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Council Comments

7/30/2017

2 Comments

 
Pastor’s Pen On Vacation!
The first reading for this Sunday is from the 1st Book of Kings.  In it we hear about a dream that Solomon has in which the Lord appears to him and tells him to “ask something of me and I will give it to you.”  I suspect that the writer of this passage was very aware that he could capture our attention as he told the story by beginning with the notion of the Lord promising to give a faithful servant anything he might ask.  After all, wouldn’t any of us be enticed by hearing that same message from someone who had the ability to grant a wish, let alone an offer like this from the Lord.  So, we are anxious to know what Solomon asks for and, at the same time, many of us hearing this reading might also daydream a bit about what we would ask for.  We would surely have not trouble coming up with a laundry list of requests that would make us or our loved ones happier or healthier or in some way more successful.

Solomon, who was a young King at the time, asks for and understanding heart so that he can know right from wrong and make good judgements on behalf of his people.  This request pleases the Lord.  He tells Solomon that he could have asked for long life or riches or even vengeance against his enemies, but instead he thought of his calling as the son of David to be a good King.  The Lord says, “I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you.”

Solomon got his wish and to this day we hear references to the ‘wisdom of Solomon.’  Having a wise and understanding heart in 2017 is just as important a request as it was in the days of Solomon.  Although he was a very young and inexperienced ruler, he had a keen sense of what he was called to do and he wanted to be faithful to that calling.  Last weekend, Brother Ray along with eight other Brothers celebrated jubilees in the Capuchin Community.  Their wise and understanding hearts have enable them to discern their callings to be faithful to a life of service as Capuchins and to be blessed with the example of St. Francis of Assisi who said, “We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.”
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We are all called to listen to God’s messages for our lives and, like Solomon, to pray for wise and understanding hearts.  The author Joseph Campbell writes that, “We must be willing to get rid of the life we planned so as to make room for the life that is waiting for us.”  That is very often very difficult to do because our vision for the life we planned has been a part of us for a very long time, sometimes from childhood.  Giving up that vision involves the choice to live in the present rather than the past or a hoped-for future.  Asking the Lord to give us the gift of a wise and understanding heart can allow us to find what we are called to do in the present and to do it with joy and the faith that it is God’s work we do and not our own.
By: Frances Carnaghi
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A Letter From the Archbishop

7/23/2017

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This week marks 50 years since an early-morning raid on a “blind pig” after-hours bar at 12th Street and Clairmount sparked one of the largest civil disturbances in U.S. history, resulting in 43 deaths, nearly 1,200 injuries and millions of dollars in property damage.  Although seeds of unrest were sown long before 1967, and solutions have proven elusive even 50 years on, we have made much progress in building up our community to be respectful of the rights of all it members.  We can put our faith in Christ and remember His message to love one another.

As we recall these tragic events, let us lift our city, our region and one another in prayer.  It is only by the grace of the Prince of Peace that we will find peace.  Let us also pray for those touched by the violence of 1967, especially those who lost their lives and loved ones.  Let us ask for the intercession of our patroness, Saint Anne as we mark this anniversary, and pray that the grace of healing, reconciliation and brotherhood take deep root in every heart across our archdiocese.

Finally, as a visible sing of solidarity and brotherhood, I wish to draw attention to an opportunity to volunteer alongside men, women and youth from all faiths for a six-day Life Remodeled blight removal and beautification project taking place in the neighborhoods hardest hit by the 1967 civil disturbance.  Visit www.aod.org/liferemodeled for more information or to register.

As Detroit’s pioneer priest Fr. Gabriel Richard said following the great fire of 1805 that devastated the city: “We hope for better things; it will rise from the ashes.”  As we recollect 1967, as we work toward healing and as we move forward together in faith to unleash the Gospel in southeast Michigan, there can be no bystanders.  As described in my pastoral letter, all of us in the archdiocese are to commit ourselves to building inter-cultural competency and breaking down barriers that sill divide us.  In reading the signs of the times in southeast Michigan, it is clear that we are a community that is ready for renewal.  Let us make our remembering of 1967 a guidepost on the path to spiritual renewal.

As disciples of Christ, let us work together side-by-side to build a better City and region so that when people see our work, they will know us as His followers.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron
​Archbishop of Detroit
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Pastor's Pen

7/16/2017

1 Comment

 
In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah, we hear the words: “Just as from the heavens, the rain and snow come down and do not remain there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”  That’s powerful. We certainly see Jesus as the Word of the Father and the fulfillment of his mission as he loved us from the cross.  But each of us is a “word” of the Father.  Each of us have been sent into the world on mission.  Each of us have some sacred word to b ring to the world that only we can bring and God waits for the word to be spoken.  We can make up all kind of excuses as to why we have not accomplished that mission for which we were created but God continues to wait.

