News - March 2018 RSS Feed

Jesus said in Mathew 9:37-38 “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” This year, the Diocese of Kalamazoo will add more than 1,000 workers into the harvest field through the sacrament of Confirmation. For many young confirmandi, this is the first adult decision they will make, the culmination of their grade-school catechism, a multitude of service hours, and countless Masses.

“is is the Day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! Alleluia” at beautiful statement is the refrain from the responsorial psalm for Easter Sunday. it is a part of psalm 118, a powerful (and lengthy) psalm of anksgiving, and one with which we are more than likely very familiar, with verses such as “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever….By the Lord has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes.” e psalm, proclaimed by King David many generations before Jesus came into the world, anticipated that great “Day of the lord” when all things — all creation — all humanity would be made new.

Last month Bishop Bradley made a Pastoral visit to each of the five deaneries around the Diocese for an evening presentation and discussion. During his talk, “A Springtime of Faith: Collaborating for a Shared Vision for the Future,” Bishop Bradley presented a brief update on the Diocesan Pastoral Plan, offered a catechesis on the faithful’s role as baptized members of the Church, shared the Diocese’s three strategic priorities and invited discussion and ideas for moving the mission forward.

The Van Domelen Center located at 1441 S. Westnedge in Kalamazoo is like a nesting doll. It appears as a single structure but inside the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Kalamazoo operates several service organizations. Chief among them is Caring Network, which offers a wide range of services for young pregnant women and their children.

Some are called at an early age; some after life’s many ups and downs. Regardless of their path to the Church, we celebrate this Easter season in a special with those who entered the Church through the sacraments of Baptism, the Eucharist and Confirmation. The Good News talked with four such individuals in the weeks leading up to Easter.

St. Philip Catholic Central High School sophomore Marcel Williams didn’t mean to call attention to himself. He was following directions in class, writing an essay about what his Catholic education meant to him. That essay would later take first place in a diocesan-wide contest for the Office of Schools .

Inspired by their Catholic school education, and perhaps the reward of pizza and money, Catholic school students offered heartfelt reflections for the inaugural “Catholic School Pride Contest” conducted by the diocesan Office of Schools.

Para vivir la Semana Santa, debemos darle a Dios el primer lugar y participar en toda la riqueza de las celebraciones propias de este tiempo litúrgico. Vivir la Semana Santa es acompañar a Jesús con nuestra oración, sacrificios y el arrepentimiento de nuestros pecados.

On February 18, families, friends and sponsors of the 89 catechumens and candidates gathered at St. Augustine Cathedral for the annual Rite of Election with Bishop Bradley. This year 35 catechumens (those who will receive the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist during the Easter Vigil ) and 54 candidates (baptized members who will be confirmed during Easter Vigil) represented 29 parishes from across the Diocese. Members of the elect ranged in age from young children to grandparents and all ages in-between.

Hope Baldwin, the 2017 Valedictorian of Hackett Catholic Prep, received the MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award and won the regional NIAAA section (Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana) award last spring. She went on to win the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association National Scholar Athlete of the Year Award in Phoenix last December, as well as the Wooden Cup Award, presented by Athletes for a Better World, which she will receive in Atlanta this April.

Although the Catholic faith is universal, faith formation works best in one's native language. The Diocese of Kalamazoo's large population of Hispanic and Latino Catholics account for 47 percent of the diocesan church. These Catholics asked for formal faith formation in their maternal language so they could better serve their parishes.

As hard as it is to realize that two months of this new year have come and gone, I am glad to know that we are in the month of March---the month I always associate with my most favorite season of all, spring! In just a few weeks, we will observe the Spring Equinox, ending the long months of winter when all of nature was asleep, ready now to begin the next three months of spring, a time when nature returns to “new life” in all its splendor and freshness. Already we are seeing the signs that springtime is near: it gets light earlier in the morning, and stays light longer into the evening, there’s signs of greenery breaking through the hardened frozen ground, the birds are tweetin their springtime songs and baseball spring training camps are alive and well.