Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,                  I am very happy to welcome Fr. Matthew Bonk this weekend.  We parish-swapped for the weekend—I am up in Flint covering his parishes so he can be with us to celebrate Mass and invite everyone to the Lenten mission each evening Sunday-Tuesday.  A reminder that Fr. Matthew is also going to be celebrating a bonus Mass followed by breakfast, with a time for Q & A on Monday morning at St. Mary on the Lake, at 9:30.  His p

Dear St. Mary on the Lake and Sacred Heart,                  We now have Votive Candles at both Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake.  What is the meaning of Votive Candles?  “Votive comes from the Latin votum, meaning promise, dedication or simply  ‘ prayer. ’  It reinforces the idea that the candles represent our prayers before God.  As humans, we are body and soul and our prayers often need to be expressed in a physical, tangible way. … Similar to incense, the light of th

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,   Lenten Mission : Our Lenten mission is coming up if you don’t already have it on your calendar!  March 8 th , 9 th , and 10 th  at 6:30pm at Sacred Heart with a bonus Mass and Breakfast at St. Mary on the Lake on Monday, March 9 th  at 9:30am.  Confessions will be available on Monday, March 9 th  at the evening Mission service.   If you have already stumbled in your Lenten resolutions please don’t give up!  I always think that thi

Dear St. Mary on the Lake and Sacred Heart,             It is hard to believe Lent is upon us but it will start this coming Wednesday.  I pray each of us can embrace this Holy Season where we make room Jesus to enter our life more fully.             Lent can be a challenging season- I want to enter into it but finding really meaningful ways to do so in a life that is already pretty full can be challenging.  That simple realization can be one of the good but hard graces of thi

Dear St Mary on the Lake and Sacred Heart,   2026 Lenten Mission :  We will be hosting Fr. Matthew Bonk for a Lenten Mission this year March 8 th -10 th .  The theme for this Mission is Hope in the Holy Spirit: New Life During Lent.  For the sake of a larger space, as we will be inviting neighboring parishes, the mission will be held at Sacred Heart.  I would love for everyone to take part in this great opportunity.  Please consider who you can invite to come with you. Each e

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,             I will be gone this week (Mon-Fri) for my conference with the Institute of Priestly Formation.  As usual I will be out at Mundelein Seminary in Northern Illinois.  We will have our usual Masses throughout this week while I am gone. Now some random things:             DMI- Discipleship Maker Index Survey :  This will be the third time the Diocese has asked our parishioners to take this survey to get a sense of the parishe

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,             We celebrate Catholic School’s week starting this Sunday!  Following the 11am Mass this weekend at Sacred Heart we will have our annual open house.  It is a great time for all families to come by and see our beautiful school.  Families who already have children attending but will have some younger kids starting next year, new prospective families, and our many beloved benefactors.  If you have never been over to the sch

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,             I want to continue this weekend about the goodness of marriage and the importance of our prayers for those preparing for marriage.  As I said in last week’s bulletin, I applaud the courage of these young couples bucking the societal trends to simply not get married at all.             There are things every couple will need to confront along the way.  One very common reality is cohabitation (living together before marria

Dear St. Mary on the Lake and Sacred Heart,             As we enter into this new year one of the things I am excited for is the number weddings we have coming up.  We have a nice number of young couples inquiring about getting married and actively preparing for this great sacrament.  There is a tremendous cultural pressure against getting married at all, and if they are looking to get married, then pressure against getting married in the Church.  I am the more edified then b

Dear St. Mary on the Lake and Sacred Heart,                A Blessed 2026!  I am excited for the New Year and all that it holds. A few events that I would like to highlight that will be coming up so you can get them on your calendar. •     Youth Appreciation Night hosted by the Knights of Columbus- Sacred Heart, Jan 17 at 6pm. •     Trivia Night - Hosted at Sacred Heart Jan 24 at 6pm. •   Bible Study focusing on the “I am” Statements of Jesus.  Jesus’ seven statements are “I

Dear St. Mary on the Lake and Sacred Heart,                A Blessed 2026!  I am excited for the New Year and all that it holds. A few events that I would like to highlight that will be coming up so you can get them on your calendar. •     Youth Appreciation Night hosted by the Knights of Columbus- Sacred Heart, Jan 17 at 6pm. •     Trivia Night - Hosted at Sacred Heart Jan 24 at 6pm. •   Bible Study focusing on the “I am” Statements of Jesus.  Jesus’ seven statements are “I

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,                    We celebrate this weekend the feast of the Holy Family.  A great way to celebrate this feast day is to revisit the famous phrase “The family that prays together stays together” popularized by Fr. Patrick Peyton.  (His own story is rather amazing- use this link if you want to learn more about his life: https://www.fatherpeyton.org/  )                  This weekend let us examine how we are praying together as a fam

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,             A very Blessed and Merry Christmas this coming week!  I look forward to seeing everyone for our Christmas Masses.                 As we enter into the celebration of Christmas, I want us to protect the spirit the season cultivates- a sense of yearning, of hope, of expectation, of searching.  This is a critical spiritual sense for us for it means we always looking for God.  It means we will not settle for anything less th

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake, As we continue through our season of Advent preparing our lives to receive Jesus more fully, I want to share the Litany of Trust, written by Sr. Faustina Maria Pia, a Sister of Life.   From the belief that I have to earn Your love  … Deliver me, Jesus (repeat after the following) From the fear that I am unlovable  … From the false security that I have what it takes  … From the fear that trusting You will leave me more destitute  … F

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,             I hope you are having a Blessed Advent.  Of all the seasons I think that Advent is the one most underexperienced.  With all of our Christmas plannings and parties that happen even before Christmas happens it tends to get lost.  The frenetic pace of life is the opposite of the sense the season should have.             That being the case Advent requires fighting for it a bit more than the other seasons.  What do we have t

Dear St. Mary on the Lake and Sacred Heart,             As we begin this Holy Season of Advent, I want to share one of my favorite reflections on this season.  It comes from St. Bernard of Clairvaux: “W e know that there are three comings of the Lord. The third lies between the other two. It is invisible, while the other two are visible. Three Comings of the Lord In the first coming he was seen on earth, dwelling among men; he himself testifies that they saw him and hated him

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,             I will be taking off three days this week, (Mon-Wed), for hunting camp with two of my brothers, Fr’s Gary and Randy.  We will do our best to defend our farmer’s crops and everyone’s cars.  A tough job, but we force ourselves to do it every year!    I always appreciate the story of St. Hubert, patron Saint of Hunters as many of us head out to the woods.   “Born around 705 A.D., St. Hubert was quite the playboy. As nobilit

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,              I will be taking the 5 th  and 6 th Graders from Sacred Heart this Tuesday to the St. Louis Center in Chelsea.  The St. Louis center serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in an intentional, faith-based community.  It is run the Servants of Charity.  I am grateful for the good work they do upholding and protecting the dignity of those our world so often looks past.  I am grateful for our ki

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,             I am looking forward to the School Gala this upcoming Saturday, Nov 8th- always such a great event celebrating and supporting our school.  As of your reading this, I don’t know if any tickets are left or not, but you can check with the parish office.  I hope to see you there!               November is the solemn month of the year in the Church when we specifically remember and pray for those who have died.  Because Novem

Dear Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake,             This weekend I want to give some updates on various projects at both parishes.  The first word is Thank You for your generosity that makes all of these things possible!             At St. Mary on the Lake the redone landscaping and electrical work finished so nicely – our grounds are beautiful.  We are well along in the process of purchasing a small parcel of land that part of our Stations of the Cross are on.  In the re