So, what is the word God is waiting for you to say to the world?  What is your mission?  What is your purpose in life?  What will give meaning to your life?  One way to know our true mission is that it gives us passion and excitement in our lives.  It helps us to feel a connection to God and to those people in our life.  This doesn’t mean that it’s always fun or exciting.  Our mission can be difficult and tedious at times.  If our mission is to care for someone who is sick or raise our children or be a support to our spouse, we all know it can rough some days.  It’s in those moments when we question whether we can do this one more day that God becomes our strength.  That’s why we come to the Table each week to be fed and strengthened for all that will be expected of us in the week ahead.


Some of us may feel that God overlooked us when God was giving out missions.  Sorry, but that’s not the case.  If you don’t feel you have a mission, the just ask God to reveal that which he created you for.  Maybe our ground is too hard for God’s word to penetrate.  God’s word will never go anywhere it’s not welcome.  Let’s all be open this week and truly ask God about our mission.  God longs to tell us!

1 Comment

Pastor's Pen

7/9/2017

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This weekend we bid farewell to Deborah Morrison.  Deborah has been part of Nativity all her life and she embarks on a new chapter as she heads to Las Vegas to be near her daughter and her family.  Deborah, we will miss you but we know God will continue to bless you and all those you meet in Las Vegas.  Thanks for all the goodness and blessings you brought to Nativity.  Please come back and see us whenever you’re in town!

Today, Jesus calls us from the busyness of our lives to rest in his embrace.  Many of us may have labored hard this last week and are tired.  Some of us have experience lots of stress by all the demands placed on us and we need a break.  Whatever we’re going through, God calls us to come away for a while and rest in him.  This summer seems to be the perfect season we can steal a little time away from our usual routine and rest with the Lord.  My hope is that all of us can schedule in a little time to read, sleep, sit by the water or just enjoy the moments.  If we spend our lives just running from one thing to another, we will miss so much along the way.  Jesus reminds us today that we are called to find our peace resting in him and to bring that peace to those we meet along the way.

Updates
Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, here are the dates I know about:

July 16th: Parish Neighborhood Block Party at Sat. Charles from1pm – 6pm

August 6th: Br. Robert’s Presbyteral Ordination at St. Bonaventure Chapel at 11:30am.  Please come out to support our brother. Let’s all attend!

August 13th: Our Parish Picnic at Metro Park. (no 9:45am Mass that day). Mass will be at the park.
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September 16th: Celebration of Br. Robert’s Ordination and Br. Ray’s 15th Jubilee after the 4pm Mass. (There will be a Jubilee celebration with the Capuchins in Wisconsin on July 21 but I discouraged people from coming because of the distance.  We will all celebrate on September 16th!)
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Pastor's Pen

7/2/2017

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It’s Fourth of July weekend!!  It’s time for celebrations and BBQs am family time together.  It’s also a moment to celebrate the birthday of our country and our freedom.  It’s interesting that the Gospel and first reading speak of hospitality and our call to welcome the stranger.  In the midst of our freedom as a country, we have a responsibility as followers of Jesus to welcome those who are struggling to be a free people.  There is much discussion in our country these days about who to let in and who to keep out.  We all want to be safe but we are also called to be compassionate.

                A few words from Pope Francis:

“The Church is Mother, and her motherly attention is expressed with special tenderness and closeness to those who are obliged to flee their own country and exist between rootlessness and integration.  This tension destroys people.  Christian compassion – this ‘suffering with’ compassion – is expressed first of all in the commitment to obtain knowledge of the events that force people to leave their homeland, and where necessary, to give voice to those who cannot manage to make their cry of distress and oppression heard.  They are all elements that dehumanize and must push every Christian and the whole community to concrete attention.”  (Address to the participants in the Plenary and Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, May 24, 3013)

“Often, however, such migration gives rise to suspicion and hostility, even in ecclesiastical communities, prior to any knowledge of the migrants’ lives of their stories of persecution and destitution.  In such cases, suspicion and prejudice conflict the Biblical commandment of welcoming with respect and solidarity the stranger in need.” (Message for the 2015 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, September 3, 2014).

On this celebration of our independence, let’s remember what the Statue of Liberty says: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.  Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me.  I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
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