Advent Resources

November 26, 2022 / CL / News

We have gathered some resources to help you and your family celebrate Advent.

Blessing Advent Wreath

Blessing the Family Christmas Tree

Blessing Christmas Ornaments

Find the Story behind the Christmas Stories

Advent Amid the Gift Wrap

Four Gifts for You this Advent

More Advent Resources…

Celebrating Advent as a Family – here are several ideas for how you can celebrate Advent.

A favorite idea I took from the above is: Advent Angels – At the beginning of Advent each family member can blindly pick a name of another member of the family and become his or her Advent angel. Prayers, sacrifices and acts of kindness can be offered and exercised daily. During the Christmas season small homemade gifts can be exchanged between the ‘angels’. This prolongs the joy of Christmas, encourages creativity and teaches children (and adults) to discover unique talents they can share with others.

CHRISTMAS NOVENA

This novena is a unique prayer for the last nine days of Advent, beginning on December 16th and ending on Christmas Eve. It will help you to prepare your heart for the Nativity of the Lord. The prayer is:

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires
(mention request here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother

Novena Meditations

Advent Resources from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

Breakfast with Santa

November 23, 2022 / CL / News, Youth

On Saturday, December 10, 2022 Teens will host Breakfast with Santa from 9:00 a.m. – Noon, in the Good Shepherd Family Life Center.

Teens will host a pancake breakfast

Visit and Photo with Santa, face painting and Crafts

The event is open to everyone in the community.

Donation-based

Proceeds will be used to sponsor Montrose children for Christmas.

Special thanks to Crimi Photography.

Religious Ed News

November 22, 2022 / CL / News, Religious Ed

Please join us in praying for these 7th grade children that participated in the Mass of Enrollment as part of their preparation for Confirmation next year:

Jayden Huckleberry, Eli Moore, Maddox Shaski, Caiden Stroup, Samantha Stroup, and Cody Wolford.

Please pray for these 8th grade children as they continue their journey towards Confirmation this coming March:

Noah Dunn, Valerie Mayer, Joslyn Mount, and Colt Wolford.

The Art on the Walls

You may have noticed the drawings hanging in the Parish Hall. These beautiful pictures were made by the children in our Level 1 and Level 2 atriums during their work time. We view their art as a physical expression of prayer. They were made with Jesus in their hearts and His word on their minds. If you haven’t seen them yet, take a minute after Mass to come over and check them out!

Religious Ed Registration Form (print and fill out)

Online Registration Form

Giving Tree

November 14, 2022 / CL / KofC, News

We will have a Giving Tree set up at the front entrance to the church on Saturday November 19 & Sunday, November 20. 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, Dec. 4^th.

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.

Note on passage of Proposal 3 from Fr. Jon

November 9, 2022 / CL / KofC, News

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Well, I woke up today, along with you, to the sad and tragic news of the passing of Proposal 3 into our state constitution. As our Bishop Boyea put it, we can rightly shed a tear this morning, but not lose hope.Please take a moment to watch and share this short video from Bishop Boyea

(only 2 minutes long!).

I too am deeply grateful to all of you who worked so tirelessly and persevered in prayer over these past coupe of months. Thank you. Your labor will bear great fruit!

In my own prayer this morning I was praying with a book by Fr. Jaques Philipe on priestly fatherhood, and providentially it included this passage on the power and importance of using the gift of our faith in all situations:

“There is another aspect of this spirit of faith that I don’t want forget: believing that everything is in God’s hands. All the circumstances we go through, whatever their cause may be, good or bad, are in God’s hands, and everything can work toward the good if we love him, according to Paul’s words (see Rom 8:28). In the end, the spirit of faith is really the principal quality of Christ’s ministry. It is faith full of humility and gentleness and is a constant path of conversion, but it doesn’t allow itself to be torn down by anything, by any failure of difficulty.”

Jaques Philippe Priestly Fatherhood, p.91

You and I were made for these times.

