This week we have parishioners graduating from four different high schools – Prairie Farm, Boyceville, Elmwood and Spring Valley.  Area clergy with members of their congregations graduating from Prairie Farm and Boyceville High Schools have invited me to take part in their Baccalaureate ceremonies on Sunday and Wednesday respectively.  I will be able to pray with the students of Prairie Farm but a scheduling conflict prevents me from participating at Boyceville.  We thank God for His graces bestowed on our graduating parishioners during their high school years.  We also beg the assistance of the Holy Spirit for them as they discern how God wants them to use the talents He has given them.  Congratulations and God bless our graduates!

Make sure you check out our parishes’ website at www.svecatholic.org.  eCatholic, the company that hosts our website, rebuilt our website from the ground up to include many new features.  The total rebuild, however, meant that we have had to reassemble the content of our website from scratch!  That is an ongoing process but new items are being added weekly.  Check it often for updates.  Pictures of parish events are regularly posted.  If you have any photos or events you would like posted online just email them to [email protected].  There is an excellent selection of pictures of Deacon Billy Dodge’s ordination and Ben Blegen’s baptism at the Easter Vigil.  You may even find your face there! 

I am moved at how solicitous parishioners are with regard to my health.  Late in April I underwent two weeks of exams at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester regarding my recent sinus surgery (2013) and the previous intestinal surgeries and subsequent complications (2011-2013).  The ENT surgeon reports that my sinus tissues have now completely healed and no cysts or polyps have grown back.  Things look so good he said I don’t need to come back for six months!  The GI specialist also had excellent news discovering that finally there was no sign of any irritation both in the internal pouch they created from my small intestine and the tiny cuff of the large intestine that links all the new “plumbing” together.  Because recovery from these surgeries has been so long and complicated the medical professionals and I deliberately ignored worrisome blood sugar and cholesterol/triglyceride numbers that were discovered several years ago.  In spite of eating a very healthy diet since the intestinal surgeries, inexplicably the numbers at the last check-up were astronomically worse.  So we decided now is the time to attack these problems!  I am now following a diabetic diet as well as strictly monitoring my caloric intake (1400 calories per day) and increasing my exercise routine.  The goal is to lose 50 pounds and see if my body resolves the sugar and fat issues.  Thirteen days into the diet and I’ve already shed 11 pounds!  Thank you for your prayers and for helping me lose weight by not tempting me with your delicious goodies!

This week I am going to Chicago to visit my brother.  You may recall that he has begun an experimental treatment for leukemia through Northwestern University.  He has completed two treatments but there is no sign of improvement as of yet.  My stepmother, Marilyn, has recovered splendidly from knee replacement surgery.  Indeed, this week she completed the “official” physical therapy.  She is now working hard to be able to conquer stairs (like the steep ones in the Elmwood Rectory).  Thanks for your prayers for both of them.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!  Saint Luke, pray for us!
Father Kevin C. Louis, STL