More pictures on the Blessing of the new stairs

Dona Nobis Pacem

Deacon Mitch

Dedication of our new stairs!

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne! Saint Anne is the patron saint of our church. The project is now complete, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Tonight we had such a beautiful mass, and good Saint Anne held off the rains at least long enough for our parish to do the dedication. As father Kyle said "you who suffer addictions, you who are lonely, you who seeks peace and love, come climb the stairs and see love and peace that is only found through Jesus Christ!" 

Come visit, come and spend time at Saint Anne of Berlin!

Dona Nobis Pacem

Deacon Mitch

Unplugged

 Well there he goes again father Andrew with his challenges. He created some challenges for the parishioners this week:Number one be unplugged.... no Facebook no computers no texting,and there will be no blogging for a week. The challenges continue also with the following: listen, Lead, and learn. Father Andrew stated we would probably be shaking, and he would be able to tell by the look of us if we had followed up on his challenges. And so it begins, you won't hear from me for a week.  Maybe you will take up his challenge also? 

  Dona Nobis Pacem

 Deacon Mitch "signing off for one week"

2013 Permanent Diaconate Video

I'm sharing this video to those who know someone, or are someone discerning the vocation to the Diaconate!

Developing a Bucket Sale Mentality

I've recently shared with you that I have a new district manager. He just came to my store for the very first time to inspect, review, and share a few thoughts. I told him one of the proudest accomplishments I have is leading the initiative of the Bucket Sale. Twice a year we have a sale on paint sundries, i.e. brushes, rollers, etc. Since this inception of this event we have either won this or remained in the top three despite being one of the smallest stores in my district. He couldn't believe a store my size could accomplish so much, offering "if you can do it, everyone should be at least at that level". He then asked..."how do you do it!" I told him we are always studying the market, looking for new products, getting to better understand the changing landscape, and calling, calling, and being very persistent. He then offered this...."You need to develop a bucket sale mentality every day!" Well, that got my competitive juices flowing and I have made some changes already in the store that are beginning to pay off. 

I then started to realize that in my daily life as a Deacon, as a Christian, I need to develop that Bucket Sale Mentality too! I am charged, we are all charged to praise the Lord, and bring more souls to Christ. We must be willing with whatever gifts we are blessed with to be of service to the Lord. No matter how old or how young we are, we need to be ready and able to defend the faith in a merciful way, and share that joy of being a disciple of Christ. You may not feel that you are worthy for whatever reason, yet we all need to trust in the Holy Spirit to guide us to live the Gospel. The best way is to spend moments with the Lord in Adoration, and prayer.I have no doubts you will be divinely inspired. Make the necessary changes every day, and behold we can all move mountains.

Dona Nobis Pacem

Deacon Mitch

I am terrible with names...& then there is John

I've come to the conclusion that it will take a lot of work on my part to remember names. For years I've struggled with this and have marveled at those who have the gift of remembering people's names. I usually never forget a face, yet there is that flaw in my character that aches me. With all that said, then there is John. John is one of those gentlemen that you can't and won't forget. I've only known John for about 4 months as one of my favorite retail customers. You may ask why, and the answer is simple. John is a man of Joy! And I do mean Joy! He radiates and exudes that joy and it is so uplifting. He listens well, and is always praising people! I wish there were more Johns in this world, and I wish I were more like him also. I guess this goes back to the heart of Fr. Kyle's homily last week of encouraging people and this Scripture passage that I read every single morning......Encourage yourselves daily while it is still “today,” (Hebrews 3:13).

I pray that a little bit of John rubs off on me and all of us!

Dona Nobis Pacem

Deacon Mitch

Are you listening?

It never ceases to amaze me how our Lord finds ways to reach out to us, if only our ears are open. Just that phrase reminds me of Scripture...."they have ears but can not hear!" 

Yesterday, I met for the first time my new district manager. One thing I immediately noticed is that they are all getting younger than I am. I guess after working 30 years for a company that is something that is to be expected. 

We had some wonderful discussions and I took notes. Yes notes! No matter how hard I try to remember, even though my memory isn't bad, I remember more by writing it down. 

So how does this all relate to matters of faith? It does! You see the same things that make a good manager, a good employee, are the same things that make a good disciple. Avoid complacency, follow good practices, be willing to change your old habits.Way too often, most of us feel that we have figured it out, we think we have discovered the angle to get to heaven. Unfortunately, we have forgotten that we are human beings, and we tend to plateau and then cruise. We don't like the bumps and bruises, and we certainly don't stretch ourselves very far. We aren't very willing to change. 

Change was the buzz word, create new habits, be flexible, it will improve. Well, I have some changing to do, challenges before me, yet there was a renewed sense of enthusiasm. I am competitive, I like challenges, and so the task is before me. 

My new boss is Catholic, he has four children, and is moving to New Hampshire. I shared my story with him about going to school at St. Meinrad which wasn't very far from his hometown. He shared with me that the priest who married him and his wife probably studied there. The name wasn't familiar yet, we never know for sure. He shared his name and this morning I looked him up. His resume was impressive, and he appeared to smell like sheep. His parish is growing, and what struck me the most was one little quote that he lives by.................."Envision it with faith, and it will become a reality!" Hmmm, Deacon Mitch are you listening?


Dona Nobis Pacem

Deacon Mitch