From the Pastor's Desk | June 15, 2025

The Month of the Sacred Heart and Navigating Pride Month as a Catholic 

The month of June has been consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for centuries. The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, which falls on June 27, is a reminder that God has chosen to love us not in a far-off, distant manner, but in an intimate way. We are loved by the human heart of Jesus. Being a human heart, it knows our hurts, fears, joys, and hopes. But it is God’s heart, so it has an infinite capacity to love each of us infinitely. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a reminder that God is close to us in every moment and in every situation…

I encourage you to read the rest of the article about how we, as Catholics, can navigate Pride Month. Fine the link here: https://www.detroitcatholic.com/voices/how-to-navigate-being-catholic-during-pride-month

A portion of the article is reprinted above with the express permission of the author, Fr. Steve Pullis, of the Archdiocese of Detroit. 

Thank You

Thank you to the Knights of Columbus, the Council of Catholic Women, and everyone who had a hand in helping pull off such a great parish picnic! It was exceptional and such a fun time to just relax and enjoy the manifold blessings God has bestowed upon St. Martha Parish and School. This is an amazing parish, and we should be proud! 

Congratulations Fr. Jack Jobst! 

Congratulations to Father Jack Jobst who was ordained to the sacred order of presbyter on June 14 by Bishop Earl Boyea! Father Jobst will celebrate Mass for us on Sunday, June 22, at 8 am and 10 am. Following both Masses, light receptions will be held in the parish hall where parishioners can offer congratulations, give him cards, etc. The parish, the Council of Catholic Women, and the Knights of Columbus gifted Father Jobst a chasuble (the one he will likely wear on June 22) with an inscription of his ordination date and a Papal Blessing.

Saturday, June 21 Eucharistic Procession

Bishop Boyea will preside over Mass at Jackson Field (Lansing Lugnuts) on Saturday, June 21 and then lead a Eucaristic procession to the state capitol. All are invited to take part in this event. More details can be found online here.  

Rest

The time following Easter is always an extremely busy and exciting time in the life of the Church - first Holy Communion, Confirmation, end of school activities, ordinations, first Masses, etc. In addition, there have been a number of other events on my calendar not necessarily pertaining to the parish but pertaining to the wider Church like the Protect Life Michigan dinner. In addition to all of that, we continue to work behind the scenes to make the construction of new classrooms a reality, we are onboarding a new employee, and will be rearranging the offices over the next several weeks.  

I mention all of this to say that I am tired and am looking forward to some rest. Please do not be surprised if I am not as available throughout the summer as I normally would be. And, I apologize if I have been slow to respond to emails and phone calls. Like I said, it has been an extremely busy six to seven weeks. 

Gospel Reflection

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Last year, I made an attempt to explain our Trinitarian doctrine that we profess each Sunday at Mass, I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I’m not sure how well I did in that attempt as explaining the Trinity is exceedingly difficult.

I think the question for us this week is simply, is belief in the Triune God integral to Christianity? The answer to that question is a resounding YES! The third person the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is explicitly revealed to us in the New Testament. Last week, we celebrated the Solemnity of Pentecost commemorating that day when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles giving them the power and strength to make Jesus Christ known to all the nations. 

So, why is the Trinity so important to us here and now? For several reasons but, for brevity’s sake, let me just mention one way. The Trinity reveals something about God to us. We live in a world that is so power hungry and power focused; a world that is very ego centric; a world that thrives and celebrates autonomy. These characteristics of the world in which we live are antithetical to the God revealed to us in the Trinity. 

It has been revealed to us in both Scripture and Tradition that God is love itself. If God did not exist as a Triune God, it raises the question how can God love? If God were mono-personal then God cannot be loving. Before creation, God could not have loved. Rather, He could only love Himself which is the definition of egotism. This leads to the priority of the self over and above anyone or anything else. 

We understand, through Divine Revelation, God to be love precisely because God exists as three persons in a relationship of pure love. The love between the Father and the Son generates the third person of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit which proceeds from the Father and the Son as gift to each one of us. The Holy Spirit creates space for us within God and allows us to cry out, Abba Father! “God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father! (Galatians 4:6). 

It has been revealed to us that we are created in God’s image and likeness. What is God? A relationship of persons. If we are made in His image and likeness, then we are necessarily made for relationship; we are made by love for love, and it is precisely through the gift of the Holy Spirit that God gives us the capacity and the grace to love like Him not as the world loves. How many times does Jesus say in His farewell discourse (John 17) that we are not made for this world? We are other worldly precisely because we have been claimed by Christ for God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As we pray today, let us meditate and pray on the image in which each of us has been created. What are the implications of this on our lives today? Are our hearts full of egotism? How much do we prize autonomy over and above living in a community of faith? 

Know of my prayers for you all! 

Fr. Ryan