Have you ever heard of the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit? Click on the article title for a great article from uCatholic about what the gifts of the Holy Spirit are, and how we can use them.

Don't run away! Confessions aren't that bad. Join the priests every Saturday from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm in the church parking lot for Drive-thru confessions. Jumping the rectory fence is NOT necessary or required =) (Photo courtesy of Father Mark and an early morning visitor to the rectory)

Thank you to our Respect Life Ministry for getting the "Mary Garden Clean Up" project up and running! With their help and other volunteers stepping up, we have a great start to a whole new garden coming your way soon. If you would like to donate towards the planting, please contact Joon Park at [email protected].

Dear Parishioners, Thank you to everyone who came out last weekend for our first Parish Picnic in a long time. We had a wonderful time and we look forward to having another social event soon! This weekend our Diocese begins the Jubilee Year of the Holy Spirit. It began yesterday with the feast of the Patron of our Diocese, St. Augustine. This year will continue until the feast of Pentecost in 2022 (June 5). In a special way as a Diocese, we are joining together in prayer to call upon the Holy Spirit to guide us and descend upon the entire Diocese. An introduction video by Bishop Bradley was released this past week and can be viewed on the Diocesan website (just click on the article title to watch the video) to explain this special year that is before us. As we begin this Jubilee Year, I encourage you to pray for all your priests during these upcoming months. This is helpful to us in our ministry; prayers support us and guide us in our work each day, especially when the numbers of priests are fewer than we had before. May the Holy Spirit also call more men and women to consider a vocation to the priesthood or the religious life. I hope that the weeks and months ahead of us in this Jubilee Year will be a fruitful time for all of us. Come Holy Spirit, be with us and guide us always! It’s also time for another school year! We all know that the last several school years have been very unusual because of the pandemic. As this next academic year begins, may we keep in prayer all our students, teachers, and staff. Thanks for reading! Fr. Mark

Bishop Bradley has written a new Pastoral Letter for the Jubilee Year of the Holy Spirit. Please click on the article title to read this letter or visit https://diokzoo.org/holy-spirit. Bishop Bradley has also posted a YouTube video introducing the Jubilee Year of the Holy Spirit. Please visit https://youtu.be/lbcwEAicg20 to watch this video.

In this Sunday's Gospel reading we return to the Gospel of Mark. Here we see the controversy starting between Jesus and the Jewish Elders that ultimately leads to His crucifixion. The Pharisees ask why Jesus’s disciples do not observe the strict Jewish laws of hand washing and other purification rites. To the devout Pharisee, not doing so meant you were impure and your faith was defective. Jesus, however, challenges this narrow viewpoint. He was not asserting it was wrong to clean one’s hands or vessels. Instead, Jesus wanted them to remove the petty jealousies, cruelties, and pride lurking in their hearts that no ritual washing could erase. Jesus tells them that the true test of faith is not what was contaminating them from the outside but what was coming from within. As we reflect on this reading today, may we also ponder what lies hidden in our own hearts rather than what’s on the “outside.” Jesus summarized his teaching when He quoted Isaiah: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.” Where are our hearts? For more information about this weekend's readings, please click on the article title to visit the Loyola Press website.

Did You Know? You may have heard the word "charism" before, but do you know what it is? How do charisms relate to our spiritual gifts and religious orders? Click on the article title for an article from Busted Halo with a great explanation of charisms!

Msgr. Gene Sears passed away yesterday evening. Funeral arrangements are currently pending. For more information, please click on the article title to read the Facebook post from the Diocese of Kalamazoo.

Bev & Jim Rindler were married on August 12, 1978. Practically the first thing that they did after their honeymoon was to join St. Catherine. Bev has a beautiful voice and a love for singing and wanted to give it back to the Lord. Since then she has been a part of our music ministry in different roles. But over the years she did not only just give back with her voice she has volunteered in numerous different ministries: Bible Studies, catechist, working in our kitchen, assisting with Family Fuel week once a month. She currently is still active on our Bereavement Team, Prayer Line, Eucharistic Minister, and visiting the homebound when it is open. Quietly on the sidelines, you will find Jim counting the parish collections or being a Eucharistic Minister. For the past 43 years, this couple and their two sons have worshipped and helped this church with its needs. But they also were Natural Family Planning Instructors and were on part of the Marriage Discovery Weekend. With grateful hearts, we thank them for administering to the needs of this parish and our Diocese. If you have any questions on any of these volunteer roles and you see them stop and ask them. These prayer warriors would also consider a prayer said in their name a gift of love.

Did You Know? Why Do We Have Pews in Church? Here's an interesting article from uCatholic to explain why, and WHEN, the Church started using pews.

Happy Monday! Today, please enjoy this brief video by Matthew Kelly on the meaning of life. Click on the article title to view the full post or visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXLxalAAoOo to watch the video directly.

