Original Bulletin Date
April 20, 2008
February 10, 2008
February 3, 2008
January 20, 2008
April 20, 2008
Worship Notes from the Mission
As promised, we are compiling an outline of the mission based on copious
notes taken by several people of Fr. Gallagher's lectures. We will have them
printed out in the next few bulletins.
Questing, Searching, Seeking God
Four dimensions of humanity – where in themselves that humans typically find
God.
1. In our Hearts — we are all searching for unity, intimacy, bonding and belonging.
a. St. Augustine tells us that God has placed the questing within the human heart of each soul and that soul will remain "restless until it rests in the Lord".
b. God sends people into our lives who become Christ's presence for us – who touch us and make the difference for us – draw us closer to Him.
c. Nothing we can do will take away the ultimate questing for God
d. God leads us to Himself through our hearts in a search for love.
2. In our Brains – our minds in search of truth – ultimate Truth is God.
a. some are given intellects that are eternally and insatiably searching to complete the picture
b. God touched St. Thomas Aquinas in his brain — he brought the Church to so much Truth
3. In our Conscience — some are led to God through their search for Justice
a. prime example – the prophets of the Old Testament – people of conscience, raised issues in their quest for justice
b. for some, injustice pricks and pricks our conscience until we must rise up and fight for what is right
c. not a single prophet died of old age
d. St. John the Baptist was be-headed followed by the Crucifixion of the Son of God Himself in the New Testament
e. we must be willing to pay the price too — Oscar Romero in San Salvador, Martin Luther King in the US paid the price for their fight for justice
f. all people of conscience need to be ready to pay the price – "they persecuted Me – they will persecute you"
g. Blessed Mother Theresa is a prime example of one willing to give up all to seek justice for Jesus in His people
4. In the Human Spirit — we want to be the best person we can be — we have an innate hunger for authentic holiness
a. God leads us to Himself in our desire to be holy
b. Marriage Encounter weekends — couples seeking rekindling of "fire" in their marriage — retouched and renewed to go home and work harder for their sacrament
c. We are tired of carrying around all the old "stuff' within — we desire wholeness and holiness, we want to "come home and get our lives together"
d. Teresa of Avila — St. John of the Cross — touched by God through the Human Spirit — brought about much needed reforms in the Carmelite Orders by tapping into the presence of the Holy Spirit within them!
More next week on relationships!
God bless all our families,
Mary Theisen.
February 10, 2008
Can you help once a month? There is an ongoing need to supplement the usher
program at all the weekend Masses, Holy-days, and also the upcoming Parish
Mission in April. Please see the Volunteer List in the Narthex and lend a hand.
This is open to all parishioners – teens and mature men and women. Appropriate
dress required.
God Bless your week,
Mary Theisen.
February 3, 2008
Lenten Reflections
If we think of saints only as those very famous people who have been
canonized by the church, we are missing some-thing. We all have our own saints –
all those in our own family and in our own parish who “have gone before us in
the sign of faith”. These are all the men and women, girls and boys, married,
single, religious, priests and even babies who have died and make up that part
of the family of God who are in heaven or in purgatory.
The people of God on earth are sometimes called the faithful, and those who have gone before us are called the faithful departed.
It’s a good description; because our people who have gone before us, these parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts, teachers, religious, and priests who have taught us and influenced us. All our saints not only have been faithful to us, but continue to be faithful to us.
It’s not just that we pray for them – they also pray for us and are near us in the love of God. Can you imagine our saints praying, saying the words for us “May they have rest and peace, and may the light of God’s love shine on them”?
But it is sin that disturbs the peace of our lives, of our minds and hearts, and it is sin that blocks out the light of God’s loving presence and makes us forget about God. When we think of our faithful people praying for us, we can be sure that their greatest desire is that we should be close to God, and through being close to God that we be close to them, too. As we celebrate Lent together as a parish, let us be lifted up in the arms of all our saints into the presence of God our Father who loves us and for-gives us and wants us to be fully and wholeheartedly reconciled with God and with each other. We need not be afraid, because forgiveness is only a request away. (Taken from a penitential service by Oliver Crilley)
Our Lady of Refuge has many opportunities in the next few weeks to receive God’s healing love in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Every Saturday, one of our faithful priests is in the church for individual confessions at 3:30 – 4:40pm. Keep checking the bulletin for times during Holy Week as our High Holy days draw near.
Don’t miss the opportunity to feel Jesus curing presence in this beautiful sacrament before our joyous celebration of Easter this year.
God Bless your Lent,
Mary Theisen
January 20, 2008
WORSHIP NEWS THANK YOU!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! We have so much to be thankful for these
days!
The Worship Commission would like to add their “thank yous” to all those who made the Advent and Christmas seasons such great celebrations for us here at Our Lady of Refuge!
We began with a crew the first week of December who came to change all the decor for Advent, a crew came for the parish Christmas Spruce up, a crew to take down Advent and decorate for Christmas, and finally last weekend after the Baptism of the Lord, a crew to take down Christmas decor, remove the lights out front and down by our new sign, put back into storage the crib out front and in the sanctuary, the tree, and of course, setting up and rearranging all those beautiful poinsettias from Just Add Water. (They were the prettiest and heartiest poinsettias we have ever had weren’t they? The Church was beautiful!)
How lucky we are to have so many parishioners, from so many parts of our parish - the School, the Religious Ed program, the Fellow-ships, the Parish Leaders, Mike Tokarz and his marvelous mobile, the Servers, the Lectors, the Ministers of the Eucharist, the Ushers, the Greeters, our Choir and all our music programs!
Thank you as well to Fr. McEnhill, Fr. Greg, and Fr. Simon for celebrating such blessed and Holy Masses with us! But especially thank you, Lord, for bringing together such a wonderful parish family!
How very blessed we are! In Jesus name we give thanks, Mary Theisen.
Home Bound Ministry
If you or a family member, need a Eucharistic Minister to come to your home
for a visit, or if you need a priest to celebrate the sacrament of the Anointing
of the Sick, please call the rectory at 248-682-0920 and your call will be
directed appropriately.
We have many Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist who do not yet have an assignment who would be honored to bring Holy Communion to you or your family member.
The other option is of course, that you would bring the Eucharist to your family member. We would be happy to teach you and your family the proper procedure.
It is a beautiful liturgy (prayer service) that can be learned quite easily. It only requires love of you for your family member, and a great love and respect for the Eucharist. The rest is teachable.
Don’t miss this opportunity to be in communion with the Lord and your parish family.
Mary Theisen
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Rev: 4/22/08