Dear Parishioners, A few weeks ago, I had a question about the Bishop’s Appeal and what it might support. Their question came about because they saw me write so often and talk so often about the ordinations we have had this spring for our diocese. It certainly was a good question. Yes, our Bishop’s Appeal supports the education and training of men in our diocese for the priesthood (and also the Permanent Diaconate Program). We all know how important these vocations are to the Sacramental and Prayer life of the Church. The particular question I was asked was why don’t I say anything about the Bishop’s Appeal supporting the religious life and religious communities? The reason I do not mention anything is that religious communities are separate from the Diocese of Kalamazoo. Although there are religious communities that work in the Diocese (like we had the Marianist community here at St. Catherine for many years or the Missionaries of St. Francis DeSales-MSFS from India), they do not receive any educational support for their communities from the Bishop’s Appeal. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t also support vocations from our parishes to go to the religious life. Anyone who is interested in joining a religious community would always be welcomed to go to our Diocesan Vocation Director (who is currently Fr. Jose Haro) for direction and support. However, there’s no direct support for any of these religious communities from the Bishop’s Appeal. This is certainly an interesting question that I haven’t been asked before. In these weekends after Easter, we also celebrate another important Solemnity this Sunday: Corpus Christi or the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. After the seven weeks of the Easter Season, we see how important the Eucharist is to our life of faith. It literally is the life blood to what we believe and why we gather for Mass each Sunday. Through His Body and Blood, may the Lord not only strengthen us in our faith, but may the Lord also continue to call forth many vocations to the priesthood and the religious life through the celebration of the Eucharist. As the disciples always recognized Jesus through the Breaking of the Bread, so may we also recognize Christ present in the Eucharist. As you will notice in today’s bulletin, we have a new staff member joining us on July 5. Please welcome George Dragan, our new Director of Faith Formation! Thanks for reading! Fr. Mark