In Today’s Gospel
When God entered his creation, he could have descended from heaven with a legion of angels to prepare his way. Instead, he chose to enter as a helpless child, a member of a family. Jesus grew up as the son of a carpenter. In his family, he learned the value of hard work and what it meant to serve others. In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us that he “did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45)
Christ has given us a model to follow. In all that we do, in our families, jobs, and relationships with others, we should seek to serve one another. This is all the more true for those in positions of authority. We should use all that God has given us to serve one another.
Convocation
For one week every two years, it becomes very difficult to find a priest. This week (October 18-22), most of the priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit will gather in the northern Lower Peninsula for our biannual presbyteral convocation. This gathering is part retreat, part workshop, and part relaxation,… mostly relaxation. It is an opportunity for priests to gather together in fraternity, without the distractions of everyday life in the parish.
The downside of this is that it is a bad time for anyone in the parish to get sick. There are few priests available for anointing, and it is hard to find a weekday mass.
This year, for personal reasons, I will not be able to attend the convocation. This means that we will continue to have our regular mass schedule at St. Mary and St. Richard. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we will have 9 AM mass at St. Mary, and on Tuesday and Thursday, we will have mass at St. Richard. Confessions will be available after mass on Tuesday.
If you have friends looking for somewhere to attend mass this week, please invite them to St. Mary and St. Richard. And during this time, please pray for priests of the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Consecration to the Holy Family
Families face many challenges today. We are pulled in many directions. The pandemic has only added to those challenges. The Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church refer to the family as the Ecclesia domestica, the Domestic Church. (CCC 1656)
Christ consecrated the family when he chose to be born into a family and grow up in one; the holy family of Joseph and Mary. We should all look to the Holy Family, with Christ at its center, as our model of family life.