CRHP: Next weekend, April 16-17, is the Christ Renews His Parish weekend for men. The number of participants is almost full and I am really grateful to Larry Blondin and his crew in leading this retreat. This CRHP weekend is a tremendous blessing for our parish!
Divine Mercy Sunday: Heard so many positive comments about Divine Mercy Sunday last weekend. Many of you commented how special it was to have the relics of Saint John Paul II and Saint Faustina present with us. People also really enjoyed the singing of the chaplet of divine mercy led by Dr. Simon Lee and a small contingent from the choir. It sounded very beautiful! Thanks for all who participated.
Mother Angelica: I forgot to mention last week the passing of Mother Angelica, the founder of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). What’s so impressive is her faith. There were many nay-sayers about her desire to start a Catholic television station. But she kept pressing on, trusting that the Lord would provide even in dire circumstances. I’m sure Mother Angelica will be up for canonization to be a saint at some point in the near future.
Healing: Many of you loved the healing service that we had in December. We have a similar healing service Monday, April 25, with Fr. Richard McAlear, beginning with Mass at 6:30 p.m. Hope to see you there to receive healing and grace.
5%: We continue to receive thank you letters from all the places to which we donate five percent of our collection. Recently we received a nice handwritten letter from Fr. Zac Mabee, who is assigned to the downtown Flint area and specifically St. Mary’s Parish. He also mentioned that if anyone would like to help volunteer at his parish to please call St. Mary’s parish office.
Marriage Prep: This Saturday, April 18, our parish is once again hosting a marriage preparation day for engaged couples. Fr. Gary and I took this over for the Genesee County Region last fall. This is the third time we are hosting. The first time we had six couples, the second twelve couples and this time eighteen couples.
DSA: First of all, thank you to all of you who have donated to the Diocesan Services Appeal. Both Fr. Gary and I gave to this important cause as well—especially since it comes to training our seminarians to be priests. We are still short of our appointed goal. If you are able, and haven’t given yet to DSA, please consider making a donation. Envelopes are in the entrances of the Church or you can give online. Thanks!
Mark your calendars: Our excellent choir will be performing an Easter concert on Saturday, April 23, at 7 p.m. Hope to see you there.
Welcome back: Our associate pastor (still can’t remember his name!) returns on Tuesday after a visit with his family to see their brother, Lee, who is in the seminary studying for a semester in Rome. Someone told me that the picture of him in Pompeii got some 2,000 hits on Facebook! We miss him and I’ll be glad when he returns.
Garden: Last year the grade school students, with the guidance of teacher Maria Gonzalez, put in a garden that helped provide vegetables to the Outreach center. It was such a hit that they want to expand the garden this year. Someone has already donated the pallets, but we are hoping someone could provide $600 for seeds and dirt. Please let me know if you are interested. More information to follow, including looking for families to donate one weekend this summer to water the plants/flowers on the grounds.
The Wildcats: I know many people who are Villanova Wildcat fans, so congratulations to them winning the college basketball tournament in thrilling style. Villanova is a Catholic university founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842.
Cartoon: Someone passed on to me some cartoons that I got a chuckle out of. My favorite is a clergy getting ready to celebrate the vows for a marriage while holding his ipod. The caption states, “can you hold on a minute; a friend of mine sent me a funny video to watch.”
Gospel this weekend: The Gospel this weekend is one of my favorites. What I find so fascinating is that Jesus appears on the shore while his disciples are fishing. Je-sus is standing by a charcoal fire. The only other time a charcoal fire is mentioned in Scripture is when Peter is standing by a charcoal fire warming himself while denying that he even knows Jesus. Jesus takes Peter back to his deepest wound to heal him of his guilt, shame and sin.
In Christ’s love,
Msgr. Jerry
Saint quote of the day: “I find a heaven in the midst of saucepans and brooms.”
— Saint Stanislaus Kostka, bishop and martyr of Poland, whose feast day is April 11.