Diocese of Lansing

06/01/2026

READ: FROM THE BISHOP | WHY WE NEED TO DEDICATE OUR COUNTRY TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS:

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

It may seem strange to honor a body part, that is, the heart of Jesus. Yet, for the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 12), the bishops of the United States will consecrate our country to that heart. Why do we Catholics do this? It was Saint John Eudes in the 1600s who encouraged a devotion to the heart of Christ. In fact, he talked about Jesus having three hearts. Let’s look at what he meant.

There is, first of all, the divine heart of Christ. Now, of course, there is no such thing as a physical divine heart. God, as divine, has no body parts. However, it is a great symbol for the love that God has for us, as Saint Paul states so clearly in his Letter to the Romans: “God proved his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Rm 5:8) We often think about Jesus loving us because he died for us, but imagine offering up your only begotten son to death for someone else. But here the text says that God the Father proved his love in this way. We might be willing to die for someone, but would we be willing to give our child to die for someone? That is the divine love, the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for all of us. Saint Paul in his Letter to the Romans further tells us that this “love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Rm 5:5) Divine love is simply a free, generous, undeserved love. It makes no demands but does invite us to love in the same way.

There is a second heart in Jesus. It is his spiritual heart, that is, the heart of his will, both his divine will and his human will, deeply united to live out true charity. This is his own specific sacrifice for us, the sacrifice of his own will for us, and the sacrifice of his life for us. This love is obvious to us. We see it in the scriptures. We see it whenever we look at a crucifix. But even though we see it a lot, we really do not understand it. Why would someone, anyone, let alone the Son of God, go to such lengths for us — it is a love beyond our measures. We don’t deserve it. Our human love is always so conditioned; we are always looking for what is in it for me. His is a love that makes no sense. Why would you leave 99 sheep in the desert by themselves to go look for one lost sheep, for me? It makes no sense, but that is true love.

The third heart of Christ is his physical, fleshly heart, symbol of his human affection for us. This is an intense, passionate, fixed love, which is expressed in Jesus’ concern, in the compassion he felt in his guts, his tenderness, and tears. Jesus had passion. That passion was always focused on others, on that lost sheep, on that repentant sinner. Sometimes our passions lead us into places we know we should not go, places we perhaps regret having gone, places where we may have ruined our lives or other lives. Not Jesus’ passion. It is always pulsating for others, for their good, to gather them, “from every dark place where they are scattered when it was cloudy and dark.” (Ez 34:12) He really loves helping others. There is no other way to say it. He simply finds great joy, his life’s purpose, in being a man for others. He experiences a rapturous emotive love for us that we creatures will experience only in heaven.

We bishops want our country to be a school of love. On rare occasions we may actually achieve that. Often, as we know, because we are all sinners, we have fallen short. Let us pledge ourselves to the heart, that is, to the hearts of Christ. We can do this because the divine love has been planted in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, because we see the Crucifix of Christ daily and thus, we know to what we are called, and because our own passions are wonderful things and we want to use them in a noble fashion. Jesus, give us a heart like your own.

Sincerely yours in Christ

Most Reverend Earl Boyea

Bishop of Lansing

05/29/2026

WATCH: ORDINATION 2026 | CHALICE STORIES | DEACON PETER RANDOLPH: Last summer, Deacon Peter Randolph lost his dear younger brother, Xavier, in a drowning accident on Lake Michigan. May he rest in peace. On June 6, Deacon Randolph will be ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ for the Diocese of Lansing. Watch this moving short film as he prayerfully ponders his impending priesthood through the story of his chalice — the sacred vessel he will use to offer the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

05/29/2026

READ: CROWNING MARY AS QUEEN OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES: May is the Month of Mary! Appropriately, Catholic Charities Washtenaw County chose this month to invite Bishop Earl Boyea to bless their new Mary Garden within the grounds of their Ann Arbor office. You can see photographs of the special occasion that took place on Wednesday, May 27, below. Ave Maria!

“I think it’s important to have a space for prayer and reflection for our staff and for the clients who come through here — a place to honor Mary as the Mother of God and a role model of our faith,” said the charity’s president, Brigette Murray.

More than 65 years ago, Catholic Charities Washtenaw County (CCWC) was established to change the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in Washtenaw County and the surrounding communities. Wednesday’s event also included the crowning of a new statue of Our Lady.

“The location of the statue is beautiful,” said the charity’s board chairwoman, Nancy Graebner-Sundling. “We often have our board meetings in a room that looks out onto the statue of Mary."

"It reminds us of the sacred presence and the fact that we are serving on holy ground — serving those in need. It’s a great reminder of what we’re all about: our mission, vision, and values.”

• For more on Catholic Charities Washtenaw County: https://ccwcwashtenaw.org/

05/29/2026

WATCH: BISHOP BOYEA'S CATHOLICISM & AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE | TALK 4 | CATHOLICS IN THE BRITISH COLONIES: Why would 18th century Catholics in these lands favor the mostly Protestant American colonists over Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War? That's the question asked, and answered, by Bishop Earl Boyea in this fourth talk in his series "Catholicism & American Independence". Enjoy!

