As a Church, we pray for one another that the Lord continues to bless, guide, strengthen, and console us. One incredibly beautiful and ancient way we can pray for someone is to have a Mass offered for that person. It is a holy and devout practice to have Masses offered for a loved one, living or deceased. Masses may be offered on any day, but many offer them on a birthday, anniversary, or for a special need. To learn more about Mass Intentions, or to schedule a Mass Intention online, visit our website at https://stcatherinesiena.org/massintentions. Please click on the article title to view the Mass Intentions for May 8-May 16, 2021.

If you use ACH, Vanco, or bank checks to donate to the parish, and do not wish to receive “special envelopes” please contact Marianne in our Front Office (mverner@stcatherinesiena.org or 978-2340) and she will take you off the list to receive the envelopes. Thank you for helping us stay “green!” Interested in learning more about the many ways you can donate to the parish electronically or automatically? Please check out the giving page of our website for details on online giving, text-to-give, ACH, and more: https://stcatherinesiena.org/give.

Since 2000, our parish has been supporting our sister parish in El Sitio, El Salvador. Our mission is to foster a deeper understanding, solidarity, and community with our Sister Parish to improve the health of the villagers, the education of their youth, and the economic sustainability of their community. Today the village is made up of about sixty families, consisting of less than 300 residents. El Sitio is a farming village and the food grown on their land provides for their livelihood. Many farming and daily living activities are performed without the modern conveniences we are fortunate to have. Despite the physical poverty, there is a richness of spirit and love among the people who hope for a better tomorrow. We encourage you to learn more about the many ways we are supporting our sister parish on our section of the website: https://stcatherinesiena.org/el-sitio-el-salvador-our-sister-parish. If you have any questions about the ministry, or would like to join in the cause, please contact Avril Leach at 269-998-5978.

Dear Parishioners, It’s 1st Communion time! This will be our second season of celebrating the Sacraments during pandemic times. Similar to what we did last year, that means that we will have to limit the number of guests at each 1st Communion celebration and spread out our students and their families over several Masses and several weeks. Of course, our students learned in a virtual format this year. Starting this weekend, we will have 1st Communions celebrated at both the 4:00 pm Saturday evening Mass and the 5:00 pm Sunday night Mass for the next several weekends (no 1st Communions have been scheduled for Memorial Day weekend). We will also be live streaming these Masses so that family members who are some distance away may participate in these 1st Communion celebrations. Please be aware of this when you are planning what Mass you attend and keep these students in your prayers as they prepare for their special day! We are now several weeks into our 2021 Bishop’s Appeal. Hopefully everyone has received their personalized pledge card and packet from the Diocese. The format for the Bishop’s Appeal is back to the normal time of the year and goals. Please help support our seminarians, our Catholic Charities and other ministries that this appeal sponsors each year. I ask each and every family to prayerfully consider a pledge to the Bishop’s Appeal. Your donation will make a difference. A special thank you to those who have already pledged and helped us begin this campaign. One final note, thank you all for your continued support of our St. Catherine’s Staff and many volunteers who truly work hard each week to make sure that everyone stays safe during this pandemic. We will continue to do as we have done with requiring masks, cleaning and sanitizing, and doing our best to maintain social distancing at Masses. We are glad that you are able to join us in person for Mass and look forward to the day when this pandemic passes us by. Thanks for reading! Fr. Mark