Let us continue to place our faith and trust in God, asking for his Spirit and strength.

Come, Holy Spirit, increase our hope in Jesus and strengthen us to continue to Fight Like Heaven. Help us build a culture of life and our Father’s Kingdom; bring conversion, healing and justice to our state and land. God be with you and bless you today.

—Fr. Jonathan

Praying for Holy Souls

October 27, 2022 / CL / KofC, News

ALL SOULS: There are several easy ways to pray for the Souls of the Faithful Departed in the first week of November. The Manual of Indulgences offers several options ( http://www.catholic.org/prayers/indulgw.php ), and these are summarized below. Note that one may gain a plenary indulgence by visiting a cemetery between Nov. 1st – 8th. We have a whole week to pray for our loved ones departed!

Visit to a Cemetery. Only applicable to the souls in Purgatory when one devoutly visits and prays for the departed. A PLENARY INDULGENCE is bestowed for this work each day between November 1 and November 8.

“Eternal Rest.” A partial indulgence only to the souls in purgatory. “Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.”

Visit to a Church or Oratory on All Souls Day. PLENARY INDULGENCE. A plenary indulgence, applicable ONLY to the souls in purgatory, may be obtained by those who, on All Souls Day, piously visit a church, public oratory, or -for those entitled to use it, a semi public oratory. It may be acquired either on the day designated as All Souls Day or, with the consent of the bishop, on the preceding or following Sundayor the feast of All Saints. On visiting the church or oratory it is required that one Our Father and the Creed be recited.

Volunteers Needed

October 14, 2022 / CL / News

We are in need of readers and sacristans, especially for our Saturday evening Mass. If you are able to help in either of these ministries, please call the parish office or send an email to goodshepherdofmontrose@gmail.com. Thank You!

Reconnect with God and Others

September 5, 2022 / CL / No Category, Youth

What are ways to re-connect with God (as a family and with others)?

Attend Weekly Sunday Mass

Praying Daily

Come pray in the church

Pray in the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

Join Bishops Disciples Together on the Way weekly challenge

Fr. Michael Schmitz Year of the Bible podcast

Formed.org /register and enter the parish code: a8b5fe

Rescueproject.us

Ushering, Lecturing or Singing

Prepare & cleanup after Mass (Sacristan)

Visit the Sick or
bring them meals

help with Religious Ed

help with Youth Group

Caring for our facilities

Become a Knight

This fall, and the coming Liturgical year through next Easter season (June)I am encouraging, inviting, even challenging each of us to “Re-Connect.” One of the lingering effects of the pandemic seems to be a greater malaise about doing things, including, especially, the essential things in life: worship, prayer, serving other, using our gifts to build up society and the Kingdom of God. I think this is true for us as a country, and we as Catholics have not been immune to this effect. You might think of it as a theme for this year: “Re-Connect” with God and with others.

What are ways to re-connect with God (as a family and with others)? Weekly Sunday Mass, of course, but also praying daily. Some ways to help you re-connect with God (and help other parishioners re-connect with God): join (or start again) our Bishop’s Disciples Together on the Way weekly challenge. This week we are starting an at-home retreat together. Perfect timing. Go to the diocesan web site to sign up ( dioceseoflansing.org )
– Or start Fr. Michael Schmitz Year of the Bible podcast. You can find this on your podcast app, and it’s easy to start from the beginning (it just takes a little scrolling!).
– Or go to formed.org ( formed.org/register and enter the parish code: a8b5fe): dive into a series or even a movie. There is so much good stuff here, it’s almost too hard to choose! Or go to rescueproject.us These engaging videos will help you encounter Jesus in a deeper way and strengthen your faith and your ability to live it.
– Come to the church while it is open and pray in the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. This act of faith in His Real Presence, making the effort to pray with the Eucharist, is always something that brings great grace and blessings to us. Sit with Jesus, talk with Him, read the Bible, pray for others, let him heal and love you.

