This Sunday afternoon I will be able to baptize my newest niece, little Gemma. It is always such a blessing to be able to celebrate these sacraments for my own family. My brother and I have been taking turns. God willing, when Randy is ordained in 3 years, we will probably need to let him take over for a while …
We have a couple of fun parish events coming up. First will be the parish picnic that will be hosted at St. Mary on the Lake. It will be from 10:30am to 2pm on Sunday, August 7th. Look to the flyers at the Parish or the website for information on the food available for purchase and desserts that will be provided. There will be a dunk tank that myself and the seminarians will take turns manning. I will need to see if Fr. Ginu is also interested! It will be a fun time for all ages. I am so happy we can get these events going again. I hope to see you there!
The second event coming up is the Youth Group Mass and Hiking day on August 13th. We will be gathering at Sacred Heart at 8am to carpool over to Lost Nations State Game Area in Pittsford for the hike. We will hike to Silas Doty’s cave. (Silas Doty was an infamous criminal in the mid-1800s and was said to have used the cave for hiding stolen goods. Here is a link to his story if you are so interested: https://hillsdalecollegian.com/2017/02/criminals-cave-hillsdale-county/ ). The cave is down in a ravine by a stream with a nice flat area where we can celebrate Mass. We will be back to Sacred Heart by 11am where we will end with lunch.
If there is inclement weather that day we will gather at Sacred Heart and we will celebrate Mass in the Church followed by activities in the Parish Hall.
This hiking trip is inspired by Pope John Paul II. He loved taking hiking and canoeing trips and would celebrate Mass with the group on the back of an upturned Canoe. (This is a picture of him camping with one group. He is the man in glasses looking at the camera.) Later on, as Pope, he started World Youth Day that has been so impactful for Catholics all over the world. I am looking forward to our own day - Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake style.
I hope you are being refreshed this summer!
God Bless,
Fr. Todd
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