This week our Diocese has designated this weekend as Safe Haven Sunday. The culture, and what technology has permitted to enter the home, has rapidly changed and we can feel very unequipped in knowing how to respond. Safe Haven Sunday is a diocesan-wide event to directly address the harms of pornography through teaching and resources that will support and protect individuals, marriages, and families in making all homes a safe haven. It will explain what steps to take to make sure our homes are a true safe haven. Places where we, and anyone in them, is aware of and protected from the darkness too easily found on the internet and many media platforms. I want this weekend to be a time of being better equipped, and a time of hope and healing for any ensnared in this insidious part of our world. In a world where we can feel such shame or hopelessness, Christ always brings light and healing!
I want to mention three upcoming discernment retreats for any man or woman who is feeling a call to religious life and wants to investigate further. For the young women the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, are hosting three different retreats:
November 4, 2023 February 10, 2024 April 13, 2024
The Sisters invite you to join them on a spiritual retreat that includes Holy Mass, Divine Office, Rosary and the opportunity to enjoy time with the Sisters. You will hear conferences given about Mary and the Eucharist, as well as on the specific theme of the retreat. Please note: Vocational Discernment Retreats are for young women between the ages of 16 (high school juniors) and 30.
There are two seminary visits coming up for the men who are discerning the priesthood. The first is for Junior and Seniors in High School and they will visit St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, MN on November 16-18, 2023. St. John Vianney is where I attended for my college. I went on a visit before entering and found it very helpful for answering questions. It was also very encouraging to meet men from all over the country who had the same goal—to know and do God’s will whatever it might be. You can use this QR code to register, or you can reach out to Fr. Mike Cassar, our Diocesan vocations director: mcassar@dioceseoflansing.org
The second seminary visit is for men college age or older and they will visit Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit on Jan 25-27, 2024. I attended Sacred Heart for my Theology after my four years at St. John Vianney. The formation at both Seminaries was excellent. We have been taking our school kids at our own Sacred Heart to see the seminary in Detroit. Because we have been blessed to have seminarians staying at our parishes, they have always been able to help give us tours and answer questions. You can use this QR code to register, or you can reach out to Fr. Mike Cassar: mcassar@dioceseoflansing.org
God Bless,
Fr. Todd
Pastor
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