August 17, 2025
I haven’t started my column in a long time with this phrase and so I decided today is the day. I sit here at my computer on a Tuesday morning looking out the window enjoying the beauty of this wonderful sunny August day. It is already 81 degrees with a humidity in the 70% range. I am not one to complain about higher heat and humidity. I prefer it in contrast to layers of clothing, a heavy jacket and walking outside against a backdrop of gloom and overcast, cold temperatures and biting winds. I do realize the temperatures with the blazing sun can be a challenge for our lawns, flowers and personally, our patience. The heat and humidity can make us irritable as the body craves for a respite. We are blessed and I am grateful water is abundant for us. The water quenches our thirst, refreshes the body and gives flowers a chance to survive. 
 
Here at the parish, in working with the landscaping company and the garden club, we are working to move toward more native flowering plants because they are able to withstand the ferocious sun and times of drought. Our trees may see signs of stress from a lack of water. However, they are able to sustain and continue to provide shade for us because of their native upbringing.
 
Think about our own bodies. Before the onslaught of air conditioning (for those who remember those days) our bodies slowly adjusted to the heat and humidity, and we were ok with slowing down because we were drained. Many people in our metro area do not have air conditioning and this extreme heat is difficult. We need to be mindful of their struggle and be grateful to God for our comfort. Perhaps we can find someone in need who could use a window unit and offer one to them, so they have relief. 
 
Our God, so brilliant and masterful, gave us the seasons here in the Midwest so our bodies naturally adjust to the changes in the climate. Even nature adjusts to the movement of the sun and prepares for what is to come. 
 
The heavenly Father also created our being to adjust to the rhythm and changes in the spiritual life. Some people struggle with life because of difficult circumstances, but many struggle because we are not allowing our soul to adjust to the changes in life. Sacrifices and suffering are the hot and cold times in our lives, and we need to make adjustments. Fewer and fewer people are going to Jesus to find the relief they need. Rather, relief is sought in the pleasures and comforts of materialism, individualism and secularism. The “isms” of life are not the ultimate means of compensating for the challenges in the seasons of life. 
 
We cannot control nature. We cannot control life and death in its natural rhythm of life. Turning to Jesus allows us to find the balance we need. Taking time each day for prayer, reflection, scripture reading, spiritual reading by Catholic authors, attending mass during the week (this implies already attending on Sunday) we find our souls can adjust to the hot and cold moments in life. Our spiritual life, rooted in Jesus and the Catholic church, keeps us balanced and allows us to adjust naturally to the changes in life. 
 
Our parish office and school will be closed on Tuesday. All the employees will be on retreat. We will be at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. The Cathedral is our mother church here in Detroit and one of the pilgrimage sites in this Year of Hope. I ask that you keep all of us in prayer. It is my hope that our souls will be refreshed and deepened in the life-giving waters of Jesus. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will still be occurring here in the church. 
 
I pray these last weeks of August are filled with an enjoyment of the sun and warm temperatures and you are nourishing your soul with the Son and his love for you and me.
 
With prayers,
 
Fr. Jim