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The Holy Family

12/27/2019

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The Mystery of the Incarnation: the Holy Family
One of the most astonishing things about Christmas is that the mystery of the incarnation, when God became one of us, happens in a family. The family is God’s creation and gift. The family has been subject to a lot of challenges and attacks lately; society and governments who try to redefine the family or force their agenda on it. As a result, the family, and society suffers and many families are broken. Only God holds the plan that will make the family thrive, flourish and find peace.
 
I’m grateful that as a parish we are learning to be more and more a family of God. This is not easy. We use this term “family” frequently when we speak of the parish or the church, but sometimes we’re not so good at it. We need to learn from the Lord how to become the family He has chosen us to be.
 
This Sunday, the Feast of the Holy Family, which falls within the Octave of Christmas, focuses our attention on the mystery of God with us, through the lens of the family. I’ve asked a few families to share their struggles, journey, joys and blessings with us. I pray that every family in this parish can experience grace and healing.
God bless,   Fr. Dennis
 
When Father Dennis asked us to share our story, we were happy to do so. My husband and I have experienced struggles with infertility. We know personally that infertility can feel very lonely. Although so many couples experience it, most don’t talk about it. We want people to know that there is hope and there are resources that can help which align with our Catholic faith.
 
After experiencing a few years of unexplained infertility, we made an appointment to talk with Father Dennis and it was the best thing we could have done. At that point we had hit a dead end because all the doctors we had been seeing said there was nothing more they could do and the only thing left was to stop trying or to begin treatments which we knew were against our faith and its teachings. These were treatments we already knew we weren’t comfortable with.
 
Fortunately, there was more we could do. Father Dennis put us in touch with a Creighton Model Fertility Care Practitioner in the area. She helped us learn this simple and easy way of charting and then identified some red flags. She provided us with a list of NaProTechnology (Natural Procreative Technology) doctors. There are only a handful in the state. Our very first visit with our NaProTechnology doctor was unlike any other experience because his approach respected the Catholic faith. With the charting we had done, and his checklist of possible issues known to cause infertility, he was able to diagnose our problem and provide treatment. Without his diagnosis, any other treatment we could have tried would have failed.
 
We are now blessed with a beautiful baby boy! Although our infertility journey was a difficult one, it strengthened our relationship with God and with each other. We are happy to talk with anyone who would like more information about our infertility journey and the resources that are available.
- Katie & Ryan Pung
 
I am blessed to have been born and raised in a good strong Catholic family whose parents believed in the power of prayer. There was a sign placed prominently on our living room wall which read: “the family that prays together, stays together”. My mother and dad would make sure that every night of the week, except Sunday, we would sit down as a family and pray the rosary, which truthfully at that time seemed so redundant. Praying together certainly did not solve all of our family’s problems, because the Lord knows we still have many. It certainly taught me discipline and patience (because 15 minutes seemed like forever to a kid). It taught me obedience (very necessary as the child Jesus demonstrated), it taught me persistence (because some things like “dying for our sins” is so important it needs to be repeated over and over). It taught me about God’s Time (because my praying isn’t so much about changing everyone else, as it is about changing me), and it taught me about a Father’s Love. (I thought my dad displayed tough love, but how about watching your Son get mocked, whipped to shreds, thorns pushed into His head, nailed to a cross hanging for hours and then finally dying on that cross). Praying the rosary with my family has helped me understand more clearly Our Father’s sacrificial love for me and for Jesus His son and loving Him in return.
- Jerome Pohl
 
Being third oldest of ten siblings, I remember our family didn’t go to church together very often for various reasons. To provide food for our large family, my dad would take the boys fishing or hunting after 6:30 am mass and mom took whomever wanted to go to 8:30 mass and be up in the choir loft as she sang in the adult choir. From my view from the choir loft, I remember watching other families walking into our beautiful church and sitting together as a family. I made a promise to God my Father, that when I got married and had children, that we would go to mass together and sit as a family unit, like Jesus, Mary and Joseph were. As a young mom of 5 children, I found out really quick how hard it was to get the kids ready for mass at the same time. There were many Sundays and Holy Days that I thought how easy it would be to just let them stay home and not listen to the complaining about having to go to mass “again”. Over the years, the kids learned to enjoy mass and all of them joined choir when they attended Most Holy Trinity School.  Now when I am at Mass, and hear the babies fussing or youngsters trying to behave, I think back how I felt bringing my family to mass and smile. I know what these young couples are going through and am thankful they are attending mass as a family! My faith, lots of prayers and love of the Holy Family has gotten me through a lot of hills and valleys. And I thank God every day for the blessings He’s given me and my family
- Ann Marie Pohl
 
 
As we reflect on our blessings of the past year, we know we have been blessed. In fact, we like to say “Embarrassingly blessed.” The priest who presided at our wedding, said this phrase to us, and it still holds true today. Our blessings of this past year aren’t necessarily huge things, but rather seemingly minor things that have and will continue to be blessings for us.
 
