He must increase, I must decrease: This weekend we celebrate the birth of St. John the Baptist. Pope Francis remarked that “although many began to follow John because ‘his words were strong’ and went ‘to the heart,’ the saint did not give in to temptation ‘to
believe that he was important.’ Instead, when asked whether or not he was the Messiah, John replied, ‘I am preparing the way of the Lord.’ This is the first vocation of the Baptist, to ‘prepare the people, to prepare the hearts of the people for the encounter with the Lord.’ The second part of John’s vocation was ‘to discern, from among so many good people, who the Lord was,’ he continued, noting how “the Spirit revealed this to him, and he had the courage of saying: ‘This is the one. This is the Lamb of God, he who takes away the sins of the world.’”
Time: This is my last weekend at Holy Family Parish, although I hope to come back and celebrate a Mass in the future—but only if the new pastor allows me☺.The three years have gone by so fast, much like life itself. I’ve loved being here. I will miss you tremendously. Thank you for your ongoing support and kindness. This was the first time I’ve been a pastor at a parish and I am grateful for your patience with me. I hope to see you again. I’m reminded of what St. Padre Pio said, “Let us become saints so that after having been together on earth we will be together forever in Heaven.”
New Pastor: Last Tuesday the priest assignment committee met. A new pastor will begin here on July 2. It will be announced who it is this weekend. I couldn’t be happier for Holy Family and St. Mark’s Parish too. You are going to love this priest.
Chargers: Congratulations to the Powers Catholic High School girls’ soccer team which won the state championship—for the second year in a row. And also congrats to parishioners Matt Knight and Ty Vanitvelt, both Holy Family school alum, for winning the state golf tournament.
Seminarian: Please see the adjoining article on Diego, a seminarian that will be with us for part of the summer.
Last request: I have one last plea. The diocese really counts on our parishes for their day-to-day operations. We have made some progress, but we are still behind. Please support the DSA. Envelopes are in the pews.
Msgr. Jerry
Seminarian
I am the second of two children, one older sister, and my parents were born in Paraguay in South America. I was raised Catholic in Canton, MI, and in high school I registered as a parishioner at Christ the King parish in Ann Arbor, so when I entered the seminary after high school, it was for the Diocese of Lansing. I just finished my fourth year of seminary at Saint John Vianney Seminary and completed college at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. I will be departing for Rome on July 17th to stay at the Pontifical North American College and study at the Gregorian University.
I love music—listening to it, playing the piano, and singing (not too terribly)—and I enjoy reading, though it has been difficult to find time for leisure reading lately. I deeply love teaching and working with kids and teachers alike, and I hope to be able to work with schools in my future ministry. Much of my teaching experience comes from being a martial arts instructor. I have trained for 14 years, hold a 4th degree black belt in Tang Soo Do, and I delight in every moment of instruction, helping the students learn and grow in physical abilities, coordination, and discipline. I have witnessed— as I’m sure any teacher would say—such amazing growth in self esteem and confidence levels, increase in emotional control, and seeing the kids light up when they achieve their goals brings a joy that any teacher would describe as the only needed reward for such endeavors.
The last four years have been so incredibly gifted and rich, meandering this way and that in prayer and discernment. The last couple of years led me to explore possible work in Paraguay with the poor there, or with the Salesians, or other similar roles. The Lord guided me there to taste and see the good work being done in those domains, and then He guided me back to the diocese, where I am confident He is leading me to serve.
The Lord has blessed me more than I can say, and I wish the Lord’s blessings and guidance upon all of you. I’ll only be around for a very little while here and there, but if you happen to see me, I’d love to talk and pray. Please feel free to email me at degg96@gmail.com if you have any questions, especially those of you who just might be thinking about a potential call to the priesthood. I am grateful to Bishop-elect Vincke, Fr. Westermann, and the parish for your hospitality. May God bless you and this community all the days of your lives.
Yours in Christ,
Diego Granados