"Faith Seeking Understanding" for July 31, 2005, SJN Bulletin

I would like to thank everyone here at St. John Neumann for welcoming me back as your new Associate Pastor with such kindness and warmth. I look forward to getting to know each of you better, so please stop by the office to visit. One family has already invited me to offer a House Blessing at their home; just call or ask me after Mass and we can schedule a time.

Today is the Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the great 16^th Century founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). We don’t celebrate saints’ memorials in the Sunday Liturgy, but we certainly can remember St. Ignatius in our other prayers today and in our family conversations. An excellent novel about his life is The Golden Thread, by Louis de Wohl. Look up the life of St. Ignatius and other saints at www.NewAdvent.org.

On August 4^th we celebrate the Memorial of St. John Mary Vianney (the Curé of Ars), patron saint of parish priests. St. John Vianney is one of the “incorrupt” saints of the Church. The book The Curé of Ars by Abbé Trochu (available from www.tanbooks.com) tells the beautiful story of his deeply moving spiritual life. Through his intercession, let us pray that many more holy priests will grace the Church here in Detroit.

This coming Saturday (August 6^th) is the Feast of the Transfiguration, reminding us of our Lord’s divinity and the glory that awaits us in heaven. We should read the Gospel accounts of this event from our Lord’s life (Mt 17:1-9; Mk 9:2-10; Lk 9:28-36) and pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary to remember this great feast.

Many excellent resources exist to help us daily practice the Faith, reminding us of the saints’ feast days, days of penance, and the teachings of the Church. One of the easiest to use is Catholic Radio: WDEO, AM 990. Just turn the dial!

God bless you all, and please pray for priests!