Do not be Afraid: This weekend’s Gospel is one of my favorites. Jesus “made” the disciples get into a boat to precede him to the other side. During their journey, a violent storm appears and their boat was being tossed about by the waves. What a scary sight! But Jesus appears to calm the storm. Jesus is God, He is Alive, and He is with us. He might wait longer than we like (the storm probably started in the evening and He didn’t appear until the fourth watch, about 3 am or so), but He promised to save us and He does.
Holy Cross: Fr. Tom McDermott, a priest of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, will be our guest preacher this weekend as part of our Mission Cooperative Appeal. He has been a priest for 38 years. He has served in Kenya and Uganda, among other places. For the last nine years he has been on the staff of the Holy Cross Formation House in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Please welcome him and thank you for your generosity in advance.
Assumption: This Tuesday, August 15, we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary body and soul into heaven. The Assumption is the oldest feast day of Our Lady. The Church teaches that “the immaculate Virgin preserved free from all stain of original sin, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, when her earthly life was over, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things.” Our Blessed Mother is also the image of the Church. We desire to follow her to heaven!
Fr. Swiat: As I write this bulletin column (August 4), I received word that Fr. Swiat’s sister Molly in Chicago is seriously ill. Additionally, our former parish secretary, Sue Snyder, is in hospice in Traverse City. Please pray for all involved.
RSMs: This Wednesday is the final profession Mass for three sisters of the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma. It’s being held at St. Mary Cathedral in Saginaw. I’m hoping to attend. One of those professing is Sr. Maria Pacis, who worked in Rome while I was there.
College of Consultors: I’m a member of the college of consultors for the diocese. One of our tasks is to review any big projects that are happening at parishes throughout the diocese. This Wednesday is an important meeting as we are meeting with the diocesan finance council too. Our parish will be on the agenda. The topics include the removal of the house on Saginaw Street and the approval of hiring AKA architects as the architects for our future endeavors to the Church and campus.
Powers: School is starting soon and I’m not sure I am ready! This Wednesday evening we begin our bi-monthly Powers Board meetings.
Volunteers: We are blessed to have so, so many wonderful volunteers who serve at our parish. Our Parish Life Committee has planned an appreciation gathering this Thursday evening at the school patio during the Back to the Bricks. Hope to see you there.
Parish Picnic: Looking ahead: please mark your calendar for our parish picnic on September 10.
Mass times: Sorry about any inconvenience this may cause you, but we are changing our Sunday evening Mass time back to what it was. Beginning on September 10, the Sunday evening Mass will be at 5 pm until Memorial Day. It will be at 7 pm in the summer. The reason for the change is to accommodate some of our Religious Education programs.
Confession Times: Beginning September 9 we are changing our confession time on Saturday mornings. It will now be from 8:30 – 9:30 am instead of 11 am – Noon. This has been considered for some time. The main reason is to open up more time for funerals on Saturday morning. Again, sorry for any inconvenience.
Condolences: We offer our prayers for the family of our principal, Theresa Purcell, whose father, Paul Drevon, passed away on August 2.
In Christ’s love and prayers,
Msgr. Jerry
Saint quote of the week:
“That night, I asked the Mother of God what was to become of me, a Child of Faith. Then she came to me holding two crowns, one white, the other red. She asked me if I was willing to accept either of these crowns. The white one meant that I should persevere in purity, and the red that I should become a martyr. I said that I would accept them both.”
— St. Maximilian Kolbe (feast day is August 14). St. Maximilian died at the Auschwitz camp in Poland during World War II. When one prisoner escaped, the commander decided to retaliate by killing ten other prisoners through starvation. St. Maximilian volunteered to take the place of a married man.