Happy Palm Sunday and Holy Week!

Today, you’ll see us wear the red vestments of martyrs, as this week we close out the penitential Lenten violet for the joy of white on Easter Sunday. Celebrating Holy Week as a priest always moves very quickly, so if you think of it, please pray for me and for Fr. Christian. It’s a privilege to stand with you and lead us in the worship of an almighty God whose loving will is to save us from spiritual death.

This is the week, my brothers and sisters, that memorializes the very events in history which accomplished the work of salvation for human souls. Make no mistake: without Holy Week, we would still be born, live, and then die eternally under enslavement to Satan and the demons. Christian believers can never forget this blunt and difficult truth of life without Jesus Christ. The urgent task of history since the Resurrection, and until the Final Coming, is to continually proclaim this message to all souls now born into the world. Gratefully, gloriously, thanks be to God, we can look at the darkness of this fallen world and find a way forward, a way through, and a way out.

No one, neither human nor angelic, can prevent someone’s free personal decision to repent and believe in this Gospel. God himself ratifies this choice by reconfiguring our souls to himself in the sacrament of baptism. We can then live within the spiritual protection and freedom of the mystical Body that Jesus formed out of the clay of his own life, death, and resurrection. We call that mystical Body the Church. It is the gift of a lifetime to know Jesus—to know how he loves you personally, to hear his voice, and to follow him.

As for me, I thank God profusely that he bore me into a Catholic family. I’ve known these truths my whole life. My parents, out of love and obedience to Jesus, baptized me as a baby, raised me in the faith, and have lived a holy marriage for 46 years—none of which I could have chosen myself. And yet, I am the beneficiary of that grace. Thank God for all of this, which has helped me find my way forward, my way through.

I, too, still have to make a daily choice to repent and believe in the Gospel. This week in particular, I’m trying to focus on that and open myself to God more and more. I invite all of us to do the same. Find the hunger within you. There are some special opportunities here at the parish to feed that hunger, collectively called the Triduum liturgies:

• Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7pm
• Good Friday Service of the Lord’s Passion at 12pm
• Easter Vigil Mass of the Lord’s Resurrection on Saturday at 9pm

These liturgies are beautiful and unique—not like your normal Sunday Mass. If you can, be renewed by seeing for yourself the wonders of these sacred mysteries, which have brought you and your loved ones the possibility of a choice for eternal life.

Fr. Brian

Men of the parish are invited to come and enjoy growing in their spiritual walk with others. We will meet in the Knights of Columbus Hall from 6:30—7:30 on Wednesday, March 25 for our next Cor Meeting. We always have snacks and refreshments! Invite a friend or family member. We look forward to seeing you!

See what men are saying about it in the film below:

The mission of the Cor is to refocus Catholic men on Jesus Christ and to form and strengthen them in faith and virtue through a brotherhood committed to prayer, formation and fraternity.  The goal of each Cor gathering is to provide the opportunity for men to encounter Christ, to pray together, to be formed in their faith, and to strengthen their bonds of brotherhood, preparing them for courageous leadership and the mission of Evangelization for their families and communities.

You can help save lives when you give blood. A blood drive will be held 12:00 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, April 22 at Good Shepherd Church in the Knights of Columbus Hall.

The event is co-sponsored by the Good Shepherd Knights of Columbus Council 8669. For more information or appointment, visit redcrossblood.org (sponsor code: Montrose) or call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).  Give the perfect gift.  Give Blood.

Streamline your donation experience and save up to 15 minutes by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass to complete your pre-donation reading and health history questions on the day of your appointment.

Give Something that Means Something

Please join us on Palm Sunday for a Cross Walk. We will meet at the Real Life Church at 3:00 p.m. and walk through Montrose and surround our churches, schools and community centers with prayer!

Entry Eight: Do I always give my best?

Sometimes in prayer, the Lord loves to humble me. Do I enjoy it when the Lord does this? Not really. If I am being completely honest, it hurts most of the time. But do I need it? One thousand percent—I need those moments. I need to understand the moments when I am not giving it my all. I need to recognize when I am choosing my own will over the Lord’s will for my life. I need to see those moments when correction must take place and how the Lord desires me to act in certain situations. I need to understand the times when I failed to act as charitably as I should have and what must be done differently in the future.

Prayer is the place where I recognize this loving correction from the Lord. It is in prayer that the Lord reveals his love to me and how he desires me to act by relying on his grace and not my own will. It is also the recognition of how the Lord has blessed me and the acknowledgment that God constantly desires me to be open to receiving his love so that he can use me in the way he truly desires.

However, if I am not praying well, then I will not be living well. Whether I live my life to the best of my ability and give it my all depends greatly on my prayer life and my relationship with God. If I fill my time of prayer with other things—such as what needs to be done today, or how I am going to handle a certain meeting—how will I hear what the Lord desires to say to me? If my prayer life consists only of thinking about my own concerns and how I plan to handle them, then I have left no room for God to intercede. I have not allowed the Lord to speak to me in that moment about my concerns and what has been affecting my heart.

Essentially, in order to give my best, I must be willing to let God help me. I must be willing to share my problems with the Lord and give him time to respond to my concerns. If I am not willing to listen, what is the point of even going to prayer? I can do mental exercises and problem-solving at my desk. I do not need to go before the tabernacle in the church to do that.

The good news is that we are only halfway through the Lenten season, and this is the perfect time to allow the Lord to help me grow in my relationship with him—by thanking the good Lord for this gentle reminder about prayer and putting it into action. By allowing God time to respond to the movements, desires, and concerns of my heart.

I always want to do my best in ministry and in life as well, but Lent has given me the chance to examine my life and seriously ask, “Am I doing my best every day?” God allows these opportunities to humble his children because they are moments where we can grow and develop. We come to understand our own weaknesses and our reliance upon the one who loves us.

I know this is not easy, because who enjoys being corrected? But I know it is necessary.

Thank you, Lord, for always searching for me—for always pursuing me and always desiring me to grow in a deeper relationship with you. Help me through the rest of this Lenten season to take the time to listen to your voice in my life. Make my heart attentive in understanding how you desire me to act each day. Thank you for those moments of correction that help me to live my best and fullest life.

Without you, Lord, and your gift of grace, I will always fail. But with your constant guidance and love, I can do all things because it is you who strengthens me.

Thank you to everyone who has given a gift or made a pledge to the Diocesan Services Appeal this year.  If you have not yet made your gift decision, please consider doing so today.  Envelopes are available in the church or by the parish office.  Envelopes may be placed in the collection basket or returned to the parish office.

Those who wish to pay by credit card or electronic funds transfer may enter your gift online at www.dioceseoflansing.org/appeal.

Remember, 50% of all contributions in excess of our parish goal will come back to our parish for local use.