3rd Sunday of Lent

Kathy From our Pastor, Weekly message

In today’s first reading from Exodus God offers His people another covenant. This one is much more personal – the words are His words, carved into stone by His hand, and spoken to each one of us.  The covenant with Noah gave us hope after chaos.  The covenant with Abraham showed us the extent of God’s love.  Through Abraham and Isaac we saw how the father so loved God that he was willing to give his only son – a foreshadowing of the role Jesus would play many generations later.  Now, with the Ten Commandments we hear in Exodus 19:5, “I will bestow mercy down to the thousandth generation on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments – my covenant.”

 Is this new covenant a new set of restrictions?  They are, in fact, a part of a larger collection of laws known as the Covenant Code (Exodus 21-23).  But, in reality the Ten Commandments are all about love. John Parsons of Hebrew for Christians has summarized them this way:

1. “I am your only deliverer, the One who loves and chooses you;

2. Love me exclusively;

3. Regard my love as sacred;

4. Rest in me;

5. Honor your life and its history.  Do no harm to others:

6. Forsake anger,

7. Abandon lust,

8. Renounce greed, and

9. Abhor lying.

10. Refuse envy.

 

Know that you belong to me and that you are accepted.  Love others as you are also loved.”

 In the Mosaic covenant, God swore eternal devotion to his people and they swore their devotion in return. 

 Consider what Jesus said, in the new covenant, about the greatest commandments – “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-40).  With this Mosaic covenant, God shows us His love and outlines how we can show Him ours.

 Have we thought about the Ten Commandments as a covenant of love?  Have we considered that they are, as we heard in today’s psalm, “the words of everlasting love?” The third week of Lent reminds us of yet, another covenant God made with His people.  This week, our meditation could center on looking at how we live our lives in the love expressed in the covenant made with Moses. 

Join us for Stations of the Cross at 7 pm in Church.

 

Confessions will be heard prior to Stations of the Cross from 6—7 pm in Church.

1st Sunday of Lent – God’s Covenant with Noah

Kathy Weekly message

Adam, in the Garden of Eden, lived a life without chaos and pain.  He did not know life without God.  All was good. It was a life of discovery and joy until Adam broke the covenant with God and disobeyed the one commandment God gave him- not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Life.  Life went downhill from there.  Adam’s sons, Cain and Able, fought resulting in one killing the other.  Adam’s family experienced pain, hunger, physical and mental hardships because he had broken the covenant. 

 Fast forward generations and Noah’s world was a continuation of the same pain and suffering.  For Noah, and those who followed God’s way, life had its blessings.  These followers were the minority, though; men and women had turned their backs to God and chose creature comforts instead of following God’s precepts.  God decided to punish the world and when the rains came, Noah and his family, who had followed God’s laws, watched as the earth disappeared.  For 40 days the people on the ark saw everything vanish.  But after the rains came new life.  To Noah life was salvation.  When God spoke to Noah and his family, he talked about His bond with all creation.  The covenant God made was with all living things – plants, animals, and Noah’s family.  And the sign of this covenant – the rainbow, tying earth to heaven – a token of God’s love.

How are you living the promise, the covenant God has made?  Are you adrift on the sea of life?  Are the rains still coming down?  The Church is like the ark, floating through the chaos, the storms of life.  Stay aboard and it will take you to safety.  As you listen to the readings this Sunday, search for God’s words to you.  This Sunday He is telling us that His plans are for us. The readings remind us To Live the Promise; Live the Covenant

 · 2nd Sunday of Lent – 2.28 – Covenant with Abraham

· Abraham is saved from killing his son and is promised that his descendants would be “as numerous as the stars.”

· 3rd Sunday of Lent – 3.7 – Covenant with Moses

· Israel is brought out of slavery in Egypt and receives the 10 Commandments.

· 4th Sunday in Lent – 3.14 – Called back to the covenant

· Israel loses sight of the covenant and God sends His prophets to them.

· 5th Sunday in Lent – 3.21 – Announcing the New Covenant

· Jeremiah tells Israel a new covenant is coming.

Friday, Stations of the Cross at 7 pm in the church. If you would like to lead the Stations of the Cross, please see the sign up sheet in the back of the church.

