Fr. Adilso Coelho, C.O.
I hope you are all having a great summer. As you enjoy the season and the break, just a few advices:
- Make Space for Rest: Don’t let your spiritual life take a summer vacation. Use your time to read through a good book or even a book of the Bible or simply sit in quiet reflection.
- Stay in Fellowship: Even if you miss a Sunday due to travel, you can always catch our weekly 10:30am Mass on Facebook.
- Embrace the Season: Let’s view this season as a time for growth, fruitfulness, and community. Remember that God joins you wherever you go, whether you are at the beach, in the mountains, or resting right in your living room.
Please know that we are praying for your safety, joy, and spiritual refreshment throughout these summer months. If you need anything, know that we are always here for you.
Grace and Peace,
Father Adilso Coelho, C.O.
St. Anne Catholic Church and School Administrator
Divine Saviour Pastor
Fr. Johnni do Bonfim Silva, C.O.
June 22–25, 2026 | Acton University, Grand Rapids, Michigan
This past week I was grateful to be attending different conferences at Acton University in Grand Rapids. Among the many valuable sessions, the most important lessons for me have centered on human happiness, our deep hunger for God, and our desire for justice.
I was learning that true happiness is not found merely in what we possess or achieve, but in living according to God’s purpose and seeking what is good, true, and just. We are created with a longing that only God can fully satisfy, and that hunger shapes how we live and serve others.
Learning is an essential part of our relationship with God and with ourselves. It helps us grow in wisdom, deepen our faith, better understand our calling, and become more aware of how we can contribute to the flourishing of others. This experience helps me to remind that intellectual growth and spiritual growth go hand in hand.
Fr. Johnni do Bonfim Silva, C.O.
Parochial Vicar at St. Anne and Divine Saviour Catholic Church
Chaplain at Winthrop University
Fr. Kevin O’Connor, C.O.
“Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation, for through your goodness we have this bread to offer, fruit of the earth and work of human hands. It will become for us the bread of life.
Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation, for through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual drink.”
The above prayer comes from the prayers for the Preparation of the Gifts in the Roman Missal. These are the prayers that the Priest prays at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist after receiving the gifts of bread and wine from the people of God. During daily Mass we hear these words spoken aloud and we respond with, “blessed be God forever.” On Sunday there is usually a hymn or music playing while the Priest is preparing the gifts. I would like to dwell on these words and show how this short prayer of thanksgiving is an invitation for us all to see God in the ordinary.
This prayer first points to God’s identity-“Lord God of all creation” and then praises his goodness for the gifts of bread and wine respectively, as “fruit of the earth” and “fruit of the vine.” But then it points to our participation and cooperation, “work of human hands.” It is through God’s goodness that has given us the seeds to plant and water to make the wheat and vine grow. But it is also us taking those fruits and making them into something else-bread and wine; we then offer them back to God who in turn give us back the Body and Blood of His son, Jesus. What was once sustenance for our bodies now becomes sustenance for our souls.
This is the great love exchange that happens during Mass, we give God ordinary things and He makes them extraordinary. This then is the model for our daily life, but we have to be willing to offer ourselves to God, as St. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans:
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)
We must be open to allow God to work in and with us. This we must do not just on a daily basis but on an every moment basis. We need to be willing to give God the good and the bad of our day; the ordinary mess is where he wants to be. Jesus proved this by being born in a manger and not a palace.
Our lives must become a prayer-a dialogue-with God where we allow him to walk with us on our journey letting him show us himself in the ordinary, which will make our lives more extraordinary as we see God’s love all around us in his creation.
Fr. Kevin D. O’Connor, C.O.
Saint Anne’s Parochial Vicar & School Chaplain,
Saint Anne/Oratory Knights Council Chaplain
