May 5, 2016. The Ascension of the Lord. Transferred to May 8 in our diocese.
May 9, 2016. Dinner Meeting and Speaker, 5:30 p.m. at the University Club. Board Meeting precedes at 4:30 p.m.
May 17, 2016. Ordination of Three Transitional Deacons, 7:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Andrew.
See below for biographies of these deacons.
May 22, 2016. The Most Holy Trinity.
May 29, 2016. Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi).
May 31, 2016. The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Looking Ahead.
June 21, 2016. Saginaw's 9th Annual Benefit Dinner for the Bishop Carlson Seminarian Endowment Fund, 6:00 Social Hour, 7:00 Dinner, at the Swan Valley Banquet Center,
June 30-July 3, 2016. Serra International Convention, St. Louis, MO.
Priests' Anniversaries for May.
The Reverend Ernest J. Bernott, May 22, 1948.
The Reverend Michael Bliszcz, May 24, 1958.
The Reverend Anthony Britto, May 14, 1988.
The Reverend Charles Cunniff, CSP, May 21, 1983.
Msgr. William Duncan, May 19, 1990.
Very Reverend John Geaney, CSP, May 11, 1964.
Reverend Thomas Hack, May 28, 1955.
Reverend Theodore J. Kozlowski, May 29, 1958.
Reverend Joachim Lalley, May 22, 1965.
Reverend Charles O. Mason, May 19, 1979.
Reverend Peter Joang-Xuan Nghiem, May 20, 1972.
Reverend Kevin Niehoff, OP, May 8, 1993.
Reverend Bradford Schoeberle, CSP, May 27, 2000.
Reverend Philip Shangraw, May 5, 1979.
Reverend Robert Sirico. May 13, 1989.
Reverend Leonard Sudlick, May 15, 1976.
Reverend Dominic Tirkey, May 19, 1998.
Reverend Mark Przybysz, May 19, 1980.
Meet our Transitional Deacons.
Stephen J. Durkee, 26, is the son of Doug Durkee of St. Sebastian Parish, Byron Center, and Mary Durkee of Holy Family Parish, Caledonia. He has three siblings: Erin, David, and Holly. He is a member of St. Sebastian Parish.
Steven W. Geerling, 42, is the son of William (deceased) and Kay Geerling. He has two siblings: David and Susan (Cesar). He is a member of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Grand Rapids. He worked for the U. S. Postal Service for 13 years.
Kyle J. Kilpatrick, 29, is the son of Kevin and Brenda Kilpatrick. of St. Michael Parish, Coopersville. H has two siblings: Alex and Connor. He completed his pastoral internship under the mentorship of Father Jose Luis Quintana.
All three will enter their final year of seminary at the University of St. Mary's of the Lake, Mundelein.
Thank you.
Thank you to Serran Dr. Larry Burns, who agreed to speak at our April meeting on how his Catholic faith influenced his medical practice. Those in attendance enjoyed the talk very much.
Reflections on Vocations.
Last Sunday Catholics around the world observed World Day of Prayer for Vocations. As a follow-up, we might consider a recent broadcast of Jerry Usher's Vocations Boom on Holy Family Radio featured the story of twin brothers Gary and Todd Koenigsknecht of Fowler, Michigan. They were ordained in June of 2014 and a third brother, Lee Koenigsknecht, is now in seminary. Their home parish, Most Holy Trinity hosts a weekly prayer hour dedicated religious vocations and offers prayer, confession, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Fowler and its neighboring community, Westphalia. are small farming communities where everyone is Catholic, everyone is related, and everyone shows up at Mass, according to an article appearing in June 2014 in the New York Times. The elevation of religious life has also had an effect on young women: Westphalia has produced 37 Catholic nuns over the diocesean data. For the twins, encouragement arrived in many forms, from messages scribbled in crayon by grade-school children to $20 checks scrawled in shaky cursive, gifts from older parishioners to defray seminary costs.
While we might not all find ourselves in that exact situation, we can all do something to carry out our mission of supporting and nurturing priestly and religious vocations.
Source: Christina Capecchi, "In Two Michigan Villages, a Higher Calling is Often Heard," The New York Times, June 16, 2014.
An Update on our Persecuted Brothers and Sisters.
Among the many websites one can consult about this very unfortunate but timely topic, we encourage our members to consult opendoorsusa.org. As Serrans, if we're looking for something we can do every day to assist those in need as well as priests and religious who are working in the troubled areas.
Open Doors suggests that there are many ways to help persecuted Christians around the world: By praying, advocating, traveling, volunteering, or giving, we can truly change the lives of Christians facing persecution for their beliefs. But above all, the number one thing Christians in that difficult situation ask for is prayer.
We welcome information from our membership from those of you who can add to this subject.
In addition, we note one of many events which took place in April, 2016 regarding persecution of Christians.
During the week of April 6, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and chair of Catholic Near East Welfare Association, traveled to Iraqi Kurdistan to offer support for families displaced by extremist violence. Along with visiting displaced families, the delegation also visited schools, nurseries, and clinics serving these families' needs and prayed the Divine Liturgy together. The visit was also aimed at showing solidarity with the priests, religious sisters, and laity who, although being displaced themselves, have taken initiative in meeting the needs of those forced to leave their homes.
The delegation also spent time meeting with the patriarchs and bishops of the Chaldean and Syriac Catholic churches, as well as the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.
The visit marks the start of year-long observances for the 90th anniversary of the Catholic-Near East
Welfare Association. As an agency of the Vatican, the group works to offer humanitarian and pastoral support to Eastern Catholic Churches.
Let us continue to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters and for the priests and religious who serve them in various capacities.
A Message from Our President.
Dear Serrans,
We've been asked to fund a trip by the mother of a couple of students from West Catholic who wish to participate in the LEAD training at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. Since supporting vocations to the religious life is what we do, I decided to advance the funds to help pay for this training. The funds were sent to the parents of the students since they need to pay for the training in advance, before our next board meeting.
On a more personal note, the daughter of my wife's cousin last year began her first year with the Carmelite Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Parnell, Michigan. On May 1, Sunday, she received her habit at a ceremony held at the Monastery. Karen and I and other relatives of my wife's side of the family were also there.
The induction ceremony took place behind a heavy grill which keeps the sisters totally separated from family and well-wishers. However, we were able to speak to her through the gate. Her twin sister, who is teaching English in China, was able to communicate with her via Skype. Family visits are limited to a certain number per year for these sisters.
I also made a $100 contribution from Serra Club of Grand Rapids. This clearly is supporting vocations to the religious life.
I plan to see all of you at our May dinner. Mary, Mother of Vocations, Pray for Us!
Weldon Schwartz
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