A very Happy and Blessed Easter to all of you.  Thus begins a 50-day celebration of the triumph of life over death, light over darkness, and good winning out over evil.  Jesus opens a door that no one can close and our hope of Heaven is increased, making our life in exile here more bearable.  Never forget that we are kingdom bound, made for more and marked for majesty.

I want to offer special words of welcome to family members, friends and guests who are visiting Queens and Jackson for Easter.  This parish is founded on faith and the shared belief that we are all sinners seeking salvation at the font of baptism, the foot of the cross and the table of the Lord’s Supper.  Forgiven and forgiving, we hope you will see in us what we see in the Risen Christ – help, hope and happiness.  Please join us again soon! 

At the Queens Easter Vigil tonight at 9pm, we will welcome over 25 new believers into the family of faith! Congratulations to them all!   These conversions are following a nationwide trend. This year’s convert class of 940 in the Diocese of Lansing is the biggest in over 20 years, with a 50% increase in adult baptisms in just the last year. 

Since we reduced from 4 Sunday Masses to 3 in the summer of 2024, it became obvious we will not fit everyone who attends on Easter Sunday. Due to longer Masses and the need to reduce parking lot congestion, we are using an old schedule that we brought back to life last year and it seemed to work: 7am, 8:30am, 10:30am and 12:30pm.

All are welcome to the Regional Divine Mercy Observance at the St. Joseph Oratory on Sunday April 12. Confessions begin at 2. The program begins at 2:30. The Chaplet will be sung during the great hour ofmercy at 3pm. Please remember – for those seeking the indulgence – any confession you make for 20 days before or after Divine Mercy Sunday counts towards fulfilling the obligations to receive the remission of the temporal punishment due to sin.

As of Friday March 27, 474 parishioners had completed the survey. By the time the link closed at midnight on Tuesday the 31st, 762 people took the DMI, representing 54% of our weekend average Mass attendance. 12,217 people across the diocese were part of this effort to collect data and to make our voices heard. Thank you to everyone who responded to this effort and my repeated requests. We will publish an update with key findings and on the results soon.

QUEENS PLEDGE TOTALS AS OF 4/3/26:

2026 QMM DSA GOAL: $211,856

AMOUNT PLEDGED: $199,511 (94% OF GOAL)

REMAINING TO GOAL: $12,345

NUMBER OF DONORS: 352 (22% OF 1,600 FAMILIES)

AVERAGE GIFT: $566

The pace is slowing down, but the finish line is within reach. If you are a previous DSA supporter yet to record your gift in 2026, please include it as part of your Easter offering.

2/3 of the diocese’s operating budget is covered by DSA contributions. More than 100 programs and ministries receive vital support from your gift to this appeal. Among these programs are seminary formation, Catholic Charities, jail and prison ministry, the televised Outreach Mass and mailing you Faith Magazine each month without you having to pay for it.

DSA envelopes can be found in the church lobbies. One is also included in the DSA edition of Faith Magazine. A recurring gift option is available to make things simpler for those who are regular supporters of DSA. Checks should be made payable to ‘Queens/DSA’ and put in the offertory or dropped off/sent to the parish office. Please do not send them directly to the Diocese. Every gift is tax deductible.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching” (Heb 13:8-9).

Fr. Tim MacDonald

Pastor