Excerpted from “Leaflets” column

     The summer vacation season is upon us, a time when many of us find ourselves on the road in search of rest and recreation. This is good. This is healthy. We all need a break from our regular routines in order to feel refreshed and rejuvenated. There is so much to see of God’s endless variety of beautiful mountains, rivers, lakes, forests and seashores.

One thing to remember while away from home – while we may be on vacation, we are still obligated to celebrate Mass on Sundays. If you don’t know where the closest Catholic church is, you can check www.masstimes.org. This website provides the names, addresses and Mass schedule for churches and shrines across the county.

Attending Mass at a church away from home can offer a familiar feel to distant places. While some churches may have greeters at church doors to welcome people and other churches may encourage quiet arrival in preparation for Mass, the main elements to every Mass are the same. This can be a comfort to those visiting from afar.

The differences in Mass celebrations can be interesting. Some ethnic parishes may have music that is different from what you experience at home. Most priests have their own style of presenting a homily which can offer new perspectives on the Scripture of the Eucharistic celebration.

So, enjoy your time away, but be sure that you include Sunday Mass in your travel plans. That said, if you have more flexible schedule while on vacation than you have during your normal work days, that might make this the perfect time to attemd a weekday Mass or two. That certainly would be a blessing to you and your family.

… May God grant you abundant blessings - Father Thomas Heier, C.M.M.

Excerpted from “Our Family Album”

Tax Debt Difficulties

My donation is in honor of and promised to the great intercession of St. Therese the Little Flower for a tremendous favor received. While all the requests to Our heavenly Father have not as yet been received, I am very confident they will be.

I have very large tax debt owed. I could not see how I was going to get this matter resolved without tremendous sacrifice and a great loss to me. This was truly a God-size problem, so I prayed the novena to St. Therese and tried to remain confident as I prayed. That was not easy, as I was filled with doubt and at times, despair. But I continued the novena in spite of my fear and doubt.

On the last day of the novena as I was taking a relative to a medical appointment I just casually looked over to the car in the next lane as we waited for the traffic light to change. Much to my amazement (because initially it didn’t register to me about my novena), the car had a red rose on the upper side rear panel. There it was, as big as can be. Prior to my remembering my novena, as I sat there looking at the car, I thought, how could a person put a rose on their car?

Shortly thereafter my tax issues began to be favorably resolved. I have one last hurtle to go. My prayer was that I get the taxing authorities paid in full and it looks like this will be accomplished very soon. Praise and thank God for His great mercy and I am deeply grateful to St. Therese for her intercession in this matter.

The moral of the story is: There is nothing that God can’t handle if only we call upon His holy Name with faith and confidence - G.E.

Orange Roses Are

Requested as a Sign

This message is long overdue, but the words wouldn’t come easy.

In August of 2006 our son was deployed to Iraq for a 15-month tour. I was beside myself and started a novena to St. Therese asking for a sign of orange roses if our son was all right. Every week I received a sign in various forms, such as walking into a store and right there in front of me were orange roses, to going to an open house and the only plant growing was a rosebush with an orange rose blooming.

This went on from August of 2006 until his leave in March of 2007. When our son was back home for two weeks; even though I continued the novena, there were no signs of orange roses anywhere. I just figured it was because he was home and he was safe.

When his leave was up, he returned back to Iraq. For the next two weeks there were no orange roses at all. I knew he was going to be in a bad spot and things were not going well over there, but I still hoped and had faith that he was being taken care of.

Then on Apr. 23, 2007 we heard the news that our son had died. I never told anyone until after all the events took place that I had been making the novena to St. Therese and had asked for a sign of orange roses, but the first flowers to arrive that morning were three orange roses! I knew then and there that our son was being taken care of by Our Lord and that he was going to be all right!

Even though our prayers were not answered like we wanted them to be, God has a plan and we may not like it, but we should follow it. Faith is a tremendous healer of the soul and heart - Pam.

Excerpted from Father Engelmar Testimonies

There is now available a booklet of the life of Fr. Engelmar Unzeitig, C.M.M. You may receive a free copy of it by sending a stamped (postage for one ounce, currently 44 cents), self-addressed envelope to us at: LEAVES, P.O. Box 87, Dearborn, MI 48121-0087.

Venerable

Father Engelmar

In July of 2009 Pope Benedict promulgated a decree recognizing the heroic virtues of four Servants of God, and among them was our Fr. Engelmar Unzeitig. It means that now he has merited the title “Venerable” and deserves to be venerated with it.

The next title he may earn is Blessed, but to attain this, there must be an authentic miracle from God obtained through Fr. Engelmar’s intercession. Two apparent miracles have already been reported and submitted to the Holy See, and it will decide if one of them is truly authentic.

Once he is Blessed, he may earn the highest title of all: Saint. To attain this, there must be a second authentic miracle. Continue to pray to God that, if it is His will, Fr. Engelmar may eventually be declared a saint.