Pastor’s Corner — September 17th, 2023
Forgiveness and Healing
Last weekend, I mentioned in my homily that one can forgive and not feel anything. Forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling. This is important because when people believe forgiveness is a feeling, then such people might never believe they have, in fact, forgiven people when they really have. This is why the two signs of forgiveness in my homily can really give peace to people.
Nevertheless, healing is important for our hearts to be free to love and to remain in forgiveness. Feelings can follow as our hearts experience healing. But if I don’t experience healing after I’ve been hurt, then even if after I’ve forgiven the person, I might be vulnerable to falling back into unforgiveness and seeking repayment or revenge. Depending on the severity of the injustice we’ve experienced, it’s really important for us to be seeking healing of our hearts through the means of professional counseling and/or through prayer. There’s no shame in needing healing. After all, underneath the anger and resentment in our hearts is pain. All of us need healing to some extent.
In my experience, people who are most free to love after experiencing injustice are those who have forgiven and have been able to heal well afterwards. But I’ve also seen that those who are easily angered, quick to be defensive, and oversensitive to injustice are those who have not yet experienced healing after experiencing injustice. The goal is that after we decide to forgive, we give our pain to the Lord, with the help of others if necessary, so he can heal our hearts. There is healing and peace in the Lord available. This is why we have our inner healing ministry here at the parish. We don’t have a public email address available for it right now, so if you’re wanting to seek inner healing, feel free to reach out to me or Fr. Miguel.
Priest Convocation: NO Daily Mass This Week (Tues Sep 26-thurs Sep 28)
Each year the priests of the diocese go away with the bishop to enjoy some time of relaxation, rest, and priestly fraternity. It is also a time to handle some diocesan business and get some further professional development. Since the bishop asks all priests to cancel Masses so we can be there, Masses this week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (September 26-28) are canceled. Wednesday confessions are also canceled, but Thursday’s confessions are on. Please pray for all of us, especially for Bishop Boyea in this time. Fr. Miguel and I will pray for you all in a special way this week. Come, Holy Spirit!
Oktoberfest Celebration (Parish Festival) on Sunday Oct 1
Please plan on bringing your family and friends to our parish festival on Sunday October 1 (2pm-6pm on School property across town) which includes bounce houses, obstacle courses, beer brewed by parishioner-owned Eternity Brewing, Tommy Schober and the Sound of Sorgenbrecher German band, and FREE authentic German food. Last year we had 1,200 people come! We will also be drawing tickets at the end for our Annual Parish Raffle. (Don’t forget to turn in your tickets in the white barrels at the entrances in the Church by Sunday). I hope to see you there!
Welcome Lizzy Colunga, New Assistant Office Manager!
Yes, you read that correctly. We just hired Fr. Miguel’s sister. He was the only one that interviewed… corruption and nepotism is what this is all about…just kidding! Neither Fr. Miguel or I were involved in the interview process as we wanted to be really neutral. But she was really impressive and the interview team thinks she’s going to be great fit for our culture and the role. She comes to us from working at St. Thomas the Apostle in Ann Arbor doing roughly the same job. Hopefully she’ll be here long after Fr. Miguel leaves. Here is a little note from her to the parish:
Hey everybody! My name is Lizzy Colunga, and I’m so, so excited to be joining St. Patrick’s team as the Assistant Office Manager! I am beyond passionate about God and I love walking in the Holy Spirit and I am driven by a hunger for others to do the same. As the new Assistant Office Manager, my joy will be in helping and serving you in your needs the best way I can. When I’m not at work I spend my time working on an evangelistic art and music ministry that my boyfriend and I created. I have always had an evangelistic heart since my first encounter with the Holy Spirit at a soup kitchen. The Holy Spirit set a fire in my heart and I began evangelizing and praying over others. Since then I attended and am a graduate of Encounter School of Ministry, and I strive to live out what I learned at Encounter everyday. I’m excited to be part of such a fun and amazing team and I look forward to serving and meeting many of you! God bless!
Anointing of the Sick Mass (Healing Mass): Tuesday, October 3, 10:30 AM in the Church
While Fr Miguel and I anoint people upon request throughout the year, it’s also fitting to host a special Mass once in a while in which we anoint those who are prepared to receive it. Just a reminder, the sacrament can be given to any baptized Catholic who is one or more of the following:
a. seriously ill (you could die from the illness you have) or
b. about to undergo serious surgery, or
c. an elderly person who has become notably weakened through age, or
d. a seriously ill child who is the age of reason, or
e. actively dying
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias