Fr. Chas Canoy, Pastor | St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church | Jackson, Michigan
Discover pastoral reflections and homilies from Fr. Chas Canoy, Pastor of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Jackson, MI. Stay rooted in faith and parish life.
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From the Desk of the Pastor…
Strengthen your faith! In these tumultuous times, we need to “stand firm and hold fast” to our faith, as St. Paul exhorts us (2 Thes. 2:15). Our faith is not in man, but in the God who judges, redeems, heals, and saves a fallen humanity from its own destruction and raises his people to the
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Unseen before our Eyes
I recently heard a most interesting story that ran in the Washington Post more than ten years ago. Post author Gene Weingarten covered the story of the international genius violinist Joshua Bell. Bell masterfully plays a violin handcrafted in 1713 by the legendary Antonio Stradivari. His instrument is reportedly worth more than 3 million dollars.
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End of the Summer Reflection
Welcome, my friends, to the fastest summer on record! You can almost feel it in the air (well I can at least): we have journeyed together through the sands of time, across the oceans of occasion, and scaled the mountains of opportunity. Now we arrive to the impending celestial return of our pastor whose own
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The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity
On August 15, 2018, the latest book by Matthew Kelly will be available to the general population. It is titled The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity, and because we have had a relationship with his organization, Dynamic Catholic, for quite some time, we were privileged to have the opportunity to preview a copy
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From the Desk of Fr. Brian…
Happy Sunday! I trust that your celebration of our nation’s 242nd birthday included all the requisite fun and good memories that such occasions afford us. Sunny weather, family and friends, bratwursts, a can of cold beer, sparklers, and dad’s characteristic pyrotechnics…the blessings abound when we celebrate the red, white, and blue. Proof that God is
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An Important Message from Fr. Brian
Happy Sunday! I’m not sure about you all, but I seriously can’t believe that it’s already July, it seems last week we were still in April. I also just realized that this weekend is my official two-year anniversary of arriving at St. John’s, wow! High fives all around, it’s been a good ride so far.
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From Across the Pond… Fr. Chas’ Sabbatical Update
Dear Parish Family, Greetings from Oxford, England! Time is flying here with June already upon us! It’s a rainy day today as I sit in my room at St. Benet’s Hall, which is one of the 44 colleges and halls that make up Oxford University. Oxford doesn’t use “college” in the same way we do
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Diocesan Service Appeal 2018
Happy Sunday! This week’s bulletin article is a written extension of the verbal announcement I gave at each of the Masses last weekend regarding our yearly parish DSA commitment. I will flesh out here a bit more on the subject, although you have already heard the basic nugget, so please exercise your liberty to skip
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We’re Growing!
This article contains some very good news! Because our mission as a parish has truly been in keeping with our patron, St. John the Evangelist, we are growing! Fr. Chas Canoy has led the people of this church in a purposeful effort to execute the Great Commission, that is, to “Go, therefore, and make disciples
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Jesus Christ, Hope of the World!
Dear Parish Family, Christus resurrexit! is Latin for “Christ is risen!” It was a traditional greeting from one Christian to another. So when you hear someone greet you, “Christ is risen!”, the proper response is “He is risen, indeed!” This is the great victory that we celebrate today! The hopeful message of Easter comes
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Union with God
“It is not a relationship with Jesus that I want…” I read those words from a little booklet written by a priest named Fr. David Vincent Meconi. I decided I didn’t want to read such rubbish and I tossed the book aside. Some years later I saw that same book on my stack of things
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Fr. Brian Lenz Named new Chaplain of Lumen Christi Catholic School
MostRev. Earl Boyea, Bishop of Lansing, has announced that the current Parochial Vicar of St. John Parish in Jackson, Rev. Brian Lenz, will be the new Chaplain of Lumen Christi Catholic School as of the start of the new school year this August. He will be replacing Rev. Daniel Lannen, who concludes his service to
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Fr. Chas Will Be On Sabbatical April to August 2018
Dear Parish Family, For every ten years of service, a priest is able to take a sabbatical for a few months. Back in June 11, 2015, I celebrated my ten-year anniversary of priestly ordination. I did not want to take my sabbatical at that time, having been a pastor at St. John for just a
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Growing and Going During Lent
Dear Parish Family, So how did your first week of Lent go? Have you been able to dedicate some time to be with Jesus in the desert and engage your demons in spiritual battle? Maybe the desire to go deeper with the Lord is there, but you just haven’t figured out how. Or maybe it’s
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Bible Study Growing Strong!
Our Tuesday Bible study continues to grow as we wrap up a year-long walk through the Gospel of St. Luke and begin the Book of Acts. The Acts of the Apostles is the sequel letter St. Luke, the doctor, wrote to follow-up his Gospel. We will walk slowly through this beautiful and important text, sentence-by-sentence.
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Parishioner’s Article Shared Over 25k Times!
Dear Parish Family, One of our parishioners, Margaret Rose Realy, writes for a Catholic website, www.aleteia.org. As an Oblate of the Order of St. Benedict and master gardener, she writes on a variety of spiritual topics. Just last week, she shared about a confession she had with Fr. Brian and a helpful “Prayer After Communion”
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Welcome to the New Year!
We’re starting fresh in 2018 on a bit of a unique note around here, which we hope everyone will find edifying and transformative. As brothers in ministry, Fr. Chas and I take about 45 minutes each day to pray together for our parish and for all the endeavors that we believe the Holy Spirit is
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Merry Christmas!
Dear Parishioners & Visitors, At the end a very derisive and divided year in our country, the Prince of Peace comes into our midst! “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light!” (Mt 4:16). We celebrate with JOY even now because the Savior of the world, who comes to us in humble
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Not a Two-for-One!
Dear Parish Family, Christmas is on a Monday this year! In case the temptation crossed your mind, there is no “hitting two birds with one stone” by going to the Christmas Eve Mass on Sunday evening. A number of folks have asked about it, and so to clarify, we are still obliged to fulfill
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Meet the Grubers!
Dear Parish Family, Thanks to a grant from the generous Trinity Foundation, we have a FOCUS missionary coming to St. John for the next year of 2018! You may have heard of FOCUS since it has made big waves in campus ministry and because two of our young parishioners, Katie Prevost and Allie Slough,
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The Game Plan
Dear Parish Family, During the homilies of last Sunday and this Sunday, we will have given the big picture of our Church’s approach to the new evangelization here at St. John Parish and the whole Diocese of Lansing, and the crucial role that each of us play in that “game plan,” if
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Grow and Go!
Dear Parish Family, Happy Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe! In this last week of the church’s liturgical year, the Gospel directs our focus on the end times, when Christ the King will sit in judgment of all peoples, putting an end to the evil that has caused so much
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On the Death of Nestor Canoy, the Father of Fr. Chas
Dear Parish Family, Some of you have been inquiring about my overseas visit to see my father, and for those that have already heard of his passing, I am buoyed by all your prayers and expressions of support. Back in late December 2016, my father had traveled to Cebu, Philippines to visit my sister and
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The 2017 Stewardship Appreciation Mass & Dinner
We thanked and celebrated our most dedicated volunteers here at the parish with an enjoyable evening of food for the soul and body! At the 5:30 p.m. Mass, Fr. Chas noted that they were also celebrating the 161st anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of St. John Church and reminded the volunteers that, as