stmaryjoy From Fr. Shafique

A Christmas Message from Fr. Shafique


Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christmas is the celebration of the Christ Mass. Christmas is the day when we remember, with the celebration of the Mass, that God came as the Christ or the Messiah to be our savior. The celebration of Christmas reminds us that God is with us Emmanuel.

In the past two years we were faced with many spiritual and emotional challenges in our parish community as many experienced the loss of a loved one, the loss of work, the loss of family gatherings, the loss of inperson education or the loss of our communal celebration of the Mass. It has affected us all in different ways. As we grieve and look back, we are called to focus on the newborn Christ, the light of the world. He is here to enlighten us with his light and with his presence with us in the midst of uncertainty. He brings hope in our life. Let us pray that this joy and hope remains with us as we prepare to journey into New Year.

The backbone of our parish are those who volunteer and our staff members. We have a long list of those dedicated and committed members too numerous to mention. As your pastor, I treasure the gift of you and the dedication, sacrifices, and hard work you have shown to make this parish a beacon of Christ’s love and joy and I say THANK YOU. Once again, I ask you to remember your parish church at Christmas. Your continued financial support is sincerely appreciated.

Let us not forget that we are a “Mission Oriented Parish”. This time of the year is a perfect time for you to ask a family member or friend who has stopped attending Mass to come along with you. We are all asked to reach out to those who, for whatever reason, have chosen not to attend Mass or the sacraments.

Allow the light of Christ to penetrate deep into your hearts and souls so that rediscovering your faith, renewing your commitment to Him, you will truly have a blessed and Merry Christmas. May our Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, bless you, your families and loved ones at this blessed time of hope and grace. Maranatha and Don’t be afraid I, together with Deacon Jim Hensel and the parish staff, wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Fr Shafique Masih

stmaryjoy Family of Parishes, From Fr. Shafique

Letter from our Moderator

Dear friends in Christ,

I trust this message finds you well and at peace.

I am happy to share this announcement from Archbishop Vigneron that we are now officially part of the same Family of Parishes effective July 1, 2021. We have been preparing for this for the past year.

I thank Archbishop Vigneron for placing his trust and confidence in myself as he appoints me as your new Moderator. I am very happy with my new appointment, and I look forward to meeting you and your families as we begin to work, pray and journey together. We are now 5 parishes that have become one family, called to share our resources, gifts and talents and move forward in a future full of hope.

At this point, I only ask two important things:

Firstly, that we thank God for my brother priests who served here in our parishes. May God bless them as they continue to serve the people of God in the Archdiocese of Detroit. 

Secondly, I ask that you pray for me, as your new moderator and my fellow brother priests; Fr. Sean Bonner, Fr. Joe Plawecki, and Fr. Larry Zurawski. Change and transition is not easy. However, I believe, that when you pray for us and we pray for you, together we can make a difference in building up the Body of Christ.

I would like to thank the staffs and volunteers from all of our parishes for their hard work, time and talent, their advice and assistance they have provided. I would also like to thank you for your patience and committed support during COVID-19.  They have been amazing. As we begin this new assignment, we look forward to working together as we seek to grow together in Christ and a future full of hope.

We very much look forward to moving ahead together as time permits, and we continue to be excited about what this means for us as a larger community of faith and service. May God continue to richly bless and take care of you through the Holy Spirit alive in all our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Father Shafiq Hadayat (Fr. Shafique Masih)
Moderator