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What’s the Good News? Someone Has Come To Fight!

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Watch Evensong 2023 

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Flocknote

Parish family member or friend of the parish, as your pastor, I want to help you to stay informed about what our beloved Lord is doing in our parish and THROUGH our parish, and how He might be inviting you to join Him in His mission of rescuing the lost and the hopeless, and making intentional, joy-filled disciples..

Please join our new parish Flocknote! No passwords, no apps required. It allows parish leaders, including staff, leaders of ministries and groups, etc., to communicate important info via email or text.

I’ll be sending a weekly update via Flocknote. As you sign up, please choose groups/ministries you’re interested in receiving communication from (even if you’re only praying/thinking about joining that ministry).

Text to join: text the word BESTSHEPHERD to 84576

Or Join with link: https://GoodShepherdUbly.flocknote.com

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Called and Gifted Workshop
Date & Time: Saturday, October 28, 9:00am-3:30pm
Location: Good Shepherd Parish Center
1935 Hamilton St., Ubly, MI 48475
Registration: contact Michele Mroczek 989-635-3453 or email: mroczek1@centurytel.net
Registration deadline: October 6
Cost: $20 fee for materials; scholarships available if needed. Pre-payment taken at registration after Masses at some vicariate parishes. Or, AFTER registering with Michele via phone or email, mail check written to “Good Shepherd Parish” with “Called & Gifted” in memo line, to 4470 N. Washington St. Ubly MI 48475. Or, payment will be accepted at the workshop.

Flyer: https://dioceseofsaginaworg-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/nharburg_diosag_org/ERyTgwld3fBFl4DDDFo6oWsBveiUQ8KoAejWPOGPGxi_Ew?e=i8PJBy

Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/2TFgi1AzY

Called & Gifted Workshop- promo video recorded in Ubly:

 

Generic Promotional video: https://vimeo.com/322254299
Testimonial videos: https://vimeo.com/showcase/5886462
Brochure: https://www.siena.org/documents/2017/3/Called%20%20Gifted%20Brochure.pdf
Charisms FAQ: https://files.ecatholic.com/14186/documents/2017/3/Charisms%20Brochure.pdf?t=1489096277000

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PARISH RENEWAL PRAYER

After Masses, we will soon begin praying a “Parish Renewal Prayer”, as our Pastoral Council has agreed to do. I wrote the prayer inspired by prayers of various others. Our parish leaders need us to pray for them, because Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15) We need to ask God to give us leaders His Holy Spirit, so that we can discover God’s Vision for our parish, and make plans accordingly.

God’s Vision generally speaking is something we already know: the purpose of a parish is to promote the glory of God, the sanctification of souls, and the salvation of the lost. It is a “field hospital” for sinners, not a social club. It’s mission is to form “missionary disciples” of Jesus Christ and to become a “center of constant missionary outreach”, in the words of Pope Francis.

Here is the Parish Renewal Prayer phrase by phrase, with explanation:

“Come Holy Spirit, Fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in them the fire of Your love.”

***the beginning of an ancient prayer to the Holy Spirit. Pray it daily and you will see amazing things in your life

Enlighten parish leaders as they meet to discover God’s Vision for our parish.

***without the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment, we will remain in the dark and be vulnerable to the attacks of the devil, the ”father of lies” and author of confusion. Just as God has a Vision for our parish, so does the devil. We need to discover God’s Vision so we can make plans towards achieving it

Give to them, and to each one of us, “a lively faith, a firm hope, a fervent charity, a love of you.”

***from a prayer by St. Thomas More

Help us to grow in Your gifts and fruits, and to discover our charisms for ministry. Heavenly Father, We ask for a “new outpouring of the Holy Spirit”

***from the words of the shepherd Jesus appointed for our diocese, Bishop Robert Gruss (Great Lakes Bay Catholic, Issue #3). He asked us to pray for this new outpouring regularly. Please read the full article in Issue #3. There is a difference between the fruits, gifts, and charisms of the spirit; see back of the parish renewal prayer bookmark to see the difference. On October 27, 2023 our parish will be hosting the Called and Gifted Workshop to help us discover our personal charisms

…in our hearts, our families, our parish, and our diocese to bring about “an authentic and renewed conversion to our Lord Jesus Christ.”

***from article by Bishop Gruss. He has encouraged us priests to pray daily for the conversion of our parishes, as did St. John Vianney, the patron of parish priests. I do pray daily for my own deeper conversion and the deeper conversion of my parish. Now we’re all going to pray for conversion together

Blessed Virgin Mary, grant a “renewed Pentecost” “that will spread in everyone the joy of living and witnessing to the Gospel.”
***the prayer of Pope Benedict XVI (Regina Caeli Message, May 11, 2008)

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

***the beginning of the traditional St. Michael Prayer. I encourage every Christian to pray the full prayer daily. You can find it on the back of the hymnal

Jesus, we trust in You!

***the prayer Jesus asked St. Faustina to have inscribed at the bottom of the Divine Mercy Image

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Praying with Scripture: Lectio Divina (Divine Reading)

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Advent 2022 Homily Series: What is the Good News? CREATED, CAPTURED, RESCUED, RESPONSE

This homily series is meant to help us surrender our lives to Christ and cooperate with Him in His mission of rescuing souls:

Homily #1: CREATED: Why is there something rather than nothing?

Homily #2: CAPTURED: Why is everything so messed up?

Homily #3: RESCUED: What has God done about it?

Homily #4: RESPONSE: What is my response?

Video Summary of the Good News: “Someone Has Come To Fight” – Fr. John Riccardo

The greatest crisis in the Catholic Church is the lack of discipleship. Tim Glemkowski, in his book Made for Mission, as well as Don Buchalski, Coordinator of Evangelization for the Diocese of Saginaw, have highlighted the need for parishes to offer a yearly “pathway to discipleship” in order to become what our Lord wishes them to be, training centers for discipleship and evangelization. The Rescue Project series (watch it free here) could become our pathway. We offered it fall 2022, and it bore great fruit. We plan to offer it Lent 2023.

Surrender Prayer

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Nicene Creed Beginning in Advent: At our Worship Commission meeting, we looked at the guidelines for the “profession of faith” at Mass and the options of praying the Apostles Creed or the Nicene Creed. We will begin using a combination of the creeds at our parish, with the presider announcing which creed would be said at the time of Mass when it will be changed for the season. I surveyed the vicariate pastors, and some of them use a combination of creeds, but most use Nicene Creed all year round. One that uses a combination of the creeds said there is, “No confusion because I tell them which one we are saying…” 

To put us in union with most parishes throughout the country, as you see in livestream Masses, we will begin praying the Nicene Creed most of the year, beginning this Advent. But in the seasons of Lent through Easter we will use the Apostles Creed, as the Roman Missal suggests. 

It is appropriate to start the Nicene in Advent, since we’re preparing for the birth of the divine Son of God. The Nicene Creed focuses on the divinity of Christ. It was written to counter the early heresies (false teachings) that Christ is not fully divine, especially the Arian Heresy. The Nicene Creed contains a line that’s like a hammer repeatedly smashing the Arian heresy. The Arian heresy is that Jesus was not fully God. The line states that Jesus is, “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father…” 

“Consubstantial” means MORE than simply “one in being”, the former translation. It means, of the same substance or essence. It means that Jesus IS God. Father Bryan Babick, SL.L. gives this analogy, