Today, April 30, Father Jeff shares a Reflection on Blessed Dedë Plani. Please click on the article title to read this reflection.

Please join us LIVE our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/stcatherinesiena OR watch from the Facebook module on our website home page) this Friday, May 1st, at 9:30 am as we reconsecrate our parish to the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As we posted earlier this week, parishes and dioceses around the United States and Canada will all be reconsecrated on Friday, with a live liturgy at 3 pm Eastern that afternoon. We hope you are able to join us here at St. Catherine's on Friday morning, and encourage you to join the Catholic Bishops of the US and Canada for the larger celebration on the USCCB Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/usccb . Also, we have attached a new video message from Bishop Bradley; click on the article title to watch the video or visit: https://youtu.be/XQg_ZuWgRtM. Please listen as the Bishop reminds us of ways we can continue to practice our faith during these times.

On this Feast of St. Catherine of Siena, our Patron Saint, Father Jeff has written a Reflection on her life. Please click on the title to read Father Jeff's Reflection.

We need your help! Please join our Children's Faith Formation (CFF) students and families in a new service project to create homemade artwork to send to the residents of local nursing homes. Please watch CFF Director Karen Galloway's video announcement on our YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/CFFServiceProject for complete details about the project. We hope this artwork will bring some colorful "cheer" during this time of quarantine. Artwork may be dropped off at the church anytime between Sunday, May 3rd and Sunday, May 17th. Look for a box labeled "Children's Faith Formation" in the vestibule, between the two sets of main church building doors. The outside doors are open all the time, so you can drop your donations off whenever it is convenient! Karen will pick up the donations regularly and deliver the art to the nursing homes. Thank you in advance for helping to share the love of Jesus with others during this challenging time!

Today, April 28, Father Jeff shares a Reflection on Saint Louis Marie De Montfort. Please click on the article title to read this reflection.

Today, April 27, Father Jeff shares a Reflection on Saint Gianna Beretta Molla.  Please click on the article title to read this reflection. 

Dear Brothers & Sisters, My pal, Joe, has long been asking me to sing The Servant Song for him (https://youtu.be/L2jEiaojLNE). It seems like an appropriate time to ponder the words to this beautiful song by Richard Gillard once again. There's a lot of serving going on these days, isn't there? Dropping groceries on the doorstep of a friend or family member who is medically vulnerable, sewing masks, even just making chalk designs on driveways to encourage folks walking by -- ours is a whole new world of serving each other. We don't know how long this will last, but we can rest assured that Jesus is still on the throne, that He is risen, and that none of this comes as a surprise to Him! May we learn from the Israelites before us who refused to learn from their sojourn home. May we pass peace and love to each other. May we all continue holding the Christ light for each other till we've seen this journey through. "We are pilgrims on the journey, We are travelers on the road. We are here to help each other Walk the mile and bear the load." Grace and peace, Friends. Tricia

Good afternoon, St. Catherine's family! As we approach the start of another weekend, we wanted to be sure you were aware of our schedule for Mass and confessions. Thank you to everyone who has joined us online for our Saturday 4 pm and Sunday 9 am Masses! We have had over 2000 viewers each weekend for the last few weeks. We're grateful to each and every one of you who joins us for our celebrations of the Mass online since we cannot gather in person. Tomorrow afternoon, we will again live stream our Sunday Vigil Mass here on our website (stcatherinesiena.org/mass) and on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/stcatherinesiena) at 4 pm. We will also stream our Sunday Mass on Sunday morning at 9 am . This week we are excited to announce that our Music Director, Tricia Tetzlaff, will be providing some live music for our Mass! She has prepared a PDF worship aid with the music you'll need to sing along with us. You can find that file here: https://bit.ly/WAEaster3A or view the image attached to this post. We hope you'll join us for Mass this weekend! Tomorrow, Saturday, our priests will have "drive in" confessions in our main parking lot from 11 am until 12 pm noon. Finally, each Sunday at 8:30 am, our Knights of Columbus Council #6980 will have an online rosary using Zoom. You can join the Zoom rosary here: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/4848207236?pwd=dHZ0TDBvdWlQd2FnTXlnYksvUUd3Zz09. Please logon by 8:25 am so the rosary can start right at 8:30 am. We hope you are all doing well and staying healthy! Please let us know if you need anything; our parish staff is checking the parish voicemail (327-5165) and email (frontdesk@stcatherinesiena.org) regularly. Please read our bulletin online (stcatherinesiena.org/bulletins) for Father Mark's latest column and other important information about what's going on at the parish and around the Diocese of Kalamazoo. Please continue to take care of yourselves and to support those in our community who may need some extra love, care, and support right now. Blessings to you all!

Today, April 24, Father Jeff shares a Reflection on Blessed José Trinidad Rangel y Montaño. Please click on the article title to read this reflection.

