Good Shepherd Parish will have First Friday Eucharistic Adoration Friday, May 4! The more we adore our Eucharistic Lord, the more He blesses us.  If you’re available during the day, please come by the church to pray and spend a quiet moment with Jesus.

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will occur after 9am Mass and conclude with Benediction at 5pm. Please come and spend time with the Lord!  (St. Robert Parish will continue to have Eucharistic Adoration every Friday after the morning Mass until Benediction at 5:30pm.)

• About First Friday & First Saturday Devotions: https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/what-is-the-first-friday-and-first-saturday-devotion/
• About the 12 Promises of Devotion to the Sacred Heart:  (12.) I promise thee, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
  http://www.ourcatholicprayers.com/promises-of-the-sacred-heart-of-jesus.html

Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.  He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.”

This weekend, we hear Jesus talk about the unity of the vine and its branches.  This builds on last weekend’s theme of the Good Shepherd and the sheep.  The gift of the Holy Spirit unites us in love.  Let us call on the Spirit to prune away all that gets in the way of our discipleship and love of Jesus!

On Thursday, May 3, our bishop will come to Flushing to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with 70 students from St. Robert, Good Shepherd and 3 other local parishes.  Let us ask the Holy Spirit to pour out the graces needed for the mission of our youth.  May they grow strong in faith and always live as true disciples of Jesus Christ!  And congratulations to all who have made their First Holy Communion or will do so soon.  We have much to celebrate indeed!

As May is the month of our Blessed Mother, and Our Lady has specifically asked the Church to honor 1^st Saturdays as a day of reparation for the sins of the world, I would like to make a special effort to honor Our Lady and her gifts of the Rosary and Brown Scapular as we begin May.  On Friday evening, May 4, there will be a 7pm Mass at St. Robert, followed by a Rosary procession and outdoor May Crowning at the Marian grotto.  And on Saturday morning, May 5, the 1^st Saturday Mass will be followed by a Brown Scapular enrollment ceremony.

God bless you all!    – Fr. Gordon

2018 DSA Prayer:  Loving and gracious God, we praise you and we thank you for the bountiful gifts that you have bestowed upon us.  Instill in us the courage to “Go and Announce the Gospel of the Lord.”  Help us to understand that we are called to discipleship, to grow actively in faith and to go and share the good news with the world.  Please bless our unified efforts and help us to bring Christ’s love to all we encounter.  Give us the grace to be generous in our support of the Diocesan Services Appeal, so that we may faithfully participate as missionary disciples in the work of Your Holy Church.     Amen.

Good Shepherd will begin a Scripture Study on Friday, April 20 following the 9:00 a.m. Mass.  We will be studying the Attributes of Jesus.  The cost of the book is $15.00.  Please call the parish office if you would like to register.  Come join us!

Our annual DSA goal for 2017 was included in the Witness to Hope campaign, but now the DSA returns for 2018 and beyond. Please prayerfully consider supporting the DSA as it contains many projects such as seminary education that no one parish could provide.  [And by the way, our summer intern—seminarian Michael Cassar—will be joining us in May!]  So thank you for being generous with the mission of the diocese.  Our parish goals can be reached if each one of us shares a portion of the many blessings God has bestowed upon us.  In addition to the DSA articles contained in the recent and coming issues of Faith Magazine, please visit:

• Summer Intern, Michael Cassar: http://www.dioceseoflansing.org/user/2136
• DSA Brochure: http://www.dioceseoflansing.org/sites/default/files/dsa18_brochure_2.pdf
• DSA Video & Online Giving: http://www.dioceseoflansing.org/DSA