From the Pastor's Desk | October 22, 2023

From the Pastor’s Desk

Installation Mass

Thank you! This weekend, Bishop Boyea officially installs me as your pastor here at St. Martha Parish and School. Thank you for welcoming me, for your support, for your encouragement, for your guidance and council, and most of all for your prayers. What a remarkable community St. Martha is! I am so blessed to be here with and for all of you. I beg all of you to keep praying for me:

O Jesus, I pray for Your faithful and fervent priests; 
for Your unfaithful and tepid priests;
for Your priests laboring at home
or abroad in distant mission fields; 
for Your tempted priests; 
for Your lonely and desolate priests; 
for Your young priests; 
for Your dying priests; 
for the souls of Your priests in Purgatory. 
But above all, I recommend to You
the priests dearest to me: 
the priest who baptized me; 
the priests who absolved me from my sins; 
the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion; 
the priests who taught and instructed me;
all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way. 
O Jesus, keep them all close to Your heart, 
And bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen. 

-St. Therese of the Child Jesus  

Fall Fundraiser

We are having a party! November 18 is our annual parish and school party (21+) and fundraiser. This is a wonderful way for us to gather as a community of faith, to have fun, and to enjoy each other’s company. As it is intended to be a fundraiser, it is also an opportunity for us to give generously of our gifts. Our time, talents, and treasures are all gifts from God. We know from scripture that we should always give God thanks for the blessings He has bestowed upon us and share our blessings with those around us. St. Paul reminds us in his second letter to the Corinthians, “...whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:6-7).

There is much we wish to accomplish this year, and the main priority is building safety and security. As of right now, I can tell you that the SmartBoot system, which we would like to install in all rooms in the school and select rooms in the church/parish, will cost approximately $118,000. In addition to this, our security cameras, door access, and IT infrastructure need to be upgraded, and the cost will be significant. Because we are still in the bidding and procurement process with various vendors for these improvements, I cannot share that exact cost at this time. If I had to guess, I would estimate the other upgrades will cost up to an additional $150,000. When I know more, I will share more. 

My point in sharing this is simply to ask that if you have it within your means to make a substantial gift to help us acquire these needs, we would be most grateful. These upgrades were not budgeted because, quite frankly, we didn’t realize we needed them. We learned a lot after a grant-funded security assessment and from going through our ALICE active shooter training. The safety of our children and parishioners is a top priority for me. Be assured that the proper proposals, discussions, and approvals from both the St. Martha Parish Finance Council and the Diocese of Lansing are taking place, and the process is well documented. Should you want to see any of the supporting documentation, please let me know, and it will be provided.
 

Gospel Reflection

In this week’s Gospel, the Jewish leaders attempt to catch Jesus in a trap. They are trying to find some way to convict Him, try Him, put Him to death, and be done with Him. He is disrupting everything for them, and they just want Him to go away. So, they ask Him whether it is right to pay taxes to the Romans.

The Romans were the governing heads of Palestine in Jesus’s time, and they were seen as occupiers of the land promised to Israel by God. The Jews were looking for a specific Messiah, a Messiah who would come and liberate them from the Roman occupiers and take back what was rightfully theirs - the Promised Land. Jesus knew what the Jewish leaders were doing, so He didn’t give in. Rather, He gives the best answer ever, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

What’s the point for us? Jesus doesn’t tell his disciples to cut themselves off from the affairs of this world or to eschew themselves from engaging with the leaders of this world. On the contrary, as Christians we should not cut ourselves off from the affairs of this world nor should we compromise our Catholic Christian faith, beliefs, and doctrines. There is tension between Christianity and the secular world, and our Lord wants us to live in that tension to proclaim the Gospel - to go and announce the Gospel of the Lord!

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have an excellent document called Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. I have included a link here to the website below and hope that you might read it given today’s Gospel. Visit usccb.org/offices/justice-peace-human-development/forming-consciences-faithful-citizenship        

Know of my prayers for you all!

Fr. Ryan