Our oldest son Isaiah began school at MHT this year in the
first grade and has been surrounded by a culture that promotes the faith. He is learning about feast days, praying the rosary, participating in mass among other things. He comes home and shares these experiences with us and his siblings. As a “big” brother, his excitement about these events encourages his younger siblings to be excited about the faith. They can’t wait to shake Father Dennis’s hand at the end of Mass! We know we need to encourage the faith at home (and do!), but him being surrounded by people and having our faith tied into each school day is invaluable.
 
Also, the opportunities to go to adoration, prayer services, weekday Mass, retreats, etc., and having our children participate with us in these events is a great blessing. These activities are becoming the norm for them. As we hope and pray we are leading them towards a faith filled life, being present and a participant of these activities is important. We feel very lucky MHT has these opportunities to educate and expose our children to the Catholic faith.
 
Another blessing, of course, was our newest son’s baptism into the church and even more special, during Advent. During this time of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we, too, get to hold our newborn. We’ve always thought it was extra special to have a new baby around Christmas time.
 
Even though we can take school, Mass, and Advent for granted as they can seemingly be on a check off list in our busy lives, we know these have been great blessings for us and our children. Doing these “little” things are a good reason of why we feel embarrassingly blessed.
- Matt and Jenna Epkey
 
 

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Christmas Bulletin

12/27/2019

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Dear friends in Christ,


Once again a Blessed and Holy Christmas to all of you.  This week the parish staff and I are going to share a little about what we see the Lord doing here at Most Holy Trinity and what we’re excited about for this coming year. I will kick off the reflection.
 
This year, I have to admit has been a very hard year. With all the scandals regarding the bishops and priesthood, it’s been very discouraging at times. I try to keep my focus on the Lord and what He has called me to do, but I admit that there are days when I have felt depressed and concerned about the future of our church. But at the same time, there are a few things that given me hope and hope for this coming year and the future.
 
One of those things is our children. Just recently I was attending our school spelling bee. One of the little guys wanted to sit beside me and he began to talk to me.  All of a sudden he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and said “I love you.” I’m always amazed and blessed how our children give me hope and make me feel loved. Just recently as well, I participated in a Holy Spirit encounter with some of our religious education classes in the church.  So many of the young people who came up asked for such simple things: “I want to know God’s love,” “I want a better relationship with my parents…” etc. And the Lord poured out in a powerful way His love for them. This always reminds me that God is raising up a new generation and equipping them for the Kingdom.
 
The other thing that gives me hope is something a little more hidden from public view. I am very blessed as a priest to be able to hear confessions and help people in counseling. I have to say that I have been so encouraged by the people coming and trying to work through their struggles and difficulties. I am so struck by their humility and desire to grow in God’s grace, to seek change for their lives. This is something nobody sees, but is essential to our ministry here at MHT.  It’s why we exist, to help people experience the love and mercy of God.     -Fr. Dennis


Looking back at the 2019 ministry year, what really sticks out to me is how the parish community worked together at various events.  I spend a lot of my time working with adults at the parish, but this last year our prayer ministry expanded into other areas, not just adults.  The adults in our parish had the opportunity to pray with middle school students both at MHT and in religious ed. Adults and young adults helped out at various high school events.  Having high school students and young adults help out with our Holy Spirit Encounter nights have been awesome. It’s been really amazing to see different relationships form at these events between various ages.  It really feels like we are all working together, to bring God’s love and peace to those we are praying with, no matter what age. This sense of unity, and community has been something that really sticks out to me.  Working alongside parishioners of all ages has been fruitful and something I look forward to doing more in the next year. (Andrea)