Dear Parishioners, You may have noticed that my profile picture on my column has changed again. It’s construction time in Marian Hall and in particular, the renovation of the kitchen. The hard hat is from one of my former parish renovation projects. After the initial planning and donations for this project were led by Fr. Ken, I had to pause the project during the days of the shutdown and the uncertainty that followed. We were finally able to put this project back on track. Just a few weeks ago, we received our final approvals from the City of Portage to start the project. Demolition has been done and the different trades have been in to start on their area of the project. Of course, everyone wants to know when construction is going to wrap up and we can begin using Marian Hall and the kitchen again. We will have to wait several more weeks before we can begin to answer this question because we know that everything takes a little longer now. As we reach some significant points in the construction, I’ll make sure to keep you informed. In one of my future columns, I will introduce you to the scope of work that is being done and what to expect to see when we re-open this area. Everyone is invited to a special Mass for the Jubilee year of the Holy Spirit in the Diocese of Kalamazoo, celebrated at the Cathedral on August 28, the Feast of St. Augustine, at 10:00 am. It’s Picnic Day! Please come and join us this Sunday afternoon, August 22, for our Parish Picnic! Food will be served from 12:30 –2:30 pm in the Stanley Centre. There will be games and other fun events until 3:30 pm. Hope you can attend! Thanks for reading! Fr. Mark

This Sunday’s Gospel reading comes again from the Gospel of John. On previous Sundays, we have focused on the Bread of Life Discourse where Jesus has insisted that His disciples must eat His flesh and drink His blood. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” But in today’s Gospel, Jesus observes that many are murmuring about this difficult mystery and even begin to turn away and leave Him. Jesus turns to His twelve apostles and asks a key question, “Do you also want to leave? Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” Nearly 2,000 years later, we still have those who murmur and even walk away from the Church. Sometimes we are not certain what our lives mean or in what direction they are going. Especially in dark and difficult times, maybe our own doubts overwhelm us and we would like to just give up. And yet, just as Peter responded, where else can we go? Jesus is asking us to trust Him in faith. Do we have the courage to keep walking with Him even when there are no miracles happening, even if we desperately need one? Ponder these things in your heart. For more information about this weekend's readings, please click on the article title or visit https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/liturgical-year/sunday-connection/21st-sunday-of-ordinary-time-b-sunday-connection/.

As the Church continues to move through Ordinary Time, you might have wondered why the Church uses the color green during Ordinary Time. Click on the article title or visit https://simplycatholic.com/color-for-ordinary-time/?fbclid=IwAR0GrfuhNQvH8bqvlPfkz5_yAyXl9RnvE7ER7POzoM-luoPsP1Q2fWBvUcs for a quick read from Simply Catholic to learn more!

Have you ever walked into the church and just smiled from the joy of your surroundings. Arlene Pyke, a member here since 1975, helps to put that smile on your face and God’s. She leads a small group of volunteers in taking care of the plants in our church. She organizes the group to meet to take care of changing the decorations in the parish as the liturgical year changes. One of Arlene’s bucket lists goals when she retired from Education was to become a Certified Master Gardner. Once retired she started taking classes and became certified in 2012 and our parish is enriched by this skill set. When the church was in the preparation stages for renovation she was on the committee to make banners. Arlene graduated from Western Michigan University with a Master’s degree in Speech & Language Therapy. Using her teaching experience here at the church, she taught religious education and was on the religious education committee in the ’70s and ’80s. Arlene is a mother of two sons and has two grandsons. At times you will see them in the church helping her do a joy job. Some of the other jobs she has volunteered for over the years are working in the Mary Garden, Recipes for Change, Marketplace, and sewing altar cloths, banners, and flags. If you see Arlene in the church, tell her "hi", give her a pat on the back, or better yet say a prayer that God continues to keep giving her the desire to help our beautiful church and the health to keep doing it. If you would like to hear more on the Arts and Environment ministry please call our office (327-5165 ) or email us ([email protected]) and we will connect you with Arlene. Thank you, Arlene, for your selfless dedication to our parish, and to keeping our church beautiful!

You’ve heard us ask before, but we still need parishioners willing to Usher on a regular schedule or step in on an occasional basis. You can volunteer as much or as little as you want. Please contact Alana at [email protected] for more information. Thank you for helping us with this important Ministry!

Please click on the article title for a fabulous quote from Scott Hahn's book, “Hail, Holy Queen” (find the book at bit.ly/2OvkBLZ). Happy Monday!

In response to requests for clarification regarding information and exemptions in relation to the COVID 19 vaccine, Bishop Bradley has written a Letter to the Faithful. You can read Bishop Bradley's letter here: https://bit.ly/BPJBVaxExempt. The letter also references a letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) published last December which clearly articulates the position of the Church regarding the morality of some COVID-19 vaccines. You can read this letter here: https://bit.ly/CDFVaccines.

Dear Parishioners, This weekend, the Church celebrates the special solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This year, we will have a separate holy day celebration. However, our Sunday celebration recognizes that special day where our Lady was assumed into Heaven both body and soul. The Mother of God, born without sin, would receive a special place in Heaven for the role she accepted to fulfill God’s plan for the salvation of the world. One day, we also hope to be greeted by her when we are able to reach the joys of Heaven. As our seminarians are preparing for another academic year, the Bishop announced where our seminarians will be this year. We will have four in Detroit at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. Three seminarians will be at a college seminary program in Minnesota. One additional seminarian will be on a pastoral year. If you have seen photos, or counted up the number of seminarians we have had the past few years studying for the Diocese of Kalamazoo, you may notice that these numbers are up. Please keep these men in your prayers each day and continue your prayers that more will answer the call, perhaps even someone from our own St. Catherine parish community. Finally, we are just one week away from our 2021 Parish Picnic. Please join us for this event next weekend from 12:30 pm until 3:30 pm. Food and non-alcoholic beverages are provided. For more information, contact [email protected]. Thanks for reading! Fr. Mark

Have you ever heard of Lectio Divina? Do you know what it is? Click on the article title for a great explanation of Lectio Divina and steps to help you grow closer to God through word and prayer.