Fr. Todd Bulletin Article 8/2/26

Dear St. Mary on the Lake and Sacred Heart,

As you read this, I am out West. It is a goal among us brothers to not be Tourons (tourists + morons) so hopefully we have not been a part of any viral videos circulating the web for doing something dumb in the national parks!

It is hard to believe that Mason’s internship will be shortly drawing to a close. His last weekend will be next weekend, August 8/9th. He will be returning to Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. Lord willing, he will be ordained a Deacon next summer and then a priest the following year. It has been a great blessing to have him with us, taking part in our school events, leading his teaching series on the Sacraments, and everything in between. [He had made it a personal goal to make me like Hot Sauce (of which he is an aficionado). While I have certainly sweated more while eating this past summer than any other time in my life, I am not sure how successful he was.] Thank you, Mason, for your time with us and know our prayers will follow you as you continue your priestly formation.

I am enjoying working with our couples preparing for marriage. There is a tremendous cultural pressure against getting married at all, and if they are looking to get married, then pressure against getting married in the Church. I am more edified then by the couples bucking those societal pressures and seeking to get married and prepare well for that marriage with Christ at the center. If you are engaged and reading this, please hear this invitation to build your marriage on Christ. The marriage prep process is such an important way to invest in your relationship. While touching on the many elements that will be a part of your married life, it also brings home a really important truth - your marriage is not just about you. Your marriage is something bigger than the both of you that you are being invited into to live. As St. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians - every marriage is a reflection of a greater mystery, that of Christ and the Church. It takes some courage to live this great vocation and I appreciate that courage. Please keep them in your prayers.

For anyone who is engaged please contact Erin Schwartz at St. Mary on the Lake. She coordinates our weddings and helps me keep all the paperwork straight! As I have noted before one of the elements of our marriage prep is our mentor couple program called Witness to Love. So, in addition to praying for these young couples please be open to being a mentor couple for them if so asked. We have materials we provide to guide you and the engaged couple through the process.

What do I do if I didn’t do this the first time? What if I am a Catholic but I didn’t get married in the Church? Well now is the time! It is called a convalidation when a Catholic is civilly but not sacramentally married and exchanges their vows in the Church. We often do some version of marriage prep to understand the sacramental nature of marriage that even couples who have been civilly married many years find fruitful. Like any major step you take you don’t always know what you do and don’t know until you start. It is amazing how some advice is heard differently three years (or twenty years) into marriage than it was before you were married. These can be times of great growth and blessing. I have a number of couples working on convalidating their marriages and I would love to help you too if this is where you find yourself. Just give Tammy or Erin a call and set up an appointment.

God Bless, Fr. Todd