One of the most meaningful events that I’ve been a part of in the past year has been the Middle School Encounters. Time in Adoration has been an important way for me to grow in my relationship with the Lord, and knowing that we are able to provide similar opportunities for younger kids is really exciting! Beyond that though, we have also been offering prayer ministry at these events and it just makes me wonder what that would have meant for me as a kid. There’s probably a good chance that I wouldn’t have taken the step to go to a prayer team back then! It’s exciting to know that our kids today have that opportunity to bring the things weighing on their hearts to the Lord and our prayer teams.So often we think that we are alone in our struggles and have to keep them to ourselves. It took me a long time to realize that there is strength in weakness and being vulnerable can bring peace and healing in our lives. It’s clear to me that these kids are much more aware of God in their life than I was at their age and that’s really exciting to see and be a part of! (Adam)


It’s been an absolutely wild year, but I’ve really enjoyed what 2019 has brought into our parish overall. I think a huge part of it though that stands out is the way that the Holy Spirit has brought unity and healing to so many areas of Most Holy Trinity. In the last three years working here, I have been able to be a part of almost every area of our ministries. This has included helping in the adoration hours Kayla does for her choir kids, our Holy Spirit Encounters, the Adult Retreats, our confirmation process, and of course in the youth ministry. In all of those places, I have felt so much hope and joy because of children/teenagers/adults being able to receive the GOODNESS of the Lord whether it’s in his healing, his voice, or in the revelation of his truth. There are so many stories of big or small life changes that our Father provides. One that comes to mind was one little girl that I prayed with during our Middle School Encounter. When I was praying over her, the Lord shared a word affirming her worth and she broke down crying (a good cry I swear!). It was such a pure thing. She just needed to hear her heavenly Father’s voice and he whispered truth to her. I feel as though I get to see meaningful moments like that all the time, and I think that even more so in the next year we will have even more opportunities of receiving God’s fullness in our parish. (Corey)


In the three years that I’ve been here, one of the most exciting areas of growth in the parish that I’ve witnessed has been the sense of community. As the music director, I’ve of course noticed it within the choirs that I direct; we have a lot of fun with each other at rehearsals and genuinely enjoy being together. And this sense of community isn’t something closed or exclusive. Whenever somebody joins, it’s genuinely exciting to have them there and see the group’s dynamics expand. It’s just fun to see what each new person offers! Beyond music ministry, the retreats and Holy Spirit Encounters have offered this unique opportunity to experience relationships with people you might not have otherwise. It’s amazing to see the growing base of people who are excited to be a part of things. This sense of community is something that as a staff, we want every parishioner to be a part of. The experience of relationship has shifted really radically in the past few decades as technology develops and families become busier, and something we’ve heard repeatedly through various events is how alone and isolated people feel. I think it’s clear from the amazing turnouts at the Fire Recovery Fundraiser at the Depot and Fowler’s Christmas tree lighting that people in the Fowler area are eager for that sense of belonging. I’m really excited about the ways that our parish not only strives to bring individuals into relationship with Christ, but into communion with each other. It’s an invitation for every single person who calls Most Holy Trinity his or her parish home. (Kayla)

There’s a lot to be excited about from this past year. There’s a real openness to what the Holy Spirit is doing in the parish and the diocese and a willingness to try new things. Perhaps the thing I’ve been most excited to see this past year are the Kerygma Encounter retreats. As a participant, the Kerygma Encounter truly changed my own faith and relationship with God, so I was thrilled to be trained to lead them and bring them to MHT. These seven hour retreats bring people to a personal and powerful encounter with the Lord, I haven’t seen anything else that does so much in just half a day. We’re already seeing the fruits from these retreats here at MHT. People have walked away truly changed. We are also incorporating these retreats into sacramental preparation like First Communion and Confirmation. The times when people approach the Church to prepare for sacraments are opportunities for us to show them the love of God in a powerful way, both for their own sake and so that they can share the faith with their family, and the Kerygma Encounter is the best thing I know to offer them. It’s exciting to think about the fruit the Lord will bring to our parish over the next few years when more and more adults and students are having regular encounters with the Living God. (Paul)

