Get behind me: In this weekend’s Gospel on the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Jesus tells Peter to “get behind me Satan.” That’s quite a slap in the face. In fact, Jesus told that to Satan himself during the temptation in the desert. Last weekend we heard how Peter got the answer right, that Jesus is the Son of the Living God. This week Jesus tells the disciples that the Son of Man must suffer and die. Peter’s response is probably what many of us would say when we hear that a loved one is going to suffer and die: “OH NO, I don’t want that to happen!!!” It seems as though Peter had gotten right Jesus’ identity as Redeemer, but he had not yet understood the divinely appointed means of redemption.
Labor Day: Hope you enjoy the Labor Day, which for many is an official end of the summer. After 9 am Mass I plan on either going to my mom’s to can some tomatoes or go to my sister’s. She has a pool!
Here we go: School starts this Tuesday. We are all looking forward to it. Our school enrollment is up. As of this week, we have 464 students from pre-school to 8th grade. That’s a lot of children in our hallways! I appreciate the dedication of the school staff and teachers. For priests, when school starts it’s like going 75-80 mph—and sometimes faster–whereas the summer it’s like going 55-60 mph. There are so many other activities to attend.
Retreat: Speaking of our school and parish staff, we got together for a mini-ALPHA retreat last week. This was a very good crash course and the feedback was extremely positive. It was great for all of us to be together. One of the ALPHA small group questions was “who is the most famous person you have met?” One of the staff said, “Bill Harris.” What made it funny was that Bill’s daughter, Nicole, was sitting at their small group table. I don’t think Nicole was too impressed. By the way, I really hope you take advantage of the ALPHA program coming up in a few weeks. It’s really important because it deals with eternal questions.
Blessing: After the retreat days with the staff, Fr. Dan and I walked with the whole staff blessing our school and parish offices and beyond. We asked the Lord for his grace and protection.
Picnic: Our parish picnic is scheduled for next Sunday. Really hope to see you there. Thank you to the Boosters and the Parent Teacher Organization for all their service in organizing this event.
Flood in Houston: Our hearts and prayers go out to all the people affected by Hurricane Harvey. They are calling this a ‘once-in-a-thousand-year’ flood. The pictures are incredible. I’m sure a lot of us know people who live there. My nephew and his family (three young children) had to evacuate.
RSM: Forgot to mention attending the funeral of Sr. Joseph Marie, a Religious Sister of Mercy of Alma a few weeks ago. She died after being struck by a car in a hit-and-run bicycle accident. A similar thing recently happened to a good friend of mine’s dad. He was walking on the sidewalk when someone backing their car out of the driveway didn’t see him and hit him. He also died.
RCIA Witness: So grateful for our guest speakers, Amy Campbell and Tim Willis, after Mass last weekend to discuss their experience of RCIA. Again, if you or someone you know might be interested in joining the Catholic Church, please contact Maddie White at mwhite@holyfamilygrandblanc.org. Also if you are an adult and haven’t received the Sacrament of Confirmation, please let Maddie know as well.
A New Vision: As you can see by now, the old brick house by the Church has been torn down. Many of you have special memories of that house. Last week when I was driving on Saginaw Street in the evening the Church lights were still on. It was really beautiful! I never had seen that ‘sight’ before as many times as I drove by. Some people commented how much they appreciated seeing the school from the road too. By the way, through the generosity of two parishioners the abatement and demolition was all taken care of.
What’s next: We are working with our architect, parishioner Brad Klein, in fine-tuning the plans for the Church renovation. If all goes well, we hope to start that project next summer after school is finished. I’ve also asked parishioner Joe Buffa to oversee the operations aspect of the Witness to Hope project. Joe is going to make sure that we have all our ‘ducks in a row.’ He is volunteering in this role.
Trash: Our trash bag fundraiser is going well so far. We have a lot of trash bags to sell to meet our goal of $35,000 for a new sound system in our parish hall.
Funerals: We’ve had a lot of funerals lately, including one last Saturday so I missed watching the Crim Race. Thought it was a bit funny at one of the funerals when a visitor came in and asked me if I was Fr. Bush. I really don’t know how to take that.
Catch and Hit: So, Fr. Dan and I joined a few families for a kickball and softball game recently. The children beat the parents in the kickball game! In the softball game I hit a fly ball to left center. Fr. Dan made a running, juggling catch on me. That was bad enough until the next inning when he hit one over the fence for a home run. Guess we won’t be playing that game again any time soon.
In Christ’s service with love and prayers,
Msgr. Jerry
Saint quote of the week:
“You don’t climb a mountain in leaps and bounds, but by taking it slowly.” – Pope St. Gregory the Great, whose feast day is September 3.