastes reminds us that work without God is vanity.

• St. Paul urges us to “seek what is above” and put on Christ.

Retirement, then, isn’t the reward for decades of labor. It’s a new vocation—a fresh opportunity to serve, love, and live for God more freely. The Christian mission never retires.

Key Questions:

• Am I investing my time, resources, and energy in what matters to God?

• Am I growing as His disciple and helping others come to Him?

True retirement is not self-indulgence, but self-gift. Not vanity, but eternal value. Every day, even in small hidden moments, we are called to glorify God and bring souls to Him.