Pastor’s Corner — February 18th, 2024
“How to Hear God’s Voice” Parish Mission Next Weekend (Feb 25-Feb 27)
Hearing God’s voice can be a matter of life or death. Seriously. Next weekend for three straight nights (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) I’ll be preaching our parish mission on prayer, “How to Hear God’s Voice.” Most Catholics have heard God speak to them in prayer but many aren’t confident they pray well or can hear him well. In this mission I will unpack the proper framework of faith to hear his voice, what his voice sounds like, and how to respond in ways that deepen our trust and open us to all God has for us. I want people to strongly consider coming to this mission all three nights instead of watching some afterwards (the talks will likely be recorded). I hope to see you there!
Save the Date: Men’s Conference March 16th
The Diocese of Lansing Accept the Challenge Men’s Conference will be on March 16th from 9am-5pm at Eastern Michigan University. I’ve always loved these kinds of conferences (men’s or women’s) because they are one-day deeply impactful events that have something for everyone. If you’re new to your faith, you’ll get something out of it. If you’re deep and seasoned in your faith, you’ll get something out of it. Here is what the conference website says:
Gather in fellowship with hundreds of other men ages 14 and above to hear from dynamic speakers about who God has called you to be and how to live as a faithful Catholic in our post-Christian world.
This conference is not meant to simply revitalize your Faith for a day, but to invite men across the diocese to build strong Christian communities in their homes, parishes, and workplaces that glorify the Lord
You will have the chance to connect with other Catholic men from around the state, hear from nationally renowned speakers, engage with different Catholic ministries, and celebrate Mass with Bishop Boyea.
Go here to register. Wives, this is a good thing to invite your husbands to. I hope to see a lot of men from St Pat’s there!
6 Reasons to Get and Stay Married
For all of you who want some good social science on marriage or for your kids and grandkids, you might want to check out this post “6 Reasons to Get and Stay Married” from Bradford Wilcox, Catholic sociologist writing for the Institute for Family Studies. In his most recent book Get Married, he says the data shows the least lonely, most financially secure and happiest Americans are married. Below is a short summary of this short article written by him outlining 6 Reasons to Get Married and Stay Married.
1. Nothing predicts happiness for Americans better than (a good) marriage. Not money, education, work, or even sex.
2. Divorce is down since 1980. It’s no longer the case that “1-in-2 marriages end in divorce.” Today, most marriages go the distance.
3. Boys raised apart from an intact family are more likely to go to jail than graduate from college. By contrast, young men raised in an intact family are about 4 times more likely to graduate from college than land in jail or prison.
4. Regular date nights. Couples with regular date nights are happier, more sexually satisfied, and less divorce prone.
5. A We-Before-Me approach to marriage. Couples who take a we-before-me approach to married life by, for instance, relying on joint checking accounts are happier and less prone to divorce than couples who prize autonomy, including in their financial affairs.
6. Churchgoing. Religious couples are happier, less divorce prone, and, surprisingly, even have more sex than secular couples.
Of course, the charts and graphs of the article give more data. Would our married couples at St Pat’s commit to doing more date nights in Lent help foster happier marriages in the parish?
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias