Easter III

In your charity, please pray for the repose of the soul of a SGG former parishioner who died suddenly in early April.:

Melissa Kunkel.

Melissa was 41 and the mother of 13 children.

Please keep her, her husband Tom, and her children in your prayers.

Father Cekada
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Ordination to the Subdiaconate of Rev. Mr. Nkamuke Okechukwu by Bp. Sanborn
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This school year we will be publishing daily sermons from the previous week:

Apr. 15, 2013: Blessed Peter Gonzalez by Fr. Lehtoranta
Apr. 16, 2013: St. Benedict Joseph Labre by Bp. Dolan
Apr. 17, 2013: Solemnity of St. Joseph by Bp. Dolan
Apr. 18, 2013: St. Joseph by Fr. Hecquard
Apr. 19, 2013: Pope St. Leo the Ninth by Fr. Lehtoranta
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zelusdomustuae
✠ The Bishop’s Corner ✠
It was cool and wet on Wednesday, the feast itself of St. Joseph’s Solemnity, with Solemn Mass sung by the still croaky-voiced Fr. Cekada, who has been sick with allergies since last weekend. Today he wings his way south to the seminary, and I hope he’s feeling much better.

Fr. Lehtoranta is celebrating the High Mass and preaching this morning. I am visiting St. Hugh of Lincoln in Milwaukee. We made a little pilgrimage yesterday to St. Joan of Arc chapel at Marquette University, as well as to visit a fine exhibit of Catholic art there, honoring Our Lady. We should do a museum visit here sometime with our young people, and our not so young. Our beautiful Catholic heritage surrounds us. We should celebrate it, and make it known, not just as art, but as the highest homage to God Who is beauty itself. We are created to praise and adore Him.

Fr. Guillaume Hecquard leaves us on Friday to return to his native France, and his active priestly apostolate, after a good stay with us here at St. Gertrude. Last Sunday he enjoyed a visit to Louisiana and the “other French” – the Cajuns, as he offered Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel. His English has improved, as has our French, “un peu.” The Abbé preached to the children here last Thursday.

Meanwhile, Fr. McKenna is taking Fr. Saavedra’s place for a week in Detroit, thus getting to know the Motor City and the fine faithful at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Fraser. Fr. Saavedra’s father is suffering from advanced prostate cancer, and needs the support of our prayers, as does the entire Saavedra family.

God bless captain Darlene and the devoted members of our Rosary Chain, who pray, sometimes daily, for the intentions of our church family. It is good to know that we have some place to go with our worries, petitions and needs. The Fathers remember them at the altar daily, and the faithful pray-ers in their Rosaries.

Our prayers certainly go these days to the Duff family, visited with so many and heavy crosses. Eileen’s father died last Sunday, and her brother has been diagnosed with cancer. John Weisman had a bad fall recently, but is still making it to Sunday Mass. Paulina was back after a long winter, also at the Sunday evening Mass. Let’s keep them, and all of our faithful faithful, faithfully in our prayers. This is one of the most important aspects of our church family life, and something we all can do.

The season of processions opens Thursday, with the Greater Litanies, just after the close of St. Joseph’s Octave. Friday is the feast itself of Our Mother of Good Counsel, who always provides for our needs. Saturday we must not forget Ohio’s own miracle-working Madonna, Our Lady of Consolation, whose little statue is on the Blessed Mother side of the sanctuary. Why not make it a Triduum of prayer for all of our family intentions and needs?

God bless our church family, and yours.
–Bishop Dolan