Alphonsine Beckler, a long time St. Charles parishioner, has passed away. We offer our sincere condolences to Al’s family and friends. The funeral Mass for Al will be Tuesday, December 17th at St. Charles Church at 11:00 am. Visitation will be held on Monday, December 16th from 3-6:00 pm at Hurst Funeral Home. Please keep Al and her family and friends in your prayers.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her.

For the complete obituary click here- https://www.hurstfh.com/obituaries/Alphonsine-Therese-Beckler?obId=34060951

Mass, Reconciliation, and Adoration scheduled for Tuesday at St. Joseph is canceled.

Due to inclement weather both parish offices will be closed today and all events are canceled. This includes the 10:00 am Mass scheduled for this morning at Mission Point Belding.

As a reminder of our closing policy, when Belding or Greenville schools are closed for inclement weather our offices will close and all events are canceled, including Mass.

The Widow’s Mite – A Holy Offering

We were blessed this fall to have Deacon Jim Hessler share an enlightening perspective on stewardship based on “the widow’s mite.” This is an interesting and well-founded perspective on how we are called to share our treasure to further God’s work.  If you missed his homily, we encourage you to click the link below. Some of his thoughts are summarized below.  

Deacon Jim shares that the widow’s gift was from her poverty, a sacrificial gift, which makes it holy! Jesus was not impressed by the larger gifts of other contributors but drew attention to the widow’s mighty gift of two coins. God blesses sacrificial gifts because we must rearrange our priorities and consciously choose to put God first. His graces then flow into our spiritual lives leaving us more grateful, joyfilled, with an improved spiritual life and feeling a sense of contentment only God can provide. God will not be outdone in his generosity! 

If your spiritual life doesn’t seem to be making progress or if your prayer life seems dry, perhaps the area of finances is the door you have left propped open in the fortress of your spiritual life. Leaving this door open keeps you from completely trusting in God and allows the cold draft of sin to separate us from His warm embrace. God doesn’t need our money but uses our money to prove we can trust him.    

Low volume. Please turn up your volume or use headphones to listen.

This year the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is transferred to Monday, Dec. 9, so as to not conflict with the second Sunday of Advent. In prior years, when the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception was transferred to a Monday, the obligation to attend Mass was waived. The Vatican has since offered clarification to the U.S. Bishops that even when the Solemnity falls on a Monday the obligation to attend Mass remains. 

Evening Masses on Sunday, Dec. 8, may be used to fulfill the Dec. 9 holy day obligation provided that you also attend a separate Mass to fulfill your Sunday obligation.

We look forward to seeing you when we celebrate this holy day together on Monday, Dec. 9 this year!

Join us on Saturday, November 9th from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM at St. Charles. We will have 57 crafters on all three levels of our building. Handicap parking is available in the Oak St. parking lot. An elevator is available for those who need it. Visit our event page on Facebook for a preview of what crafters will be selling. https://www.facebook.com/share/1XhytvQvhr/

This week we are collecting items to donate to Catholic Charities of Kalamazoo for the victims of the tornado last week. Donations can be dropped off at the St. Charles parish office. Please have your donations in by Thursday.

St. Joseph Parish is hosting a Versiti Blood Drive on Tuesday, May 7th from 2-7:00 pm. Make your appointment by visiting Versiti.org/MI

Our Catholic faith has many wonderful, beautiful devotions.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops describes devotions as “‘expressions of love and fidelity that arise from the intersection of one’s own faith, culture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ’. Devotions are not considered part of liturgical worship, even if they are performed in a church or led by a priest, but rather they are paraliturgical.” Our faith also has rites that many participate in.  “A rite is a diverse liturgical tradition in which on catholic and apostolic faith has come to be expressed…” (Glossary of the CCC). 

May Crowning is a wonderful devotion that we as Catholics do every year.  May Crowning reflects the beauty of the mystery it evokes. Honoring Mary crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth as it is said in the fifth glorious mystery of the rosary. While May Crowning is a beautiful devotion, it is not a rite, and the Church has not provided us a rite approved for celebration during Mass for May Crowning. 

Since May Crowning is a devotion and not a rite it is performed outside of Mass.  This year we will be crowning Mary prior to Mass at all our worship sites. We are asking everyone to bring flowers on May 11^th/12^th and participate in this wonderful tradition. Father will say a short prayer, Mary will crowned and then the participants will come forward and place their flowers by Mary. 

Below is the schedule for each worship site: 

St. Joseph – May 11^th starting at 4:15 p.m. 

• Please join us outside on Bridge St. by Mary (Front entrance of the church)

• Father will be outside and say a short prayer, Mary will be crowned, participants will then place their flowers by Mary.

• After you have placed flowers by Mary, we ask that you go into the church and find your seat for Mass. We will not be processing in. Mass will start shortly after everyone is inside. 

St. Mary – May 12^th starting immediately after the rosary inside.

• Please join us inside the church for the crowning of Mary. 

• Participants will gather in the narthex area, Father will go forward and say a short prayer and Mary will be crowned, participants will then bring their flowers forward.

• After you have placed flowers by Mary, we ask that you go back to your seat. 

• Mass will start immediately after everyone is seated. 

St. Charles – May 12^th starting at 10:35 a.m.

• Please join us inside the church for the crowning of Mary. 

• Children/participants are asked to be in the Narthex at 10:30 a.m. 

• At 10:35 we will process in, lining the aisle on the north side of the church by Mary. Father will say a short prayer, Mary will be crowned and then participants can bring their flowers forward.

• After Mary is crowned, we ask that everyone return to their seats and Mass will start at 11 a.m. 

Bill Walker, a St. Charles parishioner has died. We offer our sincere condolences to his family. A funeral Mass for Bill will be held on Wednesday, June 12th at 11:00 am at St. Charles Church. Funeral plans are still pending. Please keep Bill and his family and friends in your prayers.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.

Mass at Green Acres and Adoration at St. Charles on Wednesday, June 12th has been cancelled.