Letter from the Archbishop

Kathy From the Archbishop

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I write today with gratitude for the many blessings God has granted the Archdiocese of Detroit during our missionary journey. Six years ago, we asked God to send his Holy Spirit upon us in a New Pentecost, to fill us with an unshakable inner conviction of the truth of the Gospel and a love that compels us to share the good news with those around us. Two years later, through Synod ‘16 we received clarity that God wanted us to reclaim our Church’s missionary identity and we set out with a promise to trust and follow him.

We began in earnest the work of a generation, to unleash the Gospel in southeast Michigan and beyond. Last year, we announced the next phase of this missionary movement, a plan to transform our parishes and schools, making them places where individuals and families can encounter Jesus anew, grow as disciples, and be equipped as witnesses of the Risen Christ.

This continues to be our mission today, even now in the midst of a historic pandemic. The current health and economic crises have disrupted our lives and the life of the Church. This new reality has exacerbated some of the challenges we were already facing. Even before the pandemic, we knew that the way we function in our parishes needed to change. In addition to the shortage of priests available to serve in our parishes and the shortage of vocations for future ordinations, the parish structures we inherited served our mission well in the past, but they needed to be renewed and aligned for mission.

And so, in prayer and in consultation with others, I’ve discerned that now is the time to respond in faith to the challenges we face and to take the necessary steps to better equip our parish communities for mission. Over the next two years, parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit will join together to form new groupings called “families of parishes.” These groups – these families – of three to six parishes will work together and share human and material resources to further advance our shared mission. This new model will allow groups of priests, deacons, and lay staff to better share their gifts and talents with their entire parish families.

We are not the same diocese we were six years ago when we began this journey. God has been at work in us, in our communities, in our parishes, and in our schools. We have learned to be more docile to the Holy Spirit. We have learned to walk with apostolic boldness and confidence in God. We are committed to working in a spirit of innovation and collaboration. And most importantly, we have resolved to place Christ and his mission above all else.

Over the next several months, groups of clergy and lay faithful will help me discern the leadership and governance structure of the families of parishes and the ways in which this new structure will help all our parishes become vibrant posts of missionary activity. At Advent, my hope is to announce the groups of parishes that will form each family, with the first of them expected to begin to function as a family in July of 2021.

I invite you to visit the website www.familiesofparishes.org to learn more about this process and to sign up for updates. Please join me in praying for this very important step in the life and mission of our local Church. Let us give thanks to God ahead of time for the great work he is doing in our midst. God is with us. He has given us his Holy Spirit as the initiator, guide, and driving force of our mission.

Blessed Solanus Casey, Detroit’s own priest, pray for us. Our Lady of Lourdes, protector of the sick, pray for us. And dear St. Anne, patron of our Archdiocese, pray for us.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron
Archbishop of Detroit

Pentecost Sunday

Kathy From our Pastor

Today we celebrate ‘the Feast of the Pentecost,” with this Feast we come to the end of the Easter celebration. Now, the Feast of Pentecost was one of the most phenomenal and important events in all of history. There are several reasons why this event was so important.

 · It was “the coming of the Holy Spirit.”

· It was the birth of the Church.

· It was the corporate filling of the Holy Spirit, of the body of believers with the promised

      presence of Christ.                             

· It was the personal filling of the individual believer by the Holy Spirit.

· It was the Presence and Power of God coming upon the believers, gifting, and equipping them to proclaim the glorious message of salvation to men.

 

Above all the Feast of Pentecost was God’s providence. This Feast needs to be understood in order to see God’s providence at work. Pentecost was celebrated fifty days after the Passover. It was also known as the “Day of the First Fruits” (Num 28:26), or the “Feast of Weeks” (Ex 34:22), or the “Feast of Harvest.” Pentecost was a glorious day of celebration, a day when the people were to heap praise and thanksgiving upon God. There were three particular reasons for which they were to thank God.

1.The harvest of the fields. The very name of the Feast says it is a celebration of the “First Fruits.” It was celebrated when the first fruits of the harvest began to come in, which was around the first of June.

2.The Exodus, the deliverance of the nation Israel from Egyptian bondage (Dt.16:12). The people were to thank God for the day He delivered them out of slavery.

3. The giving of the law upon Mt. Sinai (Ex.19-20). This was the day the people were constituted as a nation, as the great nation of Israel. They were to live as God’s very own people upon earth. They were to thank God for Himself and for His law.

It is important for all of us to note that all three events were fulfilled in the coming of the Holy Spirit. When ‘the day of Pentecost came’ the first fruits were born- the church itself and the first harvest of souls. The new beginning that is, the filling of the Holy Spirit, began fifty days after Jesus’ death and resurrection. The coming of the Holy Spirit had a very specific purpose. The Holy Spirit was to live and work within the heart of man, to deliver and free him from the enslavements of this world- from sin, death, and hell. The coming of the Holy Spirit was the birth of the church, the new people of God.

 

New Assignment

Dear parishioners, I would like to inform, all of you that Our Archbishop Allen Vigneron has asked me to become the Administrator of St. Michael Parish, Monroe. I shall be moving to the new parish on August 1, 2020. It is not easy to leave all of you and move to a new place. I consider it as a plan of God. Let us continue to pray for each other during this pandemic. I shall thank all of you in my next article. 

 

God’s blessings and a Happy Feast of Pentecost.

Stay safe.

Fr. Kishore Babu Battu SAC

Guidelines to be followed when you come to Church

Kathy Archdiocese, From our Pastor

If you want to attend Mass Archdiocese of Detroit has set forth certain guidelines that must be followed. These requirements are for your protection, and for the safety of your fellow parishioners.

1.  Those older than 65 years old, with a compromised health conditions or caring for the sick in any way, should be encouraged to stay home. Anyone who is ill, has a temperature, cough, should definitely stay home as an act of justice to the whole community.

 2.  The dispensation from the Sunday obligation to attend Mass is granted to all the faithful through Sunday, September 6, 2020. Although Sunday Mass participation may not be available, attending Mass on weekday should be good as well.

3.  Under the AOD guidelines one needs to maintain social distancing of six feet or more. In order to follow that guideline seating will be limited in the Church. Family members may sit (or walk) together without any concern for the spacing.

 4.  Masks are to be worn by everyone approaching church and inside the Church- (except for those under 2 years old.) You will need to remove or lower your mask and remove gloves if you are wearing them before approaching to receive the Eucharist. After you consume the Body of Christ you need to put your mask back before you start the return trip to your seat.

 5.  If you desire to receive Holy Communion on your tongue, you will need to approach the EM’s last.

 6.  Offertory collections will be dropped in baskets placed near the church entrances.

 7.  When exiting the church after Mass, you will have to be patient in order to maintain the required spacing. Bulletins will not be handed out, but they will be made available at the entrances of the Church. 

Clergy Assignment Announcements from Archbishop Vigneron

Reverend Kishore Battu, SAC, with the concurrence of his superior, Very Reverend Arogyadas Kottana, Regional Rector, appointed Administrator of St. Michael Parish, Monroe, effective August 1, 2020.  Fr. Battu is currently serving as Associate Pastor of St. Valentine Parish, Redford and Our Lady of Loretto Parish, Redford.

The above announcement was made on Sunday, May 17, 2020. As Fr. Kishore’s new assignment begins on August 1st he will continue to serve at both the Churches till then. We definitely want to thank him for his two years of ministry with us, including his responsibility as the Director of Religious Education. With the issue of social distancing being on our way, we may not be able to have a reception in his honor, but we can find ways to thank him personally as you come and go for the weekend liturgies.