Novi, MI. In the daily rat race of life, every now and then parishes and parishioners need to stop, take a breath, collect their thoughts and see where they’re at and how they can be rejuvenated and perhaps improve. Some dioceses throughout the United States offer conferences that last a day or two and allow for them to recuperate a bit. Such an event just occurred in the Archdiocese of Detroit this past weekend, and what follows is a story about some of the encounters that took place.
The following report comes to us from evangelist Mark and our SPSE national office:
SPSE was invited to the annual Parish Day of Renewal, organized by the Archdiocese of Detroit and hosted at a large convention center. There were three other expos happening at the same time, at the same facility. We had a table set up in the main hallway, near the front door and en route to four large meeting spaces. We spoke to many devout Catholics attending the diocesan event as well as many passersby on their way to a pet expo and a sewing & quilt expo. Most people were in a rush to get to their destination but many did briefly stop for free rosaries, free medals, and the offer of prayer intentions.
One banquet employee, Tyler, was curious and stopped by our table when he had some downtime during breakfast. Tyler gladly received a Miraculous Medal and talked about how he was once very active with a high school youth group. Tyler wore the medal on the outside of his uniform and returned to our table a few times that morning to continue the conversation. Another employee, Sylvia, was upset because her daughter does not want to baptize her newborn son, Sylvia’s grandson. Team leader Bob gave Sylvia one of our pamphlets about Baptism then the two prayed for Sylvia and her family.
Praised be Jesus Christ! We all need a little renewal if we are to stay in the service of the Lord. Let’s make sure to take advantage of opportunities to rest in Him when we can, to make sure we avoid burnout.
I always say that our presence is so important out in the public square. I wish more parish would hear the plea and start a revival. There are so many lost and don’t know why or how to come back to the faith here in our own towns. We need to get out and be out everywhere to carry the good news.