Little Dresses for Libby, pictures are now up, and the Canoe Trip

This is sort of a grab-bag post.  It's been too long, I'll try to post more frequently!

For now, some pictures.  My little sister Libby has been sending me pictures of all the students who have received dresses, pants, and school assistance through the generosity of St. Michael Parish.  The Christian Service & Evangelization Committee has coordinated this good work, especially the work of lots of volunteer seamstresses!  Here is one of the little girls who received some support:

Paola Mendez, age 6, preschool

So, more pictures are up with captions here and here.

Clink on those links and check out the pictures!  You can see the faces of a bunch of folks whose burden has been made a little bit lighter.  Along with the clothing, each child received some help for school, mostly notebooks.  The high schoolers in the second group of pictures received cash support to help pay for their school costs. 

I've also posted some pictures from my recent canoe trip here.  It was a beautiful with my dad, my Uncle Tim, and 3 of their buddies.  Here's the picture of the pike Scott caught with the red squirrel in his belly.  I wasn't joking, as some people thought:

A northern pike which swallowed a red squirrel whole!

 I know it's kind of a gross picture, but a lot of people were curious!

So, it is a busy time here at St. Michael's, with parish activities, the Catholic School, Kids Being Catholic, and Campus Ministry all in full swing!  If you were able to come to the Ministry Fair last weekend, you get some sense of all that good things that are happening here!

Finally, today is our patronal feast, the Feast of the Holy Archangels: St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael.  May St. Michael continue to intercede for us and protect us as we seek each day to follow the Lord more closely.

 Here are some varying images of St. Michael. He is cited in the Book of Revelation as being the one who did direct combat with Satan, casting him out of heaven:


Rv 12:7-12ab
War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan,
who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night. They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; love for life did not deter them from death. Therefore, rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them."

This is one of the two options for the first reading for today's Mass.

I'll close with the Prayer of St. Michael the Archangel:

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.


God Bless, Fr. Ben

Baraga March 2010

The Baraga March 2010 riders on day one!

 Praise God, Baraga March 2010 was AWESOME!  We had beautiful weather, and despite a few mechanical problems, it went very smoothly!  Oh, and I got us lost between Little Lake and KI Sawyer for about an hour this morning... we'll call that a learning experience! 19 riders on Wednesday, then 11 on  Thursday, and 10 this morning!  It was great to see so many people get involved!  Hans and Matt brought a great crew from Escanaba on Wednesday,and Christy brought a the Scouts of Troop 473 in Flat Rock, along with Casey from Troop 302.  A big thanks to EVERYONE who made this years Baraga March possible!

I'll tell you more soon, but here's a link to the PICTURES!

God Bless,
Fr. Ben

More pictures from El Salvador, and some pictures from our New Parishoner Welcome Picnic!

I don't have time to write much, but here's some links to pictures from  El Salvador, the second half of my Central American journey, as well as from our New Parishioner Welcome Picnic.  I was VERY happy with the great turn-out on a busy summer evening.

Libby and I cross machetes at the weekly cattle fair.

El Salvador 2010

Merry-go-round Ministry

Pictures of New Parishioner Welcome Picnic


I hope you enjoy the pictures!

God Bless,

Fr. Ben

Greetings from Central America!

It has been a good first week here in Nicaragua, very early tomorrow I head to El Salvador with my sister Libby, and her friend and fellow Peace Corps Volunteer, Adam.

Some pictures are up at Facebook... you don´t need an account to view them with this link!

Here also are pictures of the students in Libby´s village who received scholarships via St. Michael´s Christian Service Committee.  The days are just packed, so Libby will distribute the dresses when she gets back in early August.

We had Mass three successive days in Libby´s village at three chapels: San Francisco, Cristo Rey, and Nuestra Señora de Perpetua Socorro.  Each day I heard 2-3 hours of confessions  before Mass! Many graces, but exhausting.  We went to visit the sick, too.

We went to a wedding for her fellow volunteer, Molly, and we went to see a big canyon today!

See you back at St. Michael´s in a week!

God Bless,
Fr. Ben Hasse

Central America, here I come!

This coming Monday, I'll be headed south for a visit to Central America.  I'll go to Nicaragua, where my youngest sister Libby is serving in the Peace Corps, with an abundant supply of little dresses and britches made by folks here at St. Michael Parish, with the coordination and leadership of the Christian  Service Committee!