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Religious Life Update

12/20/2019

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So far, this semester has been flying by and the Lord has been doing incredible things in my life. One of the biggest blessings of the semester is being able to go to a nursing home and bring the residents communion. They have such great faith and it is an incredible honor to be able to walk with them through the last stages of life. Another blessing has been being able to start taking more of a leadership role within the seminary. I have been in seminary for three years, so I have the experience to be able to walk with the new guys and help them adjust to way of life of the seminary. I can remember when I was a new at the seminary and looking up to the older guys, so it is cool to be on the other side of that divide. This semester has also been challenging because I have been taking five classes instead of the normal four. But the Lord has even used this experience to draw me closer to him by teaching me to remain rooted in him especially when life is busy. This lesson has not always been easy to live out, but it has made a great difference in my life. The Lord has done a lot for me so far this semester and I am looking forward to seeing what else he has in store, especially next semester since I will be spending the semester studying abroad in Rome. Please pray for me and I will keep all of you in my prayers.                                               ~Randy Koenigsknecht
 

 
Throughout the semester, the Lord has been showing me the little ways he is calling me to martyrdom. This process started when a priest at seminary gave a homily about this topic and encouraged us to accept the union that Christ desires for us through our suffering. I started to pray about this, and it has been in the back of my mind ever since. At random times throughout the day, when something irritating or disappointing happens, I hear the Lord’s invitation to me to pick up my cross and follow him. I have a greater sense of how Jesus wants to accompany me through my struggles and the joy my little crosses can bring when they are united to the Cross of Jesus Christ. Before this new perspective, I would simply see these situations as a useless burden and avoid them at all costs. Now when these situations present themselves, I do my best to embrace them as Jesus embraced his cross and thank God for my dependence on him. I do not do this perfectly by any means, but I have been blessed this semester to grow in my ability to see my crosses in a new way and enter into the union that Christ desires for me through them.                         ~Josh Luttig
 

 
Overall, this has been a difficult semester. One thing which has contributed to this is the academics. The four classes I’m taking this semester are among the hardest that I will take while at college seminary. A lot of the material is very abstract, which has been tough to comprehend at times. In addition to this, until recently, I hadn’t experienced much consolation in prayer this semester. Through these challenges, the Lord has been calling me to lean more on him, especially when I am weak. A special grace I have recently received is simply knowing that God loves me. Yeah, I know, this sounds like some canned, overused sentiment, but for one of the first times in my life, the Lord has shown me not only the reality of his love for me, but also how much he has freely blessed me throughout my life without me earning any of it. It is amazing how far-reaching his love is for me, and how far it is beyond my understanding. This insight into God’s love has definitely been the highlight of my semester. We want to thank everyone for all the ways you support us as we discern our vocations in the seminary, especially for those who pray for us!! Without people interceding for us, we could never grow to become the men God is calling us to be! Know of our prayers for you.
God bless!     ~Brian Arbrustmacher
 

 
Hello from the Motherhouse of the Religious Sisters of Mercy (RSM) of Alma, Michigan! Since entering the community on August 1st, I have met multiple priests and religious who know our Fowler faith community – one Sister referred to the area of Fowler, Pewamo, and Westphalia as the “trifecta Holy Land of Michigan!” There are ~100 RSMs in our community with seven of us new Postulants (aka “first years”) – 3 from Michigan, 1 from Washington DC, 1 from Seattle area, 1 from Germany, and 1 from Australia. They are absolutely beautiful women, and I feel so blessed that the Lord chose the seven of us to enter together.
 
As RSMs, every moment is consecrated to our Lord as an expression of prayer and praise. We rise at 4:30am most mornings, so that we may pray the Liturgy of the Hours, meditate on Scripture, and have daily mass before breakfast. Many of the perpetually professed Sisters then depart for their apolostates, which is in healthcare and/or teaching for most RSMs. In the morning, we Postulants typically have a work project (i.e. cleaning, mowing, weeding, etc.), and then the Postulants and Canonical Novices (“second years”) have an additional silent Holy Hour. After lunch, we either have a work project or class on theology, philosophy, and/or Scripture – all of which I absolutely love! Stretching my mind to learn more about our Lord truly deepens my prayer life and relationship with Him. We then have a community Holy Hour, which includes Adoration, praying the rosary, and the Liturgy of the Hours. After dinner, we have community recreation, and then end the day with Compline (aka night prayer). Our time in prayer grounds and fuels us to live in complete surrender to God’s Will each day.
 
I am amazed by how natural it feels to be here; it feels like this is what I was made for! So much strength comes from our prayer – it is the most important thing we do as brides of Christ. On Saturdays, we Postulants do not have our additional Holy Hour before lunch, and I definitely notice its absence – I long for that extra time with our Lord. Our lives are rooted in prayer, and everything else flows from that.
 
