Connected: Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.” Pope Francis remarked that Christians cannot be self-sufficient, but rather depend on the vine where they find their source of life. He said, “those who are not in communion with Jesus become sterile, even ‘harmful for the community.’ Jesus is the Life, and through Him – like the sap in the tree – passes the same love of God to the branches, the Holy Spirit. Thus, we are the branches, and through this parable Jesus wants us to understand the importance of remaining united to Him.”
Renovation: This weekend I am going to discuss the vision of our parish, as well as the Church renovation project at all the Masses. Next week I will send an email to our parishioners to further discuss our vision for the parish and the building project.
DSA: Thank you for your generosity to the Diocesan Services Appeal. We are blessed with a great diocese. We are off to a great start: 46 pledges have given $12,152 thus far. Our goal is $188,000. If we figure there are 500 parishioners who regularly give, that would be an average of $376 per household which is roughly $37.60 per month (over a 10-month period) or $9.40 per week.
Welcome: This weekend 30 women will be on our Women’s WELCOME weekend. Please keep them in prayer.
Holy Spirit: Both Fr. Dan and I have mentioned that it would be wonderful if all our parishioners had the opportunity to attend the WELCOME retreat or participate in ALPHA—or both! Our 8th graders at our school recently went through the ALPHA program. The response has been very powerful. Many of them they have never felt God’s love through the Holy Spirit in such a powerful way. Praise God!
Raffle: Speaking of our school, I made a mistake in the announcements last weekend. The school is selling raffle tickets for a year’s tuition; however, I forgot to add that you can also take the $5,280 in cash rather than tuition. Anyone, therefore, might be willing to buy a ticket. Tickets to our school auction on May 19 are still available.
St. Francis: Speaking of auctions, next Saturday, May 5, St. Francis Prayer Center is having their auction in our Fr. Bush Center. The prayer center does so much for our parish through their leadership in our healing ministry, as well as helping so many in need on the north end of Flint.
Excited: The next two weekends we will celebrate First Holy Communion at different Masses. As I told the school children, we eat a lot of food and many people eat food to remain healthy. But the most important food we can ever eat is the Eucharist—it’s the food that gives us eternal life!
St. Joseph Guild: May 1 is the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker. Our wonderful St. Joseph’s Guild, who do many projects at our parish, will join other St. Joseph’s guilds in the Genesee County region for Mass and luncheon at our parish on Monday, April 30, at noon.
St. Mark’s: This Tuesday, May 1, I will be heading to St. Mark’s in Goodrich to attend their finance council meeting. A lot of people have asked when we will begin celebrating Mass there: not until the last weekend in June.
Thinking of him: This Sunday, April 29, would be my dad’s 98th birthday if he were still alive. He died when he was 80. I am very grateful to God for him. We never forget our parents!
Spring Clean-up: Can you donate a couple of hours to help clean-up our Church property next Saturday, May 5, from 9 am – Noon? (see page 7 for more details) Spring is here! Yea!
With love and prayers,
Msgr. Jerry
May 2 is the feast day of the “Father of Orthodoxy,” St. Athanasius of Alexandria. He is widely known for his long battle with Arianism, a heresy that denied the divinity of Christ by maintaining that Jesus was created by the Father and was therefore neither coeternal with the Father, nor consubstantial. He has some great quotes to ponder:
• “Christians, instead of arming themselves with swords, extend their hands in prayer.”
• “Jesus became what we are that he might make us what he is.”
• “You cannot put straight in others what is warped in yourself.”
• “For of what use is existence to the creature if it cannot know its Maker?”