I need to tell you how I feel about you because it's consuming me. Craig Giera had some big shoes to fill when he took over after the death of our beloved Fr. Thank you for the opportunity to sing his praises, because you would never learn any of this from him. He sees our sins as a burden that he will take up (with Jesus!) Barnabs special project. Jim Mayworm as our pastor. We appreciate the time he takes to visit our classrooms and when he talks to us we feel good about our faith and ourselves. Parishioners wept openly at his last Mass here at St. Alphonsus. Perhaps the best route, the most practical route, is to remain polite with him, but to consciously limit your contact from him. Fr. I thank God for his abundant blessing in sending us such a wonderful pastor. He is very welcoming and friendly to all and has gone above and beyond not only for my family but for many others. Stanley Obloj is my priest and pastor. This extraordinary priest is Msgr. Joe isnt afraid to tell us what we need to hear, not just what we want to hear. Fr. You've made me the happiest woman on Earth. The pastor is basically the CEO who has to be mindful of the business to ensure that the parish survives and thrives. Rosemary BouttNational Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica, Royal Oak. We, at St. Isaac Jogues, are indeed blessed to have Fr. This year, 2015, was the 110th anniversary of the founding of our parish and the 90th anniversary of the building our beautiful church. His kindness, love and compassion know no bounds. At confession he forgives our sins. I do not work for the parish. I have lost track of all the wonderful ways he has given to the archdiocese, but in all those places, I know that he has touched many hearts! We just want to let you know what a blessing Fr. Raising children, resolving conflict, communication skills, managing money and practicing a faith-based lifestyle were but a few topics of discussion as couples prepared to get married. I would love to praise my priest Fr. He delivers excellent homilies as he brings to life the Gospel and the correlates the Gospel to other Scriptures and their application to our lives. Im not scared anymore! DETROIT As has become our custom as Priesthood Sunday approaches each year, The Michigan Catholic asked its readers to tell us about their priests. Barbara BechardSt. Alphonsus Church, Dearborn. Mary MinnichOur Lady on the River Parish, Marine City. Fr. Okeke can make you cry because hes helped you realize that in any type of situation we encounter ourselves we are not alone; we just need to open our hearts to God. Second, this "retirement" is typically the last thing a priests ever wants. He changed our life and many others in that short time to be better people and to love one another and most of all trust Him and make Him your personnel friend and your life will be fuller. If we want to slide into our pew and be passively entertained for an hour then we do not understand the reality of the Mass. He has a very personal and public relationship with Jesus Christ that comprehends the struggles in our personal and private lives between faith and doubt. He always welcomes very warmly and sincerely new parishioners and visitors at the beginning of Mass. We have never met another priest quite like him. My sister and I are eternally grateful. His understanding, wisdom, loving guidance, deep faith and refreshing perspective were most helpful: Come to me, all you who are burdened.. His faith and LOVE keeps us coming and we are a beacon of light. Fr. That statement was proven to be true when we were informed that our much-loved pastor, Fr. Greg with this challenge, and Father said he would go to the hospital the next and not only give the rite of anointing of the sick, but also a special blessing! My husband recovered fully and Fr. Henry is the one who came into our lives and changed everything for the good. He stands firm on the teachings of God and by his sermons and talks has made us more aware of our responsibility for our actions and decisions to follow Gods teachings in our everyday living. As Clem Kern joined in, he was choked with emotion and actually shed tears in voicing his disappointment another side of a great man and a great little saint. We have been abundantly blessed to have two amazing priests leading the flock at Holy Cross Hungarian Roman Catholic Church in Detroit, both are Franciscan Friars: our pastor, Fr. He is serving us at Henry Ford Village Chapel and St. Clement Church in Dearborn. Fr. Although I dont get to my parish every week for Mass due to my work schedule, on the Sundays that I do get there, I feel so blessed and filled with the Holy Spirit that I just feel wonderful all day! If you're non-Orthodox, though, the priest probably won't be expecting you to ask for a blessing so he might try to shake your hand. Lesniak was being assigned to another parish, his parishioners were, and still are, very upset. To Fr. Lesniak, the St. Alphonsus Parish family wants you to know how special you are to us, how thankful we are to God that He gave us such a wonderful priest, even for such a short while, and we pray God continues to bless you. He lives simply. As a congregation, we also give thanks for anyone celebrating the gift of life for the coming week; we sing Happy Birthday to those who are having a birthday. Well be holding his feet while the bishop pulls him by the hands. 201. He is our priest, and we all love him. He shows kindness by saying Hello to us. Stanley has had an extremely positive and direct impact on my life. Later we began to widen the notion to anything that pointed to or reminded us of God. Leo. We want to thank Fr. He is always available to talk or just give you a pat on the back. That's certainly what happened in my family's church. He is there whenever we need him, and is such an excellent guardian of our parish resources. My father was always struck by a large number of poor people waiting in the hall to see Fr. Somehow he is able to accomplish in a 24-hour day what measures up to much more for most of us! But then a thief stole my heart. What an honor to serve along with Fr. Joe Horn. I think he is a good priest because he cares about everyone. His kindness and generosity extends to all and he makes a point to visit all who were sick whether at home, or in the hospital. Although I have only known Fr. A new priest comes into their parish and unilaterally makes decisions that change the culture and community. Aside from the label, vinyl records all look the same to the untrained eye. Zbigniew. "God doesn't need us to give Him our money. Besides his physical energy, Fr. He is always available to anyone who needs him and he greets everyone, personally, before each Mass. At the end of the confession, the priest gives to the penitent what is called a "penance," a certain number of prayers to say, or fasting, or the giving of alms, or acts of mortification, or a way of the Cross, or a rosary. Fr. Fr. We are so grateful that these men leave