Before entering, I knew the amount of time we dedicate to prayer would be a jump for me, but I trusted that if this is where God is calling me, He would continually provide the graces needed and more. When we trust in the Lord, His plans are way more amazing than anything we could plan for ourselves, and He is full of such great sweetness that nothing else compares. I recently read that our very pulse proclaims God’s sustaining presence with us, and the beauty on earth is but a shadow of His glory and His beauty. God has been pouring His graces into my heart to grasp these as the truths they are.
 
There is so much joy in knowing, loving, and following our Lord – He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and He alone can satisfy the thirsting and longing in our hearts. A few weeks ago, I checked in on one of our elderly Sisters who was sleep-talking while napping – she was praying Hail Mary’s aloud while sound asleep! That is how I hope to be someday. Our baptism as Catholic Christians is both a privilege and a responsibility – let us not waste this short and transitory life on earth. Thank you for your continued prayers, and please know that you remain in mine!                        ~Sister Brianne Feldpausch
 

 
Thanks be to God for all the young people entering religious life/seminary from our parish! In September I completed four years living in Europe as a missionary Sister in the Institute Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará. First I was in Italy, then in the Netherlands for two years, and I am about to start my third year in Ireland. It has truly been an adventure that I never dared to dream of even as a teenager when I was picturing myself back packing across Europe. Sitting in Fowler High senior year I would often find myself day dreaming of Old Europe and I wanted to get to know it from the inside. I knew that my desire was rather unrealistic and that, at most, I would be able to see it as a tourist if I could save up enough money. Little did I know that God was planning exactly how to fulfill my longings and I can attest that His plans are always better than ours. Not only have I gotten to know other cultures, languages, customs, and landscapes, but I have had the best lens to look through: the faith. In Christian Europe I have seen much of the unspeakable beauty that made St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton abandon her American Protestantism and dedicate herself to God in His Catholic Church. Although Europe is suffering through a trial of faith right now I truly believe that Christ wants His Kingdom to have a renaissance in the hearts of these peoples. The Missionaries who have come here with Hope and Love are returning the favor done for us so many years ago when those holy missionaries came from Europe to bring the Good News to the New World. I am so blessed to have been called here to play my small part in the salvation of these beautiful souls. I thank you all for your prayers and support.                                      ~Sr. Holy Family
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Fr. Dennis

12/16/2019

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​Dear parishioners of MHT,
 
I want to take this opportunity to share with you how our parish has been doing this past year and give you a sense of what this year and next holds. Since October of 2018, we’ve had 36 Baptisms, 37 Confirmations and 13 weddings. We had 3 adults enter the Church through the RCIA (one catechumen and 2 candidates) and 22 funerals. We can also say that we have had an additional young woman enter religious life and continue to have three young men in the seminary.
 
Our financial picture is looking good. We ended our 2019 fiscal year in June with a fund balance of $586,839. This represents a slight decrease from last year but overall is a healthy number for our parish. The biggest reason for this loss has been a combination of the rising cost of health insurance and staff salaries. The average member of our staff has been here for over five years. I feel strongly that we have a great team here at Most Holy Trinity and I think it’s a priority to keep them here.
 
I am grateful that both the Finance Council and Pastoral Council has supported me with this vision. I’m grateful that you have all supported this as well as we continue to see our Sunday collection increase each year.
 
At the same time though, I want to ask every family in our parish to prayerfully consider if the Lord is calling you to give more. Our Finance Council projects that our slight loss this past year will grow this next year as our basic costs continue to rise. We are always looking for ways to cut costs in our budget, and can do that if needed, but as you will read below, we are excited about the direction our parish is going and feel like all of our expenses are necessary to continue our success.
 
I rarely speak about money and I’m very gratified and amazed by the generosity of so many parishioners during the Witness to Hope Campaign. But I am, at this time, going to ask you to pray about increasing your giving. If each family considered giving 3-5% more, that could provide us with an additional $20,000 - $30,000 for our budget and would be a huge help moving forward. So if your family gives $100 a month, that would be an additional $3-5 a month. I ask you to pray about this. 
 
Our financial picture clearly shows us that, despite the trends, there is a committed group of people here at the parish supporting the work of the Gospel. As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI predicted, the future right now may be a smaller, but more committed church.
 
