Dear Parish Family,
October is the month of the Holy Rosary! There are a number of ways to observe this, one of them obviously being to pray the holy rosary. Pray daily if you can, even if it is only one decade a day. Maybe try a novena of rosaries from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, the nine days leading up to All Souls Day on Nov. 2, as a way to pray for the souls of our loved ones who have gone before us.
A communal way of celebrating this month occurs today at 2:00 p.m. with the Public Rosary at the Riverwalk Amphitheater, north of Consumers Energy. You can also pray a rosary at the 40 Days for Life through November 1. You can also pray with our St. John School children on Good Shepherd Radio, who recorded their praying of the rosary. It is aired on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. and on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. throughout this month.
“Let’s Talk About Sex”
Got your attention? In our sexually charged culture, we have to look out for our kids and how their minds are being formed by the use-and-abuse mentality so prevalent in our pop culture. To proactively address this, I think it’s important to talk to our youth at age-appropriate levels about the Theology of the Body, which helps them understand the beautiful vision God has for sexuality and marriage. It is not so much to what we’re saying “No!”, as much as to what we’re saying “Yes!”
For parents interested on how to best have those talks with their teenage children (even if they may not be teens now, they soon will be!) and possibly even help Hannah, our Coordinator of Youth Ministry, lead a small group of teenage males or females through such a discussion, please attend the Theology of the Body training that the Diocese is putting on here at St. John on Nov. 7. The Saturday will begin with 8:00 a.m., and the presentations will go from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 pm with lunch included.
You can register online by going to www.eventbee.com/v/tobtraining, or by calling Dawn Hausmann at 517-342-2506. Feel free to invite folks that you think have a gift with presenting things to our kids. Personally, I found the Theology of the Body to be crucial in the effort to live chastely as a young man in a sex-crazed world.
If you want an easy-to-read, introductory exposure to the themes of the Theology of the Body, check out the book, Fill These Hearts, by Christopher West, whose material we’ll use for training.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Chas