Dear Parish Family,
On September 22, history was made for our Diocese of Lansing. I was amazed by how strong a showing our St. John Parish had at the Diocesan Assembly! Among the 13,000+ people at MSU’s Breslin Center, we were 350+ strong, which is more than one-fourth of usual weekend Mass attendance! That robust showing earned us the prize for most parishioners from our region of the diocese! The prize was one of the images of Our Lady of Guadalupe that circulated around the Diocese as part of the prayerful preparation for the Diocesan Assembly.
Here’s what a few of our St. John parishioners had to say:
“The crowd and all attending seemed to be in a disposition of content, happiness, and full of the Holy Spirit.”
-Tom Miskowski
“What stood out to me was the faith of so many people in the procession; likewise, the respect that people had who were on the sidewalk as the blessed Sacrament passed by!”
-Sister Carolyn
“The music was phenomenal!”
-Jan VanBuren
“What stood out to me first and foremost, was the Mass. So many priests giving praise to the Lord was glorious. Second, Fr. Mike Schmitz’s speech was spot on!”
-Charles Yacuone
Are You a Dynamic Catholic?
On Thursday, October 11, we had a Diocesan Assembly follow-up gathering at our parish center. We encouraged everyone there and the parishioners at all the weekend Masses to begin reading Matthew Kelly’s The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic. I mentioned that, at only two pages a day, you could easily read Chapters 1 & 2 before the next gathering being planned for November 29.
The fact that we ran out of books last weekend (we had over 200 to give out) and had such a good showing for our first follow-up is very encouraging…and very revealing of the Spirit-filled parishioners here at St. John Parish who are ready to take on the challenge of becoming “Dynamic Catholics”—ultimately, “Missionary Disciples.”
Just so you know, we are working on getting more copies of the book for those of you who were unable to get one. In fact, even if you begin reading the book next Sunday, Oct. 28, you would still finish Chapters 1 & 2 by the November 29 gathering!
In addition to reading the book, daily prayer time is essential. It’s actually the first step outlined in Matthew Kelly’s book. So many people have said they want to heed the call to pray and develop a more personal relationship with God, but just don’t know how. Matthew Kelly explains a simple “prayer process” to help you get attuned to relating and listening to God. I encourage you, if you don’t already, to develop this daily practice—start with even just 5 minutes and build throughout the month and year. This is, after all, the Year of Prayer.
Holy Land “Year of Prayer” Pilgrimage
In the last month of the Year of Prayer, November 2019, Todd Gale and I will be co-leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land! The group departs on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 and arrives back here in the States 10 days later on Friday, November 22. You can view more information at: www.ctscentral.net/trips/israel/steve-ray-pilgrimage-holy-land-fr-chas/. If you would like to have cost information or a registration brochure emailed to you, please contact Kenall Ripley at Corporate Travel at kripley@ctscentral.net, or 1-800-727-1999. Join us and your fellow parishioners on a once-in-a-lifetime trip following Jesus’ footsteps to where the holy mysteries of his life happened!
Yours in Christ,