Greetings in Christ, all!
We’ve got some big news and big goings-on this week. Let’s dive right in…
First, our 8th graders are graduating this week! Holy cow, this has been a great group of kids and we will miss them so much! We’re going to have their graduation Mass during our usual Wednesday 6 pm Mass. Please come pray and rejoice with us.
Because of all the things we gotta do before that Mass, we won’t be offering our usual confessions on Wednesday. We’ll get after it as usual on Saturday.
The second thing is a big one. All over the diocese, our Bishop is asking us to gather in our parishes for 40 Hours of Eucharistic Adoration.
For those not familiar, this is a time when we bring the Blessed Sacrament outside of the Tabernacle and put it on the altar so people can come and sit with Jesus. It’s a really wonderful experience, and I cannot encourage you strongly enough to set some time aside in your schedule and give Jesus some time with you.
Every parish in our deanery is doing this: we are all coordinated so that between June 8th and the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus, there will be Catholics in our Deanery sitting before Christ. It’s really neat if you think about it.
Our days are June 9th to June 11th. During those days, we need parishioners to step forward and commit to sitting with Christ for a period of time. You can (AND SHOULD!) sign up for a slot of time here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4CAEAF29A5F8C43-57027761-40hours#/
This will take you to a sign-up sheet, and you can grab some time for you and/or your family. Please, help us fill these times. Join with the tens of thousands of Catholics in our deanery in making sure that for the next couple of weeks, there is never a time when someone isn’t praying before the Blessed Sacrament.
All this is going to culminate in an amazing experience. On The Feast of The Body and Blood of Jesus (June 21st), all Catholics in the Diocese of Lansing are invited to go to Lugnut Stadium (now called Jackson Field) at 10 am and join the Bishop for Mass and a Eucharistic Procession to the Diocese of Lansing Cathedral. This should be an amazing experience and everyone who goes on this walk will receive a Jubilee Year indulgence.
So…lots to unpack here.
It’s my sincerest hope that we give our all to this as a parish. When it comes to campaigns or asking for volunteers to help, it is inevitable that there will be those who cannot participate: life is complicated! On this, we all can help. Every parishioner can set aside some time to sit with Christ. Each of us can tell ourselves and those around us that Jesus is worth our time and that every single prayer we offer matters.
So, mark your calendar, pick your times, let’s fill this Church and our entire deanery with heartfelt prayer!
I love you all, and thank Jesus you let me be your priest
Fjk