Treasure: This weekend Jesus continues to tell us of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is like “a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” It is also like “a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” One person stumbles across the kingdom, while the other has been searching for it. Pope Francis said of these two people, “They do not need to reason, to think, to reflect: they realize immediately the incomparable value of what they have found, and are willing to lose everything to have it. So it is with the Kingdom of God. He who finds it has no doubts. He feels that this is what he was searching for, what he was looking for, and what responds to his most authentic aspirations.”
Volunteers: Thursday, August 17, is volunteer appreciation night. We have Mass at 5:30 pm if you can make it, followed by a barbecue on our parish grounds as part of “Back to Bricks.” I hope to see you there!
Cincinnati: I really enjoyed a couple days in Cincinnati with some members of our youth group. During free time, I played some basketball with our group at the park near where they were staying. That was fun—even though we got beat by the locals. But the highlight was visiting “Stepping Stones,” a permanent summer camp program that serves children with all kinds of disabilities. I was super impressed that college students were spending the summer—most of them volunteers—at this camp. One person told me that “they would rather do this than anything.” Thank you to Andy Cocagne, Joe Sliwka and Sheila Konieczny and eleven high school students who gave of their time to serve others during that week.
Sisters: Fr. Dan and I went to Ann Arbor for the final profession Mass of the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist on July 25. Seven sisters, all 25 –35 years of age, professed. This order began in our diocese in 1995 with four sisters. Today they have more than 140 sisters!
Vocations: Speaking of vocations, Fr. Dan will be taking any young men to DeWitt for a barbeque with Bishop Boyea and a discussion on vocations to the priesthood on August 20. Please contact him if you are interested.
Fr. Gary McInnis: Fr. Gary was a priest in our diocese for over 44 years. Many may remember him from some of the times he filled in for us here at Holy Family. Fr. Gary passed away July 20th after battling cancer. Please keep Fr. Gary and his family in your prayers.
Capital Improvements: A few things are happening on our campus during this next month. The current school music room is expanding to house our new band program. The steps leading from the lower parking lot to the upper level should be fixed soon. We are also enhancing St. Joseph’s Hall to host the Alpha series beginning in the fall. Finally, the house next to the Church will be torn down in late August. As mentioned before, the Church renovation should begin sometime in June of 2018. On Thursday, August 3, our building committee is meeting with Fr. Francis George. Fr. Francis is the pastor of St. John’s in Howell but also leads the Diocesan Worship Committee. Any changes to the Church must go through the diocese.
School Auction: This Thursday we are having a recap meeting on this year’s school auction. That was a lot of fun and I know that Ann Tabereaux, from our school Advancement office, has some innovative and fun ideas for next year’s auction on May 19, 2018.
Boosters: Speaking of our school, some of our staff met with Leo Solano of the Boosters last week. The Boosters do SO much for our school by raising funds for our sports teams. Their golf outing is September 18 at the Elks Club. Anything you can do to help support this endeavor will be greatly appreciated.
Tragedy: We often read and hear sad news. I think the report of young people dying from the suffocating heat in the back of a semi-trailer ranks as one of the saddest. From initial reports these young people were there because of the horrible sex trafficking situation.
Family Reunion and Vacation: This Sunday, July 30, I will be attending our family reunion in the afternoon. Afterward I am heading up north for a few days. I’ll come back on Wednesday. And then on Saturday, August 5, I am going on a fishing trip to Canada. I will return on August 11. Fr. Dan will be on a vacation from July 31 –August 4 as well.
With love and prayers,
Msgr. Jerry
Great saints: We have some great saints that the Church celebrates this week: July 31 is St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits (Pope Francis is a Jesuit). August 1 is St. Alphonsus, the founder of the Redemptorists. And August 4 is the feast of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of priests.
“Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God.” St. Ignatius of Loyola