stmaryjoy Announcements, From Fr. Shafique, Mass

Change to Mass Times

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

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.

Father Shafique Masih

stmaryjoy Announcements, From Paul Zbytowski, Mass

Church Open May 16th and 17th

Hello everyone,
This weekend, May 16th and 17th, Father will again have the Parish open for private prayer, and Confessions. The doors will be open from 3 pm to 6 pm on Saturday, and Father will hear Confessions from 4 pm to 5 pm (again, we will use the Cry Room, not the normal Confessionals). We will also be open on Sunday from 9 am until noon, and Father will hear Confessions from 10 am to 11 am (again, in the Cry Room).

We will also resume public Mass on Wednesday, May 20th at the normal Noon Mass time, and it will be followed by Adoration until 3:00 pm. We will have the normal 8:30 Masses on Thursday and Friday, as well as weekend Masses on Saturday the 23rd and Sunday the 24th. I will send something out on Monday letting everyone know more details on the 23rd and 24th.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

  1. No one is under obligation to come to Mass until after Sept. 6th, so if you feel more comfortable staying home and staying safe, PLEASE do.
  2. The Archdiocese is specifically asking people 65 or older and those with compromised immune systems to stay at home for their safety.
  3. If you are sick, PLEASE STAY HOME.
  4. You will be required to wear a mask (or other face covering) while at the Church. This is for everyone’s safety, not just yours.
  5. Seating will be limited to 200 people at one time. Once we are at that number, additional people will not be allowed to stay.
  6. We will NOT be using the Cry Room for seating during Mass. Please sit in the main part of the Church. We will be using it as a Confessional for the time being.
  7. We will have Communion at Mass, but distribution will look different. I will send out something at the beginning of next week to explain exactly what that looks like at St. Mary’s.
  8. We will be regularly cleaning the Church for everyone’s safety.
  9. For a second layer of protection, please use the available Cleaning Wipes to clean the area that you will be praying at, and dispose of the wipe in the trash can when you leave.

God Bless you,
Paul

stmaryjoy Mass

Welcome to IHMM

We are excited to welcome Immaculate Heart of Mary Ministry to our Parish. IHM Ministry’s goal is spread a devotion to Mary and her Immaculate Heart, as well as help preserve Filipino religious traditions.

First Saturday devotions will start on December 7th with a 6:30 pm Mass.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary Ministry will also sponsor a Simbang Gabi, which is a nine day Novena of Masses in anticipation of the birth of Christ.

The Masses for the Simbang Gabi will be:

  • Sunday, Dec. 15th – 4:00 pm
  • Monday, Dec. 16th – 7:00 pm
  • Tuesday, Dec. 17th – 6:30 pm
  • Wednesday, Dec. 18th – 7:00 pm
  • Thursday, Dec. 19th – 6:30 pm
  • Friday, Dec. 20th – 7:00 pm
  • Saturday, Dec. 21st – 6:30 pm
  • Sunday, Dec. 22nd – 4:00 pm
  • Monday, Dec. 23rd – 7:00 pm (followed by refreshments in the Small Hall)

All masses are in English. Liturgical songs may be in the Bisaya or Tagalog languages. Everyone is welcome to participate!

stmaryjoy Charity, Christian Service, SVdP

Shop Kroger, Help SVdP

Shop at Kroger, Help Our SVdP

You can help our St. Vincent de Paul every time you use your Kroger Plus card!

Have your a Kroger Plus card handy (or get one from the customer service desk at any Kroger) and go to

at krogercommunityrewards.com:

  • You will need to Sign In or Register as a ‘New Customer’.
  • Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.
  • Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.
  • Enter “47927” as their NPO number
  • To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization’s name on the right side of your information page.

Do you use your phone number at the register? Call 877-576-7587 to get your Kroger Plus card number.

