Baptism of the Lord: This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. Christ continues to humble Himself to be one with us. And because of His baptism, “the heavens were opened” (thanks be to God) after being shut after the sin of Adam of Eve. At the baptism of Jesus, God the Father said, “this is my Beloved Son,” with whom I am well pleased. Amazingly, our Father says the same thing when we are baptized—“this is my beloved son or this is my beloved daughter.” How blessed we are!
Liturgical Year: On Monday, January 11, we begin the first week of ordinary time. Believe it or not, Lent is right around the corner. Ash Wednesday is February 10. Easter is early this year, set for March 27.
Thank you: I pray that you and your families had a wonderful Christmas season. On behalf of Fr. Gary, thank you for all the Christmas cards, kind notes and generosity toward us. We are blessed and very thankful to be at Holy Family Parish.
Catholic Times: Our parish has provided copies of the Catholic Times for parishioners for many years. We received a note that the January 1, 2016, edition will be the last issue for the paper due to financial struggles. Many of you, including my mom, have enjoyed the weekly newspaper with news from the diocese and beyond. Our own parishioner, Janet Cassidy, was a regular contributor to the newspaper with her column.
Visiting Priest: Next weekend Fr. James Quinlan of Cross International Catholic Outreach will be the homilist at all the Masses. He is not coming for a second collection, but only to help us become aware of their great work with the poorest of the poor. However, our Christian Service Commission has decided that 5% of our collection will go to their organization next weekend.
Retreat for Fr. Gary: Every priest is required to make an annual retreat. Fr. Gary leaves on Sunday, Jan. 10, to make his retreat. He will be back on Tuesday, January 19. Please keep him in your prayers.
St. Rita’s Guild dinner: This Wednesday I am having dinner in our parish hall with St. Rita’s Guild. This group of women supports the parish and charities in a variety of special ways.
Michigan Catholic Conference meeting: A representative of the Michigan Catholic Conference is coming on Thursday to make sure that our facilities are safe
and sound. I am glad that they take the time to inspect everything on our property.
Home: As I mentioned in a previous bulletin column, I went home for a few days between Christmas and New Year’s Day and that my mom had a list of jobs for me to do. Many of you asked whether I got all the jobs done! The answer is no. It seems as though that every time I finished one job she added two or three more to the list!
Please be assured of my prayers for you. Have a great week, aware of God’s presence with you.
Saint (Bible) quote of the week: Luke 3: 21-22
“After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Msgr. Jerry