At the same time re-connect with others: other parishioners, your neighbors, your co-workers, your family, and not least, your community through service. Many of our brothers and sisters are staying away from Sunday Mass no longer because of covid but because they have fallen out of the good habit. It can be hard to “get back in the swing of things.” If you are reading this and it’s been awhile since you’ve been to Sunday Mass, or maybe it has become an occasional thing (or not at all) since covid, then please know we miss you and need you, and even more, God is calling you back to His presence. Come back to the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Mass!

And for all of us: what are ways that you can re-connect with serving each other at the parish? There are opportunities at Mass, of course: helping with ushering, greeting, lecturing, singing, preparing and cleaning up after Mass. There are other opportunities too: visiting the sick or bringing them meals, helping with religious ed or our youth group, caring for our facilities, becoming a Knight (for our men), helping with Christian service (like around Thanksgiving and Christmas time). I am so grateful and encouraged by those in our parish who are faithfully doing these things. We are blessed by them. We should also be challenged and humbled by them: they should not be the only ones doing what they are doing. Each of us has gifts to bring, skills and abilities and just your presence that we need. We need you.

I am also thinking of many other ways we can and should re-connect with one another: inviting others to a parish activity, or to your home, or to some service in our community. The ways of doing this are as varied as each of us and the unique gifts he has given each of us. We are made for God and one another. We are not meant to live most of our lives behind screens or through screens. Let’s be intentional with making lots of time to re-connect with each other, sometimes even beginning with our own family at home!

Some upcoming opportunities to re-connect with God and others, and even both, here at Good Shepherd: our Women’s Welcome retreat on September 17-18. Our Parish fall festival the following Sunday, September 25 after 11:15 Mass. Join us down at St. Robert on September 15, at 6:30 PM for an evening of praise and worship and being strengthened and encouraged to live our faith with a talk and discussion on abortion by a woman who has a powerful and remarkable story. Our Knights fish fry’s begin this week: delicious!

As we dive back into a new school year, I think God is inviting us to be renewed in His Spirit, and in the zeal and power and love and self-control that His Spirit brings to us. Let’s Re-connect with God and one another.

+ Fr. Jonathan

Ways You Can Take Action

July 17, 2016 / CL / No Category

Please Urge the Senate to Approve the Conscience Protection Act!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ACTION! With voices all over Michigan and all over the country encouraging its passage, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Conscience Protection Act this week by a 245-182 bipartisan vote. The measure allows for health care providers and payers to protect their rights in court should they be forced to participate in abortion. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, the respective chairs of the pro-life and religious liberty committees at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), applauded the vote and urged continued action as the bill moves forward to the U.S. Senate. Please send a message to the senate now: http://www.micatholic.org/advocacy/catholic-advocacy-network/vv/?vvsrc=%2fCampaigns
Please Urge Congress to Approve the First Amendment Defense Act!
The First Amendment Defense Act (H.R. 2802, S. 1598) would bar the federal government from discriminating against individuals and organizations based upon their religious beliefs or moral convictions that marriage is the union of one man and one woman or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage. Please send a message now: https://www.votervoice.net/USCCB/Campaigns/43794/Respond

Download our Parish App!

January 22, 2015 / CL / No Category

At Good Shepherd we are pursuing new opportunities to foster a stronger parish life and better engage the New Evangelization. As a part of these efforts we are happy to announce that Good Shepherd now has it’s own app for Apple and Android phones.

Our new app will allow us to send you useful and important messages throughout the week regarding our parish life and events, and allow you to reply to messages or RSVP for events.

There will be no need for parishioners with smart phones to remember to silence their phones before Mass. The app will send you a reminder to silence your phone 20 minutes before the Mass you select. Many more great features will be a help to all of us, such as, daily Mass readings, Catholic news, prayers and prayer reminders, quick access to online tithing, Confession reminders, and our weekly bulletin.

So, be sure to download the app by visiting myparishapp.com or searching for myparish on your phone’s app store, or text APP to 55321 and stay connected with us all week long.