Good Shepherd Catholic Church

400 N. Saginaw Street, Montrose, MI 48457-0974 - Phone: 810-639-7600
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The Good Word

July 2, 2025 / Diocesan / KofC, News

Happy Fourteenth Sunday! And a hearty welcome to our new parochial
vicar, Fr. Christian Salata! You may remember his name first echoing off
these walls over three months ago during Lent, when I announced his
future arrival. And now, with great joy, we finally have him—safe and
sound, settled into the rectory, church keys in hand, and even with his
own spot in the garage. How about that?

Fr. Christian and I know each other mainly from his summer seminarian
assignment several years ago at St. John the Evangelist in Jackson, where
I used to live. The man is an all-star, and I want you to know how truly
blessed I believe we are that our Bishop chose St. Robert and Good
Shepherd for Fr. Christian’s first priestly assignment.

I know you’ll welcome him as warmly as you did me and Fr. Ginu. Thank
you in advance for praying for this man of faith as he begins his first year
of priesthood.

I remember my first year well! It was hectic, eye-opening, tiring, filled
with lessons and grace—and wonderful overall. When I came around the
first lap and finally had time to reflect, a few clear “morals to the story”
rose to the top. I’d like to share two of them that brought me real help
and healing.

Lesson number one—and this isn’t a glamorous life lesson, but it is
essential—was simply: “Learn to survive.”

I don’t think I fully appreciated just how much my life would change in
my first year as a priest. I mean, how could I? You just don’t know what
you don’t know until you go through it.

What happened in my soul at ordination was an eternal change in
identity. I wasn’t a father—and then suddenly, I was a priest forever. But
psychologically, emotionally, spiritually… that reality didn’t catch up with
me right away. I had to grow into it, figuring things out as they hit me in
the face.

Heck, I’m still learning how to be a priest—how to be a better father,
teacher, and shepherd. I don’t have all the answers. But that first year
was a crash course in the grace of survival.

In other words, learning how to live with myself in peace when
everything changes. Learning that growth is the fruit of patience.
Learning how much there is to gain by standing still and waiting—letting
God mold and shape me at the standard pace of grace, which is about
one day at a time.

Lesson number two was: “Pray more, do less.”

This one was huge. To be honest, I was exhausted after my first year in
ministry, and I remember thinking I wouldn’t be alive in 25 years if I kept
going at that pace. God reminded me that the most important work I
would ever do as a priest would be simply to sit with Him in prayer.
I confront this lesson almost daily—it’s naturally difficult for me to slow
down and be still for any length of time. God exercises all kinds of
patience with me in this area of my life—that is for sure. But we have a
strong and gentle God.

Praying—more than a flurry of activity—teaches us the power of humbly
entrusting our needs and worries, our praise and thanksgiving, to Him.
Prayer places us on God’s timeline, for whom a day is like a thousand
years, and a thousand years like a day (2 Pt 3:8).

And it keeps us focused on the most important goal: that our names be written in heaven.

Fr. Brian

      

           

      

                         

    

                                  

Are you or someone you know interested in the Catholic Faith?

June 29, 2025 / CL / KofC, News, Youth

Are you or someone you know seeking a closer relationship with Jesus?  Are there questions about the Catholic faith that need to be answered?  Or would you like to help others in their journey toward discerning the Catholic faith?  Then consider participating in this year’s Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA)!  Classes will be starting soon.  If you would like to join us, or have any questions, please call the parish office or Bill or Sherry Stroup at 810-348-6990.

See more information here

Donations Needed

June 3, 2025 / CL / KofC, News

The Knights of Columbus 4th degree assembly 2211 is collecting goods for the residence of the Aleta V. Lutz Veterans Hospital in Saginaw. This is a veterans’ nursing home. We ask you to please be generous as a lot of the residents have no family nearby.

Items Requested

  • Body Wash • Combs & Brushes • Toothpaste • Toothbrushes in original packaging, Non-alcohol Mouthwash • Razors • Shaving Cream • Men’s t shirts, sweatshirts, & sweatpants sizes M- 6X • Men’s briefs size M – 3X •Men’s socks size 8 – 13 Men’s shoes sizes 8 – 13 (10 & 10.5 most common) • Coats for the current season

Women’s t shirts & undergarments – all sizes • Laundry Detergent (name brands only)  
Gift cards (Meijer, Walmart, Mastercard prepaid, gas) – $10 – $50.

– NO FOOD ITEMS, THANK YOU.

 Questions? Call Adam Lupo, Chief of Voluntary Service, (989) 497-2500 ext. 13369

There will be a drop box for your donations at the front entrance of the church and in the Family Life Center.

Michigan Catholic Women’s Conference

May 16, 2025 / CL / News

Women from across Michigan are invited to come together to focus on their faith and experience the fellowship of sisterhood in Christ Jesus. Throughout the day, women will be encouraged and inspired to ignite their spirits and grow their faith by hearing from Catholic speakers, engaging in praise and worship music, and celebrating holy Mass with our bishops. The conference will be held at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Michigan on October 11, 2025 from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

For Information or to purchase tickets
Click here

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

The Jubilee Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope

February 1, 2025 / CL / KofC, News, Youth

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

Mass Times

Weekend Mass
Sunday:   11:15 AM
Saturday:   4:00 PM

Daily Mass
Tuesday:   6:30 PM
Friday:      9:00 AM

 

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