Dear Friends,
Our annual observance of Lent—the forty-day period of increased prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—is fast approaching. We take the opportunity each year to enter these forty days not just to lose a few pounds or to re-start our new year’s resolution, but to focus more intensely on our living and abiding relationship with Jesus.
Each parish in our family will have special ways to help us enter more fully into the season, but on behalf of all the priests, I’d like to invite you all to our Family Parish Mission which will take place on from Wednesday, March 23 to Friday, March 25. Fr. Athanasius Fornwalt, FHS, and Kelly Ponce will break open our theme, “A Lenten Journey with Our Blessed Mother.”
Fr. Athanasius and Kelly will help us explore being docile to the movements of the Holy Spirit and mirror our Blessed Mother’s fiat. Each evening will begin with prayer and an opportunity to learn more about the church in which we gather. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available all three nights beginning at 6:30 PM.
- 7 PM Wednesday, 3/23 at The Cathedral. Eucharistic adoration, brief church tour, reflection by Fr. Athanasius and Kelly Ponce.
- 7 PM Thursday, 3/24 at Our Lady of the Rosary. Pray the rosary, brief church tour, music and reflection by Fr. Athanasius and Kelly Ponce.
- 7 PM Friday, 3/25 at St. Mary Detroit. Brief church tour, Annunciation Mass with extended homily, reception/celebration with beverages and dessert (because it is a Solemnity!).
Fr. Athanasius Fornwalt co-founded the Franciscan Friars of the Holy Spirit in 2016. He graduated from the Catholic University of America and was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ in 2017 for the diocese of Phoenix, AZ. Since his ordination, Fr. Athanasius has been assigned to the Archdiocese of Detroit where he has established the friar’s House of Studies which now resides at Saint Mary of Redford. He uses a unique blend of the beauty of the Traditional Latin Mass and operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit in his ministry.
Kelly Ponce has been married to her husband, Dr. Ariel Ponce, for 15 years, and together they have seven children. As a stay-at-home wife and mother, Kelly’s life work consists of loving her children and raising them in the Catholic Faith, a vocation that is powered by grace and caffeine. She studied Sacred and Moral Theology at Ave Maria College. Kelly has been serving the Archdiocese of Detroit for the last 12 years in a variety of ministries; LifeTeen, Marriage Preparation, Unleash the Gospel, Women’s Ministry, Parish Renewal, Adoration with the Saints, and Music Ministries.
Hope to see you at all three nights!
Peace,
Fr. Mario Amore