What have we accomplished this year? This past year, as always, was a very busy year. Of course our Witness to Hope Campaign contributions continue to flow in. I want to remind everyone that we are almost 3.5 years into our 5 year campaign. We have currently received 70% of the pledges so we are making pretty good progress. You will remember that we resurfaced the parking lot, and now are well through our second goal, a new parish office. The cost of the new building is slightly higher than we had originally forecast. This is quite common with building projects. We had originally budgeted $150,000 but we will probably end up spending closer to $180,000. Our third goal is the reworking of the Activity Center. Our committee has been discussing plans and as this third project approaches, we will be providing information and images of what we hope to accomplish.
 
School Renovation Project: I’m sure most people are aware that we are doing some renovations at the school. We put in new windows this summer and began transforming our old computer lab into more office space. The cost of the renovations are being covered by school savings (donations over the years), approximately the first $75,000 and ETF reserves are covering the rest (estimated to be about $35,000).  Estimated completion date is January 6, 2020.
 
It is also worth noting that our school enrollment has increased to above 100 students this year. I’m grateful to Anne Hufnagel and our school staff for all their hard work.  We have an excellent school staff and I know our parents are pleased with the quality of education and faith formation our school provides.
 
Where are we heading/our vision for the parish? Scripture tells us: Where there is no vision, the people perish.”  (Proverbs 29:18) Our purpose for existence is to assist the faithful on their way to eternal life. We are called by Our Lord to invite people into a deeper relationship with Him and His Church. This is done by equipping the faithful. Through the Holy Spirit Encounters (with parishioners, young people and grade school students from our Catholic school and Religious Education program), Adult Retreats, Kerygma Retreats, and our youth ministry we’ve seen a lot of graces and fruits from these efforts as more people each year are growing in their relationship with Christ and experiencing His love.
 
As always, I want to thank everyone who has generously supported the parish this past year financially, with your time and gifts, and pray that you will continue to partner with us so that the Gospel can be proclaimed to our brothers and sisters.
 
God bless,
Fr. Dennis Howard, Pastor
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Fr. Dennis

12/9/2019

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​Mary in the Immaculate Conception and this Advent Season:
 
As Catholics we love and hold Mary, the Mother of God, in a special place in our hearts. The truth be told, left to her own power, Mary would be a sinner. Her holiness is the result of God's grace alone, a special gift from God. Does this mean that Mary did not need to be redeemed? No, she was redeemed or saved, in a special way – in the womb. We call it the Immaculate Conception. Why did God work this special act of grace in Mary? Her being kept from sin is about Christ. Mary always points to her Son Jesus, no matter what feast day of Mary we celebrate.
 
So Mary's Immaculate Conception is not an attempt to give honor to Mary for Mary's sake. It is actually necessity in order to maintain the teaching of the sinlessness of Jesus, the Incarnate Word. In the language of the church’s theology, Mary is kept from sin through the merit of the Cross her Son will bear, since the benefits of the Cross go out through history both forward and backward through time. How is this possible? God’s saving power has no limits. His grace is not limited to our human frailty or our human understanding of time and space.
 
When we look at the Preface (the prayer before the Eucharistic Prayer), of the feast we find two themes. I’m going to chop up the Preface to point them out:
 
1.  Mary points to who Jesus is:
“You allowed no stain of Adam’s sin to touch the Virgin Mary. Full of grace she was to be a worthy mother of your Son. Purest of virgins, she was to bring forth your Son, the innocent Lamb who takes away our sins.”
 
It would have been completely inappropriate for the Mother of the Second Person of the Trinity to have been under the reign of sin. In our time we have lost both a sense of sin and a sense of holiness, so that we may not feel or appreciate the urgency of sinlessness in the Mother of God.  Darkness and light cannot dwell together. By God’s grace, Mary was then to have been “a worthy mother of your Son.” In being the mother of God she was to be “purest of virgins to bring forth your Son.”
 
2. And second, the Preface says that Mary symbolizes what the Church is to become:
“[she is] Your sign of favor to the Church at its beginning, and the promise of its perfection as the bride of Christ, radiant in beauty. You chose her from all women to be our advocate with you and our pattern in holiness.”
 
Mary’s relationship to the Church, reminds us that the world that has no hope apart from God. The Immaculate Conception affirms that sin can be overcome, that the sin that weighs down the Church will be conquered by Jesus Christ, and the Church will one day be radiant in beauty. Mary is a pattern of the Church. What we see in Mary, is the perfection of the Church that is to come – when Jesus returns again, the Church and all Her members will be transformed by the power of the Resurrection. We will, as St. Paul tells us: “be like Him..” God’s plan is already visible in Mary; we wait for God’s salvation to clothe us perfectly too.
The feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates what God has done for the Church by giving it Mary as advocate and model of holiness, as well as the perfect holiness and beauty that God will eventually give to all the members of the Church.
 