05/28/2026

WATCH: ORDINATION 2026 | CHALICE STORIES | DEACON RYAN FERRIGAN: Deacon Ryan Ferrigan is one of four young men who will be ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ for the Diocese of Lansing on June 6, 2026. A son of Saint Martha Parish in Okemos, watch this beautiful short film as Deacon Ferrigan prayerfully ponders his impending priesthood through the story of his chalice — the sacred vessel he will use to offer the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

05/27/2026

PRAY: NOVENA FOR THOSE BEING ORDAINED AS PRIESTS AND DEACONS: Of your charity, please join in praying a Novena for the following ordinands as they prepare to be ordained as priests and deacons on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at Saint Thomas Aquinas parish in East Lansing:

• Rev. Mr. Joshua Mark Bauer, St. Elizabeth, Tecumseh
• Rev. Mr. Jacob John Derry, St. John the Evangelist, Fenton
• Rev. Mr. Ryan Scott Ferrigan, St. Martha, Okemos
• Rev. Mr. Peter Casey Randolph, Christ the King, Ann Arbor
• James Burleson Bonar, Christ the King, Ann Arbor
• Paul Edward Keenan, St. John the Baptist, Ypsilanti

Beginning tomorrow, Thursday, May 28, and concluding on Friday, June 5, let us all pray an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be each day for the following intentions:

• Day 1: In thanksgiving for our Baptism and sharing in the mission of Christ.

• Day 2: For the grace to discern how God is calling us to know, love, and serve Him.

• Day 3: For the grace to accept our calling generously.

• Day 4: For those currently living a generous single life for the Lord.

• Day 5: For the protection of our vocations from every diabolical attack.

• Day 6: For the gift of holy marriages and families, the wellspring of vocations.

• Day 7: For an abundance of ordained clergy to bring us the Sacraments.

• Day 8: For the gift of religious sisters and brothers to serve the Church.

• Day 9: For all in consecrated life (including third orders) who pray for us.

Let us pray:

Hear us, we beseech you, Lord, our God,
and pour out on these your servants the blessing of the Holy Spirit, that these men, who are to be consecrated to your service, may be surrounded by your rich and unfailing grace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen!

05/26/2026

A WEE REMINDER: SUMMER EMBER DAYS BEGIN TOMORROW: This week will see many Catholics observe the Summer Ember Days. They are Wednesday May 27, Friday May 29, and Saturday May 30. But what are Ember Days? And why do they matter? Here’s a great explainer by William Bloomfield, General Counsel of the Diocese of Lansing. Writes Will:

Ember Days are traditionally days of fasting and partial abstinence (no meat except at the principal meal). Each of the four Embertides include three days of fasting and partial abstinence – Ember Wednesday, Ember Friday (fasting and full abstinence), and Ember Saturday. Ember Days occur quarterly around the beginnings of the four natural seasons, and are meant to focus us on God through His marvelous creation. The Ember Days should also remind us of our obligation to steward the earth.

So when are these four Embertides? The four Embertides are in Spring (the week after Ash Wednesday), Summer (after Pentecost Sunday), in Fall (after the Triumph of the Holy Cross), and in Winter (in Advent after the feast of St. Lucy). The easy way to remember this is the rhyme: Lenty, Penty, Crucy, Lucy.

By the time of US Bishops’ 1966 Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence, Catholics were already no longer obliged to fast and abstain during ember days or vigils (the day before a feast). Nevertheless, the Bishops suggested that the devout would continue to “find greater Christian joy” in the Church’s liturgical feasts if the faithful continued to embrace these practices. Now that we are more than 50 years from the removal of these obligations, and most Catholics have grown up knowing only two obligatory fast days (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday), many Catholics have found that it remains salutary to step back from the modern world’s comforts and voluntarily embrace Ember Days and other traditional days of fasting and abstinence, particularly Fridays.

Another reason for embracing Ember Days and other days of fasting is that the greats of the Catholic spiritual tradition routinely encourage fasting as a key to unlocking deeper prayer. Saint John Vianney explained the connection this way: “Unhappily, our hearts are not sufficiently pure and free from all earthly affections. If you take a very clean and very dry sponge, and soak it in water, it will be filled to overflowing; but if it is not dry and clean, it will take up nothing. In like manner, when the heart is not free and disengaged from the things of the earth, it is in vain that we steep it in prayer; it will absorb nothing.” Of course, Jesus Christ himself also spoke of the need for prayer and fasting and also modeled it."

• For more on Ember Days: https://www.fisheaters.com/emberdays.html

05/26/2026

READ: LEST WE FORGET | IMAGES OF MEMORIAL DAY 2026: Yesterday saw parishes across the Diocese of Lansing offer Holy Mass upon Memorial Day for the repose of the souls of those who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. May they rest in peace. To capture just a snapshot of this annual pious custom, we sent two photographers to garner images from two parish cemeteries. Kathryn Mietelka was dispatched to Saint John Cemetery in Jackson while Michael Back went to Saint Thomas Cemetery in Ann Arbor.

The principal celebrant in Jackson was Father Chas Canoy, Pastor of Saint John the Evangelist, with Parochial Vicar, Father Randy Koenigsknecht, and Father Tim MacDonald, Pastor of Queen of the Miraculous Medal in Jackson, concelebrating. Meanwhile, the principal celebrant in Ann Arbor was Father Fares Hattar, Parochial Vicar of Saint Thomas the Apostle, with parish pastor, Father Bill Ashbaugh, concelebrating.

"In this very special year, America turns 250 years old this year," noted Father Canoy in his homily at Saint John Cemetery.

"In a world that has been marked by a history of governments and ruling powers living off the backs of the people they were meant to serve, the United States of America was founded on the self-evident truth proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness."

"Surely our nation has not lived that ideal perfectly, but this nation has been the land of freedom and opportunity for hundreds of millions since its founding, serving as a refuge for so many immigrants fleeing from unjust and destitute situations abroad. My own family was one of them."

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen.

05/25/2026

PRAY: MEMORIAL DAY 2026: Today is Memorial Day. Today we honor, mourn and pray for those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. In the words of the war poet, Laurence Binyon:

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace. Amen. See less

05/24/2026