Now every time you swipe your Kroger Plus card you will be helping those in need in your community.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul – St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy Conference thanks you!

stmaryjoy Announcements, Mass

Memorial Mass

Sunday, November 5th at 10:00 am

November is a time to reflect on the past year and remember our friends and family who have gone to their eternal rest. Our tradition is to have a Memorial Mass as part of this remembrance. At this mass all of the crosses, with the names of our deceased parishioners that were placed on our Wall of Remembrance over the last year, will be  returned to families to take home.

 

 

stmaryjoy Announcements, Charity, From Fr. Ken

We Are Called

In April, I attended the Chrism Mass at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Detroit. I was fortunate to have a seat in the front row; the seats reserved for priests behind the altar and to the right of the altar were filled, so the “overflow” seating for priests was the first few rows. Lucky!

There was a statue that I had never seen before in the Cathedral. It was located at the front of the sanctuary, in front of the altar. It was the statue of a man in robes, with an arm and hand outstretched. His face was down and covered. In front of him was a simple plate and cup. The statue intrigued me so much so that I could barely pay Picture1attention to the Mass. Was this a statue of Jesus, celebrating the Last Supper with his disciples? Or was this the statue of a poor, homeless person, begging for something to eat or to drink? I couldn’t decide. Maybe it was meant to be that way. Maybe it was Jesus, and he was in the person of the homeless man, pleading for something to eat or drink that day. The image of that statue “bothered” me to the point that I had to investigate it. Was it meant to be Jesus? Or just a local beggar?
I discovered that the Cathedral had leased a few statutes for the Lenten season; this was just one of them. Others portrayed a homeless person sleeping on a park bench, a sick person covered in a blanket, and others. The artist is Timothy P. Schmalz. You can check out his statues online.

I think that one of the reasons that I was so moved by the statue was that I couldn’t decide, in my mind (and my heart) if it was meant to be Jesus, or a homeless hungry man. Of course, the answer is obvious. It was BOTH. “I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me to drink. Whatsoever you do to one of the least of my brothers or sisters, you did to me.”

As a parish, we are called to reach out to others in need. Yes, indeed, each one of them is Jesus. The poor. The hungry and thirsty. The homeless. Those in need of medical care. We need not travel to downtown Detroit to encounter them, we meet them every day. We are in the process of reorganizing our Christian Service Commission, and we need YOUR help. If you have some extra time and want to live out your Christian faith in a practical way, please consider joining us. A parish that is just concerned about itself and maintaining itself is not living out Jesus’ call. We need a lot of hands and hearts. You can’t really tell Jesus that you are too busy, can you??

By the way, the statue left such an impression on me that I bought a miniature size one to remind me always to See Jesus in the most needy of my brothers and sisters.

Fr. Ken

Jeff Announcements, Charity, From Fr. Ken

Mother’s Day 2017

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! To all of you who are mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, mothers-in-law, stepmothers and all who are like mothers or have the role of mother in the lives of others. My mother passed away two years ago. She suffered from dementia for many years so, in many ways, we had been saying farewell to her for many years. She was a gentle person; one of her favorite sayings, especially when she was raising the three of us, was, “If you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all”. And she lived that saying too.

Our mothers teach us many things; life lessons, how to interact with others, to be graceful and to take the higher road when necessary. When children (of any age) are asking for a favor, many times they go to their mother, who then takes the request to dad. How those decisions are made, the child may not know. I can remember when I was young, one night I couldn’t fall asleep and I heard my parents in the kitchen discussing the day’s events in their lives and in the lives of my siblings and I. Long afterward, I realized that that was how the family “decisions” were made.

It’s not hard to take this discussion to the next level and think about the family life of Mary and Joseph, raising the child Jesus. I’m sure they sat down and discussed the day’s activities; they prayed together and made decisions. Mary must have passed down to her Son life lessons.

Those of you who are mothers have an awesome responsibility as well as the possibility of molding your children (grandchildren, nieces and nephews,…). We pray for you, not only today but all days.

Fr. Ken