Mass Dispensation Extended Until March 13, 2021

Kathy From the Archbishop, Uncategorized

Letter from Archbishop Vigneron to the Faithful of the Archdiocese of Detroit

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The Sacred Liturgy, and particularly the Holy Eucharist, is the very heart and foundation of our Catholic faith. It is during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that the saving death and resurrection of Jesus is made present to us, our covenant with Our Lord is renewed, and God, in the person of Jesus Christ, comes to us and makes himself truly present for us in his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. It is an irreplaceable gift; a foretaste of Heaven itself.
When the pandemic first began, in the midst of tremendous uncertainty, it was necessary to suspend all public liturgies. During this time, we assessed the situation in light of public health information and explored a safe way to bring Christ to the people, both through the Word of God and the Sacraments. Given the gravity of the Sunday obligation to attend Mass, this decision was not undertaken lightly. Then, we cautiously returned to Mass with prudent restrictions, such as capacity limits and rigorous cleaning protocols, to allow for the resumption of essential public worship without undue risk of accelerating the pandemic. During these difficult months of pandemic, our pastors, parishes, and all the faithful have adapted in order to ensure the health and well-being of everyone in our local communities. I want to offer my sincere gratitude for the efforts that have been undertaken to implement and maintain the first-rate precautionary measures that have kept our parishes and schools safe.As part of our adaptations, many of our parishes have broadcast Masses over the internet during these last several months. While this has been a means to help Catholics nourish their souls when they could not be present for Mass, we must remember that it cannot become the norm. God did not come to us virtually. He came to us — and continues to come to us — in the flesh. As Catholics, unmediated contact with the Real Presence of the flesh and blood of Our Lord in offering this sacrifice to the Father is irreplaceable and essential. We recall Christ’s own words when he foretold the gift of the Holy Eucharist:

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” (John 6: 54-56)

In recognition of the essential and central nature of the Eucharist Sacrifice in our lives as Catholics, and in acknowledgement of my duty as shepherd to care for the souls of everyone within our diocese, it is important that I lead more of us back to Mass, when and where possible. That is why the general dispensation from the Sunday obligation will be extended only for one month, until March 13. With its expiration, I intend to grant some particular dispensations to those in need. It is time for us to welcome back more of the faithful with a renewed amazement that we have a God who is so close to us and who has such a deep love for us that he comes to us in flesh and blood. Active participation in Mass is an occasion for all of us to avail ourselves of the immeasurable spiritual graces Christ desires for his faithful through his Paschal Sacrifice.

We know that there remains the concern for spread of infection, particularly among the winter months when we live indoors to a greater degree. All of us must remain vigilant to limit its spread, particularly among those most vulnerable. With this in mind, I am granting particular dispensations from the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation for people in certain circumstances, including those who are ill and those who care for anyone who is at-risk of serious complications from COVID-19. I am making a particular request that those who are ill or think they might be ill to refrain from this in-person participation in the liturgy as an act of justice and charity to others. Those who would experience significant anxiety or fear of getting sick from being in a public setting are similarly dispensed from their obligation to attend. More information about the particular dispensations can be found here. In allowing the general dispensation to expire, we welcome back to Mass all Catholics who have already been engaged in other activities that would present a similar or greater risk of exposure, such as eating out at restaurants, traveling, partaking in non-essential shopping, and widening one’s circle of contacts. These individuals should also prepare to return to Mass in recognition of its preeminence in our lives as Catholics.

The health and safety of our communities is and always will be paramount as we continue to closely monitor local conditions. For that reason, I am continuing the liturgical directive that all the faithful present at Mass, with the exception of small children, wear a mask or face-covering. If this proves impossible for you or a family member, please speak with your priest. Additionally, our churches will remain limited to no more than 50 percent of available capacity for the near future, and many other existing protocols will remain in place. The Archdiocese is committed to assisting pastors to adjust Mass schedules or offer additional public Masses, insofar as possible, to make it easier for as many of the faithful as possible to attend Mass while still practicing social distancing during the approaching Lent and Easter seasons.

At the beginning of this pandemic, I entrusted the Archdiocese of Detroit to Our Lady of Lourdes, patroness for those who suffer illness, asking that, through her intercession, God would grant healing and protection to the people of southeast Michigan and beyond. I ask you, brothers and sisters, to join me in offering prayers of thanksgiving to Our Blessed Mother for her intercession so far and to pray for her continued accompaniment. With her help, let us persevere in hope to face the challenges of this virus and continue to give witness to our confidence in the good news of the Lord’s victory over suffering and death.

With assurances of my prayers for you, I remain,

Sincerely yours in Christ,

The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron
Archbishop of Detroit