MILESTONES AND CELEBRATIONS!
This Sunday is Father’s Day, and although the liturgy of the church of course does not take account of this secular American tradition, still we pause to pray for all our fathers as they strive to live out the challenges of their divine and human vocation. And we give thanks for all that we have received from our human fathers. Our parish mass this year will offer a unique way of reflecting on the spirituality of fathers. Don’t miss it! I can’t help but recall the wonderful prayer at Ephesians 3:14-21, acknowledging that all fatherhoods or lineages on earth take their name from the one Father above. While we might rightly shy away in our times from solely patriarchal references to God, it is a beautiful prayer for inner strength, wisdom, and love, which once again reminds us that our experience in our human relationships in our families reflects and reveals how the Holy Mystery relates in divine love to each of us.
Our parish has many milestones to mark this week. Last weekend I participated in the ordination to the Jesuit priesthood of Bobby Karle, SJ, son of parishioners Bob and Barbara Karle. He will serve at the Jesuit university parish in Ann Arbor this coming year. Seven other young men were ordained with him for our Midwest Jesuit Province, among a total of 25 Jesuits around the U.S. and Canada. This Sunday we’ll celebrate the baptisms of Adriana and Hunter (children of Christine and John Garcia), and Brinley (daughter of Joy and Curtis Larish). On Saturday, the funeral of Tony Tabaczynski, brother of parishioner Aaron Tabaczynski, will take place in our church. We pray for all these parish families as they celebrate God’s love manifest in these life transitions.
Another milestone of sorts: we now have 18 applicants for CLA, our Ignatian young adult leadership program. This is a remarkable grace for us given the pandemic circumstances. I can’t wait to introduce these outstanding emerging leaders to our congregation! Now that we know we have enough participants to proceed, we can still accept recommendations and applications for the remaining two openings; see details elsewhere in this eNews.
Finally, we look ahead to some upcoming milestone celebrations. On next Sunday, June 27, we’ll celebrate our parish patronal feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the 173rd anniversary of our parish. Come join us as we celebrate all the gifts we have received here, and ponder the call we have as a parish today. All are welcome to the picnic in the parking lot that will follow mass. See details elsewhere in this eNews. Tomorrow we honor “Juneteenth,” the anniversary of the end of chattel slavery in the U.S. – even while its sad consequences remain very much alive in our society today, a worthy challenge for us to address as disciples of Jesus. It is a small sign of hope and progress, however, that the day has just been declared a national holiday! Lastly, Independence Day will occur before our next issue of this eNewsletter – Happy Fourth of July to all of you, my fellow pilgrims on the road to the interior liberation and freedom that is the promised fruit of the spirituality of our pilgrim saint, Ignatius of Loyola.