their families, friends and country to help us. No. Joe takes time during faith formation so that we can make things right with Jesus again. Darrell Roman welcomed us with open arms. And I forgot for a moment you should never turn your back on your enemy. Zbigniew has welcome arms for all the children even if they are crying; his arms gave them comfort. Barnabas is normally the celebrant at the weekly Mass that we attend, and his insightful homilies focus on the Scripture and its place in our world today. Fr. In fact, he seems to take great delight in eating lunch with the students. He is our hero, and we respect and admire him beyond words. He has served as pastor of St. Anselm Parish in Dearborn Heights since 1978; four generations of our family have been blessed by this good and holy man. The members of the Friendship Club St. Anselm Parish, Dearborn Heights. Thank you Fr. He is the only priest at Cabrini and his weekly duties include daily Masses Monday through Saturday, four weekend Masses and distribution of the sacraments. We have been very fortunate at St. Valentine Parish and Our Lady of Loretto Parish, both in Redford Township, to have wonderful Pallottine priests from India leading our parishes in recent years. Father has been a priest a short time, but you can already see the future holds great opportunity for him. He takes time off to come in the hall in the morning to see us. We truly appreciate all the energy and strength in faith that he invests in our community. Bobs advice was very comforting and reassuring. Darrell Roman as pastor of our parish. A priest and a woman (who is not a family member) should avoid riding in cars together, just the two of them. Fr. He will be greatly missed by the parishioners of St. Alphonsus and we hope that the parishioners at St. Timothy will come to love him as much as he was loved here. He is the epitome of faithful servant and of the existence of angels and Christ among us. It was most difficult when the spiritual adviser of the hospital told us we should discontinue life support. The past year was a difficult one for our family. Dan Trapp as my pastor. Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. Im sure he will bring his own special qualities and ideas that we are eager to embrace. The man called to the priesthood leaves his family and everything else to be "alone with God." It is necessary to have a time for personal reflection, to listen to God and verify if it's a divine inspiration or not. Barnabs G. Kiss and Fr. It will be OK., You know that Fr. Joseph and Cheryl KiznerHoly Cross Hungarian Roman Catholic Church, Detroit. I appreciated everything he has done for me. St. Isaac Jogues parishioners in St. Clair Shores were blessed when the archbishop assigned Fr. Those who have witnessed his ministry are forever grateful that he touched their lives during ordinary as well as extraordinary life experiences. And a great credit to Sacred Heart Major Seminarys teaching. David Lesniak is a truly wonderful man in every way. He goes whether they are Catholic or not. Now, serve him. This not only demonstrates to the children how vital the sacraments are; it also demonstrates Fr. Besides encouraging us to smile every week, Fr. Bryan, my son, special to me. Fr. Thank you, Fr. For many years you have been our shepherd of souls, guiding and directing us in all things spiritual, by way of example and through your teachings. Stanley Obloj. Ed:Fr. Your family, a house that you own, current residence, home of record, car registration, drivers license, area code, etc., could each be in a different state. Being a pastor of a large parish with a school is a large responsibility. You always know youve been to church when you leave with him. Friends and family question our decision to drive that far to make St. Andre Bessette our parish home. He shows the virtue of wisdom with his spiritual gift that allows him to share the purpose of Gods plan with us. He stretches himself to be able to include all who call upon him for help spiritually or physically. Let's be clear: To leave in the middle of a confession is. Ray served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and upon his return was assigned to train chaplains across the country in Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome for returning soldiers and their families. They are special men, both caretakers of this church and of the people who belong here. Mike Verschaeve is a wonderful parish priest. Thank you! He visits the sick and gives the anointing of the sick sacrament. He inspires everyone with his wise words, always entwining the Gospel into daily life in his homilies. Rooney. We are thankful to have Fr. Clem Kern, although he tended to joke about and make fun of the title. Fr. Give them support. I love you Fr. 8 A third time the Lord called, "Samuel!". Joe does just that. But a Samaritan stops and cares for him, taking him to an inn where the Samaritan pays for his care. With love he gave me this gift to learn his idiom. When Fr. I would like to take this opportunity to honor Fr. I havent felt that connection in years. Paul is a visible member of our school community. It is said that people get feelings about other people. The enormous amount of time that it must take for Father to prepare for the childrens Mass at Christmas is very appreciated by many. We are getting married in the Church that his extended family belongs to. Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous: teach me to serve You as You deserve: to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward save that of knowing I am doing your will. His ability to all of a sudden show up is uncanny; his homilies, which simply strike the right chord, touches our hearts exactly where it is needed. He could have retired, but we still have him. As members of several churches during the course of our marriage, we have known many pastors by name but none knew us by name. Stanley Obloj as our pastor and spiritual leader. He truly exemplifies what it means to be a Good Shepherd. Fr. He cares deeply about his parishioners, which is evident from the amount of time he spends getting to know each one. Richard Perfetto for his service as parish administrator and for the calming influence he brought during our period of turmoil. I see the smile on his face and realize that he is truly following the path that God has chosen for him. Fr. Whenever one of us gives him a gift or answers a request for help, there is a prompt, hand-written thank you note from him. He shows patience by not rushing Mass. It is brilliantly done in a way that allows children to interact with him through skits, providing lessons for all, while at the same time helping the children to grow in their faith. the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists. Fr. We also need to remember Fr. He welcomed my mother when I brought her to visit St. Barbara. Parishioners of St. Sebastian ParishDearborn Heights. Fr. 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