On March 25th, 1858 the twelve-year old peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous felt drawn to the grotto where a beautiful lady had been appearing to her frequently since February 11th that year. Bernadette asked her who she was, and the lady in white said in the local dialect, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The barely literate Bernadette did not completely understand what Mary said, but the local clergy knew its significance. Only four years earlier Pius IX had defined the Immaculate Conception as a dogma of faith and clearly Mary herself was confirming this truth.
 
But we can go one step further. Given Mary’s total love of God, surely one of the gifts that she treasured most was to have always been in God’s love, never, even for an instant being separated from His love and grace. To have been sinless is not an achievement but pure gift. A gift of perfect love for the God she loved so perfectly is surely one of Mary’s deepest joys, and ours as well. And that’s our destiny in heaven, we will, like Mary experience the purest and most complete love of all, which will not longer be hindered by sin. Mary, Mother of God, who loves us with the purest love, pray for us. Make us love God and our brothers and sisters like you.
 
God bless, Fr. Dennis
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High School Ministry

12/2/2019

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Now that we are three months into the ministry year, we wanted to give a short update on High School Ministry since we started implementing some of the changes we talked about last fall. We have seen the Lord do some exciting things with the students so far this year and there’s a lot to be excited about moving forward. 
                                         
As we talked about at the beginning of the year, one of the key things we wanted to focus on was greater collaboration between religious ed and youth ministry. We realized that religious ed would benefit from more encounter opportunities and relationship building and youth ministry would benefit from more catechesis. Specifically, we strongly believe that if a student doesn’t have a personal relationship with God, then catechesis is largely ineffective, but without catechesis retreats and relational ministry lacks lasting depth. 

Perhaps the thing we’ve had the most success from this year has been the interviews for Confirmation preparation. We have met individually with many of the current freshman class and have had some really incredible conversations. We’ve been able to listen to students share about their relationship with God, their experiences and their struggles, and give them some concrete direction on how to grow closer to Him. We’ve helped students know how to respond to what the Lord is doing in their lives and sustain their relationship with God in the day-to-day outside of retreats and big events. Further, from those interviews we’ve been able to better understand the needs of the students and adjust our events and retreats accordingly. 

One of the best events we’ve had was the High School Encounter in September. These events are designed to be a combination of catechesis and encounter with a large group teaching, individual prayer, small group discussion, and then a time of Adoration and prayer teams. One of the students we meet with for Confirmation shared that they were able to take some of the ideas from the class portion and bring them to prayer in a meaningful way. Then another student shared how this event was a moment of encounter, of intimacy with the Lord, during a time of spiritual dryness since their last retreat.  

Another new event that we are excited to dive into is our Middle School Encounters. In our culture today, kids are coming to difficult questions sooner. “Is God actually real,” “Does God really love me,” “Why does God allow suffering,”etc. These realities need to be met with more than just teaching. They need to know in their hearts through an encounter with God, and currently few of our structures for middle school students include an opportunity to encounter the person of Jesus. With the help of volunteers in our prayer ministry and in our school, we are able to provide a time for 5-8 graders to sit with Jesus in adoration and to be prayed with. 

This encounter for the Lord open the students up to really receiving the teaching we have to give them in class. For example, since their day long retreat in October, where many students had a personal encounter with Jesus that they were hoping for, the 8th grade religious ed classroom has changed. The conversations in class have a new depth because the students are more open to being vulnerable about their thoughts during discussions and in times of prayer. It’s been very exciting to see and we can’t wait to walk with them and other middle schoolers through more of their journey with God.

Thank you for your prayers and support as we continue to help our students experience the transforming power of the Lord and grow in a personal relationship with Him. 

And as a quick reminder, our next High School Encounter is Sunday, December 8th at 6:30pm in the Activity Center. Also, the High School Retreat is December 13-15 at Camp Roger in Rockford (cost is $65), you can register for this retreat on the website: mhtparish.com/youth-ministry
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Contact Information:

​​545 N. Maple St.
Fowler, MI 48835

Parish Office Phone: (989) 593-2162
School Office Phone (989) 593-2616

​E-mail: office@mhtparish.com