Please join our Knights of Columbus Council #6980 online for a Zoom rosary each Sunday morning beginning at 8:30 am. Please join the meeting at 8:25 am so the rosary can start right at 8:30 am. To join, click on the following link. https://us04web.zoom.us/j/4848207236?pwd=dHZ0TDBvdWlQd2FnTXlnYksvUUd3Zz09 Meeting ID: 484 820 7236 Password: 123 Note - the Zoom software/application is free. If you are using Zoom for the first time: • If using from a Laptop or Desktop Computer, install the software • If using from a Phone or Tablet, install the Zoom App

Today, April 23, Father Jeff shares a Reflection on Blessed Maria Gabriella Sagheddu. Please click on the article title to read this reflection.

Bernadette was born to a poor family in Lourdes, France. She was small and sickly and suffered from asthma her whole life. As a young girl, she did not learn to read and write, but instead worked in the fields as a shepherdess. At age 14, she was out with her sister and a cousin when our blessed mother appeared to her for the first time. The other two did not see the apparition and thought Bernadette was silly. She returned many times to the grotto and eventually came to understand that it was our Blessed Mother who appeared to her. Mary asked her to drink of the little stream of water that came up out of the ground and to tell the priests to build a church on that spot. What Mary asked she did and since then millions have visited the grotto at Lourdes. It has inspired grottos around the world and most famously near us at the University of Notre Dame. The Blessed Mother asked Bernadette to pray and do penance for sinners and for the rest of her life she offered her illnesses as an act of love for others and trust in God. Bernadette died on April 16, 1879 at the age of 35 in the convent at Nevers where her body still lies, partially incorrupt. Throughout the years, over 7,000 cures have been attributed to the waters at Lourdes. The Church has vigorously investigated and validated 70 of these reports, the most recent having occurred in 2018. You can read about the miracles by clicking on the title of this Relection. Let us ask the intercession of St. Bernadette & Our Lady of Lourdes for all those afflicted with COVID-19 as well as all those who care for them.

Anselm was an only child; born of noble parents. His mother was devout, and Anselm learned to love prayer and serve God from her. His father was very hard on him. Anselm was very smart and made rapid progress in his learning. At the age of 15, he attempted to enter a Benedictine monastery, but his father stopped him. Soon after this, his mother died and Anselm took this very hard. He spent the next 12 years in worldly living until all of his money was spent. He was about to die of hunger when the abbot of the Monastery in Bec took him in. There, his love of God rekindled as he saw the tender compassion of the monks. He eventually joined the monastery and, 15 years later, was chosen to be its abbot. During these years, his community requested he begin publishing his theological works, including one now-famous philosophical argument for the existence of God. Anselm always held an intrinsic connection—not opposition—between Faith & Reason. He coined the phrase Faith seeking Understanding as the driving principle of his intellectual work. Anselm was elected archbishop of Canterbury, England, at the age of 60. He loved his brother monks, so it was difficult for him to leave. The monk-turned-bishop dedicated his pastoral ministry in serving the poorest people of Canterbury and in fighting against the religious persecutions present at that time. St. Anselm died on April 21, 1109 and is honored as one of the Doctors of the Church today.

Please join Jay Landry for a Zoom bible study on The Resurrection Appearance of Jesus in the Easter Season on Wednesday evenings from 7 pm until 8:30 pm. If you are interested in participating in the bible study, please contact Jay at jlandry@stcatherinesiena.org and he will send you the Zoom link and information to access the bible study.

Good Morning! This morning, we wanted to share an announcement from "Word On Fire". Word On Fire has just released a new book, "Saint Catherine of Siena: Mystic of Fire, Preacher of Freedom" about our patron Saint! To celebrate this new book, they are making their film, "St Catherine of Siena - The Mystic" available for free viewing through St. Catherine's Feast Day on April 29th! To view the film or learn more about the book, please visit: https://special.wordonfire.org/stcatherinebook. Enjoy! Thank you to everyone who joined us online for our Masses this weekend. If you missed Mass with us, you can find it on our website (https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/mass) or on our YouTube channel (https://bit.ly/stcatherinesienaYouTube). Please read our weekly bulletin online for more news from our parish and the Diocese (https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/bulletins) and, as Father Mark mentioned, thank you to everyone who continues to support our parish financially during this time. We appreciate your support! You can continue to mail your contribution envelopes to the parish, or you can give online using our online giving portal (https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/give). Please stay well and know that you are all in our prayers! We look forward to the time when we can all be together again. Blessings to you all!

