From the Pastor's Desk | July 27, 2025

St. Louis Center

As part of the annual Summer Mission Appeal, this weekend we welcome Fr. Satheesh Caniton Alphonse, SdC and Fr. Franklin A. Michael, SdC from the St. Louis Center in Chelsea, Michigan. Both are priests of the Servants of Charity. I am excited that they are here as they are two of my favorite people! Fr. Satheesh embodies the joy and enthusiasm of the Good News! The Servants of Charity are a blessing to the Diocese of Lansing and the great Metropolitan Province of Michigan. 

The St. Louis Center serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in an intentional, faith-based community. In 1958, Cardinal John Francis Dearden of the Archdiocese of Detroit entrusted to the Servants of Charity Congregation from Italy the administration and oversight of a new boarding school in Chelsea, Michigan for 60 boys with I/DD. St. Louis School was dedicated in 1961 and began its educational program with four priests, four Holy Family sisters, and five special education teachers.

Michigan’s Mandatory Special Education Act of 1971 became law in 1973, and the residents slowly began attending the Chelsea Public Schools. Public Law 94-142 was passed by the United States Congress in 1975, guaranteeing a free appropriate public education to each child with a disability. St. Louis School became St. Louis Center and entered a new phase of providing residential care and life skills training for its residents, opening AFC programs and accommodating residents older than eighteen years of age. The Knights of Columbus Hall and the chapel were built in 1970. St. Joseph Hall was opened in 1984 to provide young men more opportunities to develop their independent living skills. Major renovations of the main building took place in 1987.

Fr. Guanella Hall was added in 1988 for young adolescents then repurposed as an adult residence. In 2002, one wing of Fr. Guanella Hall was converted into a women’s program called “Our Lady of Providence.”

St. Louis Center has evolved over the past six decades (and counting) to meet the ever-changing needs of the individuals it serves. The Legacy Project launched in 2010 and is ensuring that the Center will be here for many years to come. St. Louis Center’s future looks to be as beautiful as its past.

The work of the Servants of Charity, particularly the St. Louis Center, hits close to home for a couple of reasons. First, our very own Jesse and Amy Lothamer’s daughter, Jackie, is a resident of the St. Louis Center. The Lothamer Family are devout Catholics, dedicated parishioners, and certainly friends of the St. Louis Center. Second, my cousin, Darrin Hudson, was himself a resident of the St. Louis Center. The St. Louis Center was a godsend for my Uncle Martin and Aunt Judy because without the St. Louis Center, the care for their son was more than questionable. In their advanced ages they could no longer offer the care he required. 

I ask you to pray about a gift to the St. Louis Center and beg you to be generous. I cannot say enough about the work the Servants of Charity do and am more than happy to share the generosity of this great parish with them. You can make a gift using the envelopes provided or via online giving through the link specifically set up for the Summer Mission Appeal. As Blessed Solanus Casey reminds us, thank you ahead of time! 

Gospel Reflection

There’s a story of an older man who would spend much time in the church day after day. One day, while he was with his friends, his friends chided him a bit for all the time he spent in the church. They asked him why he spent so much time in church. He responded simply by saying, “I pray.” Again, the teasing continued with someone saying, rather sarcastically, “You must have a lot to pray for.” The man responded again by saying, “No. I look at him and he looks at me.” I think that is a rather good definition of prayer - I look at him and he looks at me. 

Deep within the human heart everyone longs to be seen, known, heard, and loved. The God of the Universe - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - longs to gaze with delight on his highest creation, us humans. Think of a father gazing with delight upon his children as they play on the living room floor. That is precisely what the Father longs to do with us - simply gaze with delight upon his children. That is prayer! 

Our readings today remind us of the importance and necessity of prayer. We long to be near the ones we love. We might profess our love of God but do we spend time with him in prayer? Do we believe that prayer fosters our relationship with God? Do we believe that prayer is efficacious? Do we believe, and live as though we believe, that prayer is necessary? 

St. Theophan the Recluse is a saint in the Orthodox Tradition. He was a Russian bishop who lived throughout the 19th century. He was instrumental in translating the Philokalia. The Philokalia is a classic of Orthodox spirituality, composed of collected works of a number of Church Fathers in a four volume set. St. Theophan’s life work consisted of cultivating the interior life and the importance of continuous prayer.  He defined prayer as standing before God with the mind in the heart and doing so until the end of one’s life. That is a great definition of prayer. 

St. Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, exhorts each of us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). How are we to pray without ceasing? Another Russian work, The Way of the Pilgrim, I highly recommend you read! The book recounts a mendicant monk’s journey while practicing the Jesus Prayer as a way to pray without ceasing; as a way to stand before God with the mind in the heart until the end of one’s life. What is the Jesus Prayer? The simple and continuous repetition quietly in one’s heart and mind, Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. In this simple prayer we acknowledge a number of things: 

• We acknowledge Jesus as Lord - the one who has power and authority; the one through we were created; the one who will one day judge us

• We acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God, the Son of the Father, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity

• We acknowledge who we are before the almighty Lord - sinners in need of mercy

• We ask for the mercy of God to be bestowed upon us

There is a lot that we confess by practicing that simple prayer! And, as we come to understand in The Way of the Pilgrim, we strive to continuously repeat this prayer throughout our day(s) so as to live up to Paul’s exhortation and embrace the importance of continuous prayer.

Bishop Kalistos Ware, one of the better known Eastern Orthodox bishops, in a lecture spoke to the absurd idea of a “prayer life.” We use that phrase rather colloquially. However, do we speak of a breathing life? Breathing is necessary for life to continue yet we don’t even think about it or talk about it. Yet, we speak of our “prayer lives” as if prayer was something ancillary to our lives. That is not an adequate understanding of prayer. In fact, it is a dangerous understanding of prayer. Like breathing, prayer is necessary for the soul because by our very lives we continuously participate in the life of God. Prayer is just as necessary as breathing to sustain our lives in Christ.

A couple more suggestions to foster our prayer… 

The acronym ACTS is another method of praying. ACTS stand for:

• Adoration - We begin our prayer by giving praise to God, acknowledging who he is - his attributes and character, recognizing his greatness and worthiness. 

• Confession - We honestly confess our sinfulness, mistakes, shortcomings and our genuine need for mercy.

• Thanksgiving - We call to mind the blessing God has bestowed upon us, seeing everything we have as gifts. We offer gratitude to God for the myriad blessings in our lives. 

• Supplication - like Abraham in the first reading, we present our needs and requests, the needs and requests of others, the needs and requests of the Church to the almighty Creator in a spirit of trust.

Finally, like the older man in the story at the beginning of the reflection, I encourage each of you to spend time in quiet Eucharistic adoration on Fridays standing before God with your minds in your hearts allowing yourselves to look at God and, at the same time, allowing God to look at you. 

Know of my prayers for you all! 

Fr. Ryan