After a week in Nicaragua, Libby and I will travel through Honduras to El Salvador, where I served in the Peace Corps from 2001 - 2004.  We'll spend most of our time in Canton San Luis, Nueva Guadalupe, in the deparment of San Miguel.  It will be VERY good to see my friends there.

To give you a little taste of what I'll be doing and seeing, here are links to pictures from my trip down there last  year immediately after my ordination:

Pictures on Facebook (no need to have an account there)

Pictures on Picasaweb: El Salvador

Pictures on Picasaweb: Nicaragua 

I hope to share pictures of this years trip when I return!

God Bless,
Fr. Ben

One year a priest...

J.M.J.

June 5th, 2010

Memorial of St. Boniface

In just an hour or so, I will have been a priest for one full year!  Deo gratias!

It's hard to believe a year has gone by, it's hard to imagine not being a priest, not celebrating the Eucharist, not hearing confessions, not being for all the people I serve.  My life has been full and blessed in many ways leading to this past year, but I have a sense of it all flowing into and for this purpose, to be a priest of Jesus Christ and to serve His Bride, the Church.

I spent the last three days with 27 eighth-graders and their teachers and some of their parents on the Class Trip!  Great America, Chicago: Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Boat Tour, Pizza, musical, tour of Mundelein Seminary with Mass there, then shopping at Fox Valley Mall (the last being my least favorite!  Not a single bookstore in that whole mall anymore!  At least there's a sporting-goods store!).  It was a wonderful exhausting trip and a deep draught of spiritual fatherhood...

It has been a year truly full of blessings, not least among them being here at St. Michael Parish and Catholic Campus Ministry and having Fr. Larry as my pastor and mentor and friend.  Truly, it is good that we are here!  It is a further blessing to be back in the UP, to be close to my parents and friends.

So, at this moment, my heart is full of gratitude and joy!  There are MANY challenges ahead, I am VERY conscious of just beginning to learn what it means to be a priest, but I am also filled with confidence in the Lord Jesus who calls us into union with the Trinity, who empowers us with His Holy Spirit, who draws deeper into the fire of love.  In God, ALL things are possible!

St. Boniface, bishop and martyr, pray for us!

Blessed Mother, draw us into your Immaculate Heart and closer to the Sacred Heart of your Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Blowing on sparks....

"Fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God's gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control." 

2 Timothy 1:6-7

 This is the scriptural passage I chose to put on my ordination prayer card.  I think it's a marvelous image for spiritual reflection... I know as an Eagle Scout and pyro it certainly speaks to my heart! There's a visceral sense of contentment and achievement and even joy when you blow gently and steadily on a smoldering little almost-fire and feel and hear and smell it grow into a merrily burning blaze, or even a bonified bonfire.

I'm coming up on celebrating one year of priesthood in a week, and what a year it's been!  Very full, very challenging, very joyful.  I like that quote even more now than when I chose it.  There are SO many challenges that the Church faces in our increasingly broken and hostile world.  There are SO many challenges each one of us faces as we try to hear and respond to the Lord's beguiling whisper in our hearts.  And, at the same time, there are far more sparks of the Holy Spirit in hearts and minds, just waiting to be gently blown into a blaze. 

What could be more fascinating than the care of souls?  To be entrusted with shepherding and encouraging and challenging and cajoling God's adopted sons and daughters, one's own brothers and sisters in Christ!  It is a fearful and joyful and awesome thing.  I've just been given the tiniest taste of it in this first year, perhaps even a hearty helping, as I prefer.

And, at the same time, one's own soul is to be shepherded.  To go within and encounter the Lord of Heaven and Earth... to be docile and listening and open in the midst of many duties and responsibilities, each one of them sacred, and at the same time, potentially, an obstacle to hearing the Lord's voice. 

And what an arsenal!  What tools, what means of grace!  The big guns: Confession, the Eucharist, Prayer!  So many saints and angels, such a cloud of witnesses and examples!

God, Father of Heaven and Earth, I thank you and praise you and glorify your name for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and for your call to me, and to all your sons and daughters.  Set us ablaze with love for You and for one another.  Help us to see the sparks of life and love in the midst of storms, and darkness, and confusion. Amen!