Witness to Hope: I am so grateful to you who have picked up your pledge packets and have made a donation to the Witness to Hope campaign. Thus far, as I write this on November 1, we have 86 pledges totaling a little over one million dollars. We are off to a good start. Please support the campaign and thank you for your generosity in advance.
Judgement Day: Tuesday, November 8, is the big day. Some thoughts: 1) Please vote. 2) Please be informed. We vote based on our conscience, but it should be a well-informed conscience that knows what each political candidate and party stands for. 3) Please pray. We are having Eucharistic Adoration from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday to pray for the elections.
How am I voting?: Well, I am not crazy about either candidate, one more so than the other. Ultimately for me, I join Mother Angelica in saying ” I don’t vote for a political party. I vote for life.” As I mentioned in last weekend’s bulletin, quoting the Michigan bishops, “The Church is involved in the political process but is not partisan. Our Church cannot champion any candidate or party. Our cause is the defense of human life and dignity and the protection of the weak and vulnerable.”
Awesome News: Speaking of life, October 29 was our assigned “prayer” day for the 40 Days of Life campaign. Some parishioners gathered at the women’s care center at G3422 Flushing Road in Flint to pray and to be a witness to the people going there to have abortions. A couple from Lansing came to the clinic. Because of the witness and prayers, this couple changed their mind and chose life. What a tremendous blessing!! Thank you to all of you w ho prayed at the clinic.
Home at Last: You may have noticed a message on our sign welcoming home Milton Bullis a few weeks ago. Milton served in the U.S. Army in North Korea. He was declared missing in action after an attack with heavy casualties. Through the efforts of a Joint Recovery Team and DNA research, Corporal Bullis was welcomed home by his brother Don and several nieces and nephews. There was a procession from Hill Funeral Home to Great Lakes Cemetary. We received a very nice thank you card from Don, saying that “he was pleasantly surprised” by our sign and that it was “honorable of the church” to do this. Please see the link: http://nbc25news.com/news/local/korean-war-soldier-laid-to-rest-with-full-military-honors-10-21-2016
Deserving of our thanks: This Friday, November 11, is Veteran’s Day, a day to honor and thank all military personnel who served the United States in all wars. November 11 is chosen because on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 the signing of the armistice happened ending World War I hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany. Thank you to all who served and currently serve our country. |
Coming to an End: The Year of Mercy ends on November 20. Our parish is having two special events to commemorate the ending of this blessing from heaven. First, we are having another 24 Hours with the Lord beginning this Friday at 8 a.m. and then concluding at 8 a.m. on Saturday. This includes perpetual adoration and confession. Pope Francis says that recognizing oneself as a sinner is a gift in that sin is where I encounter the mercy of Jesus. He says that the Church exists “to bring about an encounter with the visceral love of God’s mercy.” I can’t encourage you enough to come to confession, especially if it’s been awhile. The second party of our year end celebration will be the weekend of November 19 – 20 when we will ask pardon for our sins as a Church community. This will be done at all the Masses.
Fr. Gary and the Sisters: Last weekend Fr. Gary and his brother Fr. Todd led a retreat for 135 young women discerning a call to religious life at the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor. We missed him and glad to have him back.
Encounter: Please pray for the 16 men making the Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) retreat this weekend. This retreat is an incredible blessing for our parish!
Msgr. Jerry
Saint quote of the week:
“Lord, if your people still have need of my services, I will not avoid the toil. Your will be done. I have fought the good fight long enough. Yet if you bid me continue to hold the battle line in defense of your camp, I will never beg to be excused from failing strength. I will do the work you entrust to me. While you command, I will fight beneath your banner.” (St. Martin of Tours)
St. Martin of Tours is best known for encountering a beggar in the streets of Ameins, France. He cut his cape in two, giving half to the man. That night in a dream Martin saw Jesus wearing that cape saying to him, “you have covered me with your garment.”