Dear Parishioners,

I hope that everyone who had a chance to visit the Open House at the rectory last weekend had a nice time. If someone had been inside the rectory before, it does feel and look like a different house especially with the attached garage and the new layout for the kitchen and the dining area. Unfortunately, we had to go through a tornado to get all of this. It was a long time for me to be away from the house, but it has been nice to settle back in.

Fr. Joseph, of course, never lived in this rectory before. He only had the opportunity the past few months to walk around while construction was going on. With his trip to India, he missed the final week of construction and all the contents (that were saved) coming back from the storage company. Much of the furniture in the rectory had to be replaced because of both tornado and water damage. I guess I can’t say it enough times how thankful I am for our insurance from Michigan Catholic Conference that covered a loss as major as the one we experienced. Now that the Open House is behind us, it’s time to think about what is coming next week: Lent!  

Yes, Lent is just a few more days away. This coming Wednesday, March 5th, is a day of Fasting and Abstinence (please see the Lenten guide in today’s bulletin for additional information). We will be offering a morning and evening Mass on Ash Wednesday with a Scripture service at 12:10 pm. All three will have the distribution of ashes. On the Friday nights of Lent, please join us for the weekly Lenten talks (offered by our clergy) followed by the Stations of the Cross at 7 PM. As usual, Lenten reflection books are available to be picked up and used during the season of Lent. Please consult our Lenten schedule for upcoming penance services and our weekly confessions. May this Lent 2025 bring us closer to Christ!
 

Thanks for reading!

Fr. Mark