We will have a Giving Tree set up at the front entrance to the church on Saturday November 15.   Parishioners are asked to take a tag from the tree and purchase a gift for a local family in need. 

Please return all gifts wrapped including the gift tag from the tree by Sunday, November 30. 

May giving these gifts help remind us all of the joy and love celebrated on that first Christmas, and help to show the love of Good Shepherd to these families.

Saint Nicholas will be visiting classrooms and atrium space on Friday, Dec.5 (in honor of the Feast Day on Dec. 6) – we are inviting parishioners to donate small items that will be stuffed into the shoes of students while they are in class. There are approximately 25 students. Saint Nicholas will share information about his life and generosity with students. 

Ideas include: saint medals, saint cards, small gold chocolate coins, tiny oranges, small wrapped candy *nut free, Rice Krispy treats, candy canes, etc. — Donations of these items can be given to the parish office. Items will be assembled and distributed on Friday, December 5 into the children’s shoes while they are in class. Come and help, if you are able.

We ask that the candy be NUT-free due to several people with allergies.

Pope Francis opened the Jubilee Year of Hope for the universal Church on Christmas Eve 2024 in Rome. Pope Francis released a papal bull proclaiming the Holy Year 2025. The Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year is entitled Spes non confundit (“Hope does not disappoint” and can be found here). In addition, the Apostolic Penitentiary has published this decree.

The Jubilee of Hope Opened in the Diocese of Lansing on December 29, 2024,
The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

To Strengthen & Share Hope

A central aspect of the Jubilee Year is the Jubilee Year Indulgence.

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE APOSTOLIC PENITENTIARY
INDULGENCES FOR JUBILEE YEAR 2025

A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin.

The indulgence applies to sins already forgiven. A plenary indulgence cleanses the soul as if the person had just been baptized. Plenary indulgences obtained during the Jubilee Year can also be applied to souls in purgatory with the possibility of obtaining two plenary indulgences for the deceased in one day.

To obtain an indulgence, the usual conditions of detachment from all sin, sacramental confession, holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the pope must be met. (Usually, an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be).

1. Make a Pilgrimage to Rome and pray for the Pope’s intentions in any one of the Four Major Papal Basilicas (St. Peter’s Basilica, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, or St. Paul Outside the Walls) or any of the special Jubilee churches listed by the Apostolic penitentiary in Rome.
    
2. Make a pilgrimage to one of the following churches in Italy: Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels in Assisi, Basilica of Our Lady of Loreto Basilica of Our Lady of Pompeii, Basilica in St. Anthony in Padua, OR in the Holy Land: Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
    
3. Perform an extraordinary work of mercy such as a generous gift to the poor, or visiting nursing homes or prisons
4. Participate in diocesan or parish sponsored spiritual exercises, missions, or formation activities based on the documents of the Second Vatican Council or the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
    
5. Visit any local Cathedral, Marian Shrine, or other special church designated by the local bishop for obtaining the Jubilee Indulgence.
    
6. Fasting at least one day a week from “futile distractions” such as social media, television, video games, certain phone Holy Doors: Holy Doors are to be opened at the Papal Basilicas of St. Peter, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls (no. 6) and at the Rebibbia Prison in Rome. The Dicastery for Evangelization notes that the distinguishing mark of the Jubilee Year is not the Holy Door, but rather the Jubilee Indulgence, received through the Sacrament of Penance and acts of charity and hope. The various ways and many places where this indulgence may be obtained are summarized above and are outlined in the Apostolic Penitentiary’s Decree on the Granting of the Jubilee Indulgence, issued May 13, 2024. 

Holy Doors:

Holy Doors are to be opened at the Papal Basilicas of St. Peter, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls (no. 6) and at the Rebibbia Prison in Rome. The Dicastery for Evangelization notes that the distinguishing mark of the Jubilee Year is not the Holy Door, but rather the Jubilee Indulgence, received through the Sacrament of Penance and acts of charity and hope. The various ways and many places where this indulgence may be obtained are summarized above and are outlined in the Apostolic Penitentiary’s Decree on the Granting of the Jubilee Indulgence issued May 13, 2024.

Click here to learn more:

+Find out conditions for how to obtain the Jubilee Year Indulgences

+Diocesan Events for the Jubilee Year

+Places of Pilgrimage in the Diocese of Lansing

+Questions Regarding Indulgences