“The Parish of St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy, inspired by Mary’s “Yes” and led by the Holy Spirit, strives to be a faith-filled community, joyfully welcoming all to witness and to celebrate the Gospel.”
Parish Mission Statement
A Prayer on The Solemnity of Annunciation
Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal Word, You became Incarnate as man in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You, through whom the universe was created, began your earthly course, in the womb of a humble and chaste Virgin. At the annunciation of this miracle, Mary responded in faith: “let it be done to me according to your word.” May we who are made new creatures by your grace, respond with such faith, when you call us to your service. Amen
We would like to congratulate our Pastor, Fr. Shafique Masih, in being named the Moderator of our local Family of Parishes. Fr. Shafique said he is excited for the chance to grow together with our local family.
After carefully consideration, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron is extending the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation until Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2021 for people living in or visiting the Archdiocese of Detroit. As we have from the beginning, we will continue to closely monitor the situation in our region, with an eye on the day – hopefully in the not-to-distant future – when all of us are able to safely reunite in our normal patterns of worship. Whether or not they are able to attend Mass, all baptized Catholics are reminded of the grave necessity they have to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
Last weekend three RCIA candidates were given the Sacrament of Confirmation and brought into Full Communion with the Catholic Church. We would like to congratulate Daniel Cosman, Ian Quinn, and John Zasa. Normally this would have taken place at the Easter Vigil, but was delayed this year because of Covid-19.
We would like to thank Kathy Birchfield, and everyone else who assisted in our RCIA program this last year.
In this time of uncertainty, I hope this note finds you happy and safe. At the end of August we will be saying good bye to Fr. Joe Plawecki, our long time Priest in Residence. Fr. Joe will be taking over as administrator of SS. Simon and Jude Parish in Westland on the first of September. While we are happy for Fr. Joe to get his new assignment, this will also mean that he will not be available to help me cover Masses on the weekend.
This leaves us in a sticky situation. I have also been looking into the option of paying a retired priest to say a Mass every weekend. While this is an option, it will get very expensive quickly. With the low Mass numbers so low during this time of Covid-19 era, I can not justify that we need three Masses on Sunday.
I have been praying about this problem for months, and have spoken to both our staff, and parishioners to get input. At this time it seems like the best route is, starting in September, to change the Sunday Mass schedule to 9:00 and 11:00 am. When restrictions are lifted, and people are returning to Mass we may revisit this schedule, but I feel that this if the best move for our parish at this time.
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 http://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
St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy Catholic Church 