So I thought it would be appropriate for today to share a message that is both pensive and joyful. Joyful because we know Whom we serve and in Whom we can trust. Joy and sadness can surely be experienced simultaneously. And it is in the knowledge of that that I recorded Ave Maria today with you all in mind: https://youtu.be/P_S4gFYOtVw. Ave Maria....in thanksgiving that people are recovering from COVID-19... Ave Maria...in gratitude for the grocers and nurses and doctors and janitors and countless people we don’t see but who continue to work to keep this world afloat... Ave Maria...in heartsick desperation over the loss of life we are hearing about constantly and that some of us are experiencing first hand.. Ave Maria...in adoration of her precious Son... In His name and for His sake, Tricia

On this Divine Mercy Sunday afternoon, we wanted to share a few resources for prayer, meditation, and reflection with you. As we mentioned yesterday, the Knights of Columbus have made the film "The Face of Mercy" available for free this weekend. It is about an hour long. You can find the film here: https://bit.ly/FaceofMercyFilm. You can pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet with Bishop Bradley here: https://bit.ly/BishopBradleyDivineMercy. For some musical inspiration, mediation, and prayer, musician Julie Carrick has recorded her own version of the Divine Mercy Chaplet here: https://bit.ly/CarrickDivineMercy. Also, listen to Josh Blakesley's "Jesus I Trust in You" here: https://bit.ly/JesusITrustinYou. For more ideas on how to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, check out this site: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/what-do-divine-mercy-sunday. Wishing you all a Blessed Divine Mercy Sunday!

Good Morning and Happy Saturday! Today, our priests will offer "drive in" confessions in the main parking lot from 11 am until 12 pm. Please remain in your car for confessions. At 3 pm, please join us LIVE here on Facebook for the final day of our Divine Mercy Chaplet. At 4 pm this evening, please join us LIVE here on our website (stcatherinesiena.org/mass) or on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/stcatherinesiena/) for Mass; we'll stream Mass again on our website and Facebook at 9 am tomorrow for those who prefer to "attend" Mass on Sunday morning. We'll also stream Mass on our YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/aUx8cEkZ_t4) at 11:00 am tomorrow morning. As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday this weekend, we wanted to mention that the film "The Face of Mercy" has been made available online for free by the Knights of Columbus. The film is about one hour long and can be accessed directly at this link: https://bit.ly/FaceofMercyFilm.

Good morning, and happy Friday! We hope you are all doing well on this snowy Friday morning! Just a few schedule updates/reminder for you this morning: First, don't forget to join us on our Facebook page(https://www.facebook.com/stcatherinesiena/) at 3 pm today and tomorrow for the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Tomorrow, Saturday, April 18th, our priests will be available for "drive in" confessions in the main parking lot from 11 am until 12 pm. Please remain in your car for confessions. Then, at 4 pm, please join us LIVE here on our website (stcatherinesiena.org/mass) and on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/stcatherinesiena/) for the Sunday Vigil Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday. We'll stream Mass again on our website and on Facebook at 9 am Sunday for those who would prefer to "attend" Mass on Sunday morning. We'll also stream Mass on our YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/aUx8cEkZ_t4) on Sunday morning at 11:00 am. Also on Sunday morning, our Knights of Columbus Council #6980 will again be praying the rosary on Zoom. The Rosary will start at 8:30 am; please join the meeting at 8:25 am. To join, go to: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/4848207236… The Meeting ID is: 484 820 7236 and the Password is 123. Note - the Zoom software/application is free. If you are using Zoom for the first time on a laptop or desktop computer, please install the software. If you are using a phone or tablet, please install the Zoom app from your app store. Finally, did you know our sister Diocese in Lodwar has a Facebook page and that they are now live streaming their Masses? Check out https://www.facebook.com/Catholic-Diocese-of-Lodwar-2018858735105927 to see what is happening in the Diocese of Lodwar and watching their Masses. Stay well, and please let us know if we can help you in any way!

Join Bishop Bradley LIVE at 12:15 pm today on Facebook for a special Easter Octave Message! You can find the video here: https://www.facebook.com/catholicdioceseofkalamazoo/videos/568073917159698. Then, at 3 pm, please join us on OUR Facebook page for the Divine Mercy Chaplet (https://www.facebook.com/stcatherinesiena/). And, as we continue to celebrate Easter, check out "The Signs and Symbols of Easter" by Busted Halo: https://bustedhalo.com/ministry-resources/signs-symbols-easter?fbclid=IwAR1jtJLLKLas3P2UcRdeTSBfaEXHGGFxCxodbzxB3Wn_gbDgYpTa9bzUFp0. Finally, we've rearranged the COVID-19 page on our website (https://www.stcatherinesiena.org/covid19) to make it easier to follow. On this page, you'll find the latest parish news, the latest Diocesan news, Archived St. Catherine's Masses from our eCatholic Archive, and Helpful Resources and Websites (with separate pages for How & Where to Watch Mass, Prayer & Scripture Resources, Ways to GET Help, and Ways to GIVE Help), Please let us know if there are other things you would like to see on this page to help you stay connected to our parish, our Diocese, and our community during these challenging times.