New priest overcame his doubts thanks to Ann Arbor’s Charismatic Renewal
By Debbie Oglenski
The Catholic Times
KINDE — Fr. Nate Harburg didn’t think he could become a priest because he thought he lacked the skills. Now he is a parochial vicar at St. Michael of Port Austin and St. Mary/St. Edward in Kinde, his first assignment since ordination in June.
“I didn’t think I was smart enough to be a priest,” Fr. Harburg said. “The Lord showed me you don’t have to be a genius to be a priest.”
Even though he already had a bachelor’s degree in literature and was certified to teach grades 7-12, he doubted he was smart enough to learn theology and deliver homilies. (more…)
OWOSSO — Catholic Charities kicked off its “Hope in a Box” program on St. Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, Feb. 14.
Security Credit Union and Powerhouse Gym, both in Owosso, and St. Isidore Parish of Laingsburg are spearheading this effort, collecting personal needs items to be donated to Catholic Charities’ Community Closet, where toiletries and food are distributed to those in need.
The kickoff was at Security Credit Union, 1400 E. Main St. in Owosso. (more…)
The first in a series of Lenten reflections.
By Dan Osborn
Special to The Catholic Weekly
“What am I going to do for Lent?” This is certainly a good question to ask ourselves each year. But there is another question that is also important to think about: “What am I going to receive this Lent?”
As Christians, we so often find ourselves in a giving mode, rarely finding time to slow down and receive from the Lord. Yet the words of the Savior at the Last Supper are clear. In order to bear fruit, we need to take time to receive all that He wants to give us in our journey of faith. In other words, He calls us to be like branches, drawing strength from Jim, “the true vine” (John 15:1). As a young priest, the future Pope Benedict XVI offered the following insight into what he calls “the primacy of receiving (from “Introduction to Christianity”):” (more…)
This is the first in a series of Lenten reflections
By Fr. Richard Hart
Special to The Catholic Times
A rainbow assortment of reactions arise as we begin Lent.
One pastor, in a joking way, told his parishioners at the beginning of Lent, “Go out and suffer.” For some it is time of revival and for others survival. It is a time of self-denial, a time to embrace the cross as Jesus did. We need to track His bleeding feet all the way to Calvary as the saints did so well.
For some Lent is a labyrinth workshop not knowing where we are headed, or how we arrive at our destination. We do not have a GPS to guide us during these 40 days. Lent, however, can remind us that we are pilgrims and strangers on the march to our goal of a deeper union with God and others. Lent is a time to repent or what Raymond Brown, the Scripture scholar, calls a metanoia which entails a change of heart, mind, a new way of thinking and acting. We undoubtedly will resist the invitation to let go of our unjust anger, resentments, grudges, hurts and desire to control. What we resist will persist.
We need a U turn. (more…)
My dear friends in Christ:
In this joyful season of Lent, Jesus invites us, once again, to experience with Him life in the desert.
For Jesus, the desert was a time and place where the challenges of life and the will of His heavenly Father came into full view. In His humanness, Jesus knew what it meant to be tempted by Satan, to put aside all earthly desires and rewards, and to be completely obedient to the Father’s plan for Him. He endured all this so that He could bear the cross with patient endurance and, by overcoming sin and death, win for us eternal life in the kingdom. (more…)
By Jeff Wack
The Catholic Times
PINCKNEY — Years after she left its halls, Soquel Rey continues to leave a lasting impression at St. Mary School.
The 2007 St. Mary grad recently was recognized by a local newspaper as an interesting young person who made headlines last year. (more…)
The students at St. Mary School in Alma visited the Impressions 5 Museum in Lansing during Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 29-Feb. 4) Courtesy photo
ALMA — The students at St. Mary School thought about what makes their school special during Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 29-Feb. 4) and about what makes that single week unique. Here is what some of them wrote: (more…)
Owosso’s St. Paul School takes on an international flavor thanks to three visitors
By Brandi Schueller
Special to The Catholic Times
OWOSSO — The majority of students who attend St. Paul School are from the surrounding area.
This year, however, the fourth grade has an international flavor, thanks to three new boys from South Korea.
Ben Park Won-Woong, Andy Lee Hyung-Woo and Charlie Lee Ji-Hoon, all from Ulsan, South Korea, will spend the year in the U.S. thanks to Scott and Stephanie Lahmann of Owosso. The Lahmanns spent the past year teaching English at Boston Prep, an after-school academy in Ulsan. (more…)
CLARE — Nine young people from St. Cecilia Parish — Emily Yob, Katie Warner, Vincent Gray, Brittany Fields, Ethan Hall, Samantha Gray, Duane Hall, Joel Wamer and Marilyn Gray — were among the more than 400 youth and adults from the Diocese of Saginaw who accompanied Bishop Joseph R. Cistone to Washington, D.C., for the March for Life on Monday, Jan. 23. In the rain, the group marched from the National Mall to the steps of the Supreme Court to protest the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
The following are what some of the St. Cecilia youth had to say about their experiences: (more…)
LANSING — What do you do when you’ve accomplished all of your goals?
That is a question the Professional Pastoral Ministers Association faces in this, its 26th year.
When the organization was founded in the Diocese of Lansing in 1986, its goals were to establish a network for lay ministers; bring recognition to and promotion of lay ministry; establish ongoing education and spiritual formation; to encourage and promote diocesan activities that would integrate clergy and lay ministers; and establish a more standardized salary compensation package for lay ministers across the diocese or creation of personnel policies and compensation practices for lay ministers in the diocese. (more…)