Happy Twenty-Sixth Sunday! Last weekend we celebrated our patronal feast day, and on Saturday evening after Mass, about 250 of us filled the Activity Center to honor our beloved St. Robert by chowing down on smoked meat delicacies such as pulled pork, brisket, tenderloin, chicken, turkey, sausage, and even meatloaf! A small army of volunteers provided side dishes and dessert, served up food and drink, or otherwise moved tables and chairs and decorated. I was thrilled to see such a great turnout, and I am so very grateful to everyone who lent a helping hand.

I mentioned to the Saturday Mass crowd that my absolute favorite part about being a pastor, both at St. Robert and Good Shepherd, is celebrating the weekly Sunday Mass together and sharing that blessed brief moment with each person giving and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. The humility and faith that draw you forward to the steps of the sanctuary truly edify my faith and build me up. I love worshiping together in the holy liturgy, and I pray that our faith family continues to grow.

This upcoming week, Fr. Christian and I will be on our annual priest convocation with much of the presbyterate of the Diocese of Lansing. Please pray for all your priests!

This year’s event takes us back to Frankenmuth, which is a fan favorite among the brothers. But I guess the local cuisine is hard to argue with (haha!). Being on convocation reminds me that our diocese is highly blessed by the Lord, because so many good men have followed the Lord’s call in the vocation of spiritual fatherhood.

Speaking of which, we will return from convocation with our yearly supply of vocations posters. We display these posters at various locations around the church and school, and they highlight the young men and women of our diocese who are discerning a call to the priesthood or religious life. And I’m happy to say that if you peruse this year’s lineup, you will notice that St. Robert is officially in the ballgame now. A son of the parish, Benjamin Butcher, has entered his first year of formation at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. Let’s go, St. Robert!

Fr. Christian and I meant to officially introduce him to everyone at the weekend Masses before he departed in August. But then, classic, we are menfolk, and we forgot what calendars are. We misjudged our timing by a week, and he’d already left. So anyway, we will find a time to put him in front of everyone and show his face so you know he’s real. In the meantime, please pray for Benjamin and for his discernment of the Lord’s goodwill. It’s a gift to make that journey of faith, whichever way it ultimately leads, either to the altar as a priest one day or to the altar as a bridegroom. May God be praised in all His designs for our lives.

From Fr. Brian

If someone were to ask you, “Why should I be Catholic? Or, what is Catholicism?” What would you say? If you were asked right there on the spot and had two seconds to respond to a complete random stranger, what would you say to pique their interest? Or to get them interested enough to keep asking questions and doing more research. Explaining the faith should not be difficult. Why? Because we simply talk about the one who saved us from death. We share with them the greatest love story ever told. We want to introduce them to a person we are absolutely infatuated with, because He has gifted us with a gift that is infinite.

As Catholics and disciples of the Lord, we should all be prepared to have an answer to questions like this. We must be ready to share the great news of salvation. Think of this entry as a personal invitation to join Fr. Brian and me as we deepen our understanding of the one we love, God. Every Tuesday evening, beginning October 6th, we will be having a Catechesis series called Credo. This series will help all of us understand more about who God is (the Creed), why we worship Him the way we do (the sacraments), the importance of communal life (morality), and our own spiritual lives (prayer).

Our faith is not just an academic course. It’s infinitely more than that. We teach catechesis and religious ed to children because it is important for them to have a good moral foundation for living their lives, but if a child thinks that Catholicism is just another subject to be learned like math and science, then we have failed. Our faith cannot be reduced to a series of intellectual thoughts and ideas to be mastered or fully comprehended. It is actually the exact opposite. God is a mystery. His saving work in Jesus Christ is a mystery. How the Holy Spirit sanctifies us and how God dwells in us is a mystery.

As disciples of Christ, we are not Sherlock Holmes trying to figure out what makes God tick. We do not try to confine God to a box and conduct experiments on Him in order to fully comprehend Him. Rather, we look at His mysteries of love with awe and wonder at His mercy and goodness. We approach the faith with an eager longing to always want more from this infinite spring of wisdom.

Our intellectual truths of the faith are supposed to lead us to one thing, and one thing only: an encounter. This encounter with love itself is the sole purpose and reason why we are able to respond to the invitation which Christ extends to all of us, just as He did to His disciples two thousand years ago: “Follow me.” The more we know about the one who extends the invitation, the more likely we are to respond with a yes and keep following Him. Where does this invitation lead? Straight to Calvary. Eventually, we will all have to face our own Calvary. But this Calvary does not have to be scary. There is a reason why Jesus says “Do not be afraid” so often: because without the source of love and wisdom, it feels as if we are alone. However, if we remember exactly who God is and what He has done for you and me, we embrace our cross and desire to always be with Him, no matter where He leads us.

Join us as we begin to learn more about this tremendous and majestic love story that leads to the greatest adventure any person can embark on.

On Sunday, October 4, all parishioners are invited to the outdoor St. Francis of Assisi Pet Blessing after the 11:15 a.m. Mass. Fr. Brian will offer a blessing for all pets present! This custom is in remembrance of St. Francis of Assisi’s love for all creatures. Bring your dogs, cats, birds, fish, hamsters, turtles, horses, ducks, etc. for a holy water blessing. For safety please keep your pet on a leash, in a cage, crate, or other container. If you do not have a pet, please share your presence and witness this special celebration!

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, September 23 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.

The next meeting and breakfast will be held on Saturday, October 10 at the Family Worship Center in Montrose from 6:30—8:00 a.m. Breakfast at 7:00 p.m. All men are welcome to attend.