Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Father Russell Homic.  I go by “Fr Homic” as a way to honor my Dad and perhaps also his mother, my grandmother.  I never knew her personally as she died when I was just an infant, but I often heard great stories about her deep faith and trust in Jesus.  She was an immigrant to this country from Poland, as was my grandfather, and they met, married and made a new life here in Michigan.  It was her faith that sustained her during the trials of her life: the persecution in her homeland, the early death of my grandfather that left her as sole supporter of her family, the struggles of living during WWII.  In the midst of these sorrows, her love for God and His Church inspired her to help found a new parish in her neighborhood, a parish we attended as children.  Today, I continue to honor the memory of my Dad and Grandmother and feel privileged to carry on the faith they passed on to me. 
I am not originally from the Kalamazoo area.  I was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in a small city called Hamtramck, which is a two-mile square city completely encircled by Detroit.  At the time of my childhood Hamtramck was ninety percent Polish-Catholic.  My Dad was hundred percent Polish and my Mom half Irish and half German.  
I attended Catholic school throughout my education, most of which were staffed by the Felician sisters.  I learned my faith from these holy women who loved God and loved us. They taught us to see God’s presence in every aspect of our lives.
The parish priests were equally entwined in my education.  I remember how often they would visit us in the classroom to tell us about the lives of the saints or to share a story about how to grow in virtues.  They were living examples of men who mirrored Christ in their lives.  It was in this environment I first heard the call to become a priest.
But as I became an adult, my family circumstances delayed my answering the call.  My Dad began to have a series of strokes during my senior year of high school.  I decided to stay close to home to help care for him and began my studies at the University of Detroit.  I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and began to work in the banking field. 
Around the same time, I became deeply involved in my family but always in the back of my mind was the priesthood. After my parents passing, I decided to join a religious order and lived in Brazil.  It was in this contemplative order that I came to realize that I was being called to the diocesan priesthood and returned home.
Upon returning to Detroit a friend, who wanted to join the Carmelite sisters in Alexandria, South Dakota, asked me to bring her to South Dakota.  I decided to stay in South Dakota and enter the priesthood there.  After receiving my seminary education at Holy Apostles in Connecticut, I returned to South Dakota and was ordained to the priesthood on August 4, 2011.  I spent the past eight years serving the great people of South Dakota, mostly as pastor of 3 rural parishes. 
But although I was content there, I missed my family and desired to return to Michigan.  I petitioned the Bishop to allow me to move closer to them.  This year, both our Bishop and the Bishop of Sioux Falls, agreed to allow me to move to Kalamazoo, where some of my family live.  Now I look forward to being a part of the Kalamazoo diocese.  I look forward to getting to know everyone better and in growing in our love for God and our neighbor. 
If I may be so bold, as to suggest: let’s together build a deep vibrant faith in Jesus, like my grandmother, that no matter what hardships may come our way, we will have total confidence that Jesus will remain with us and will walk us through it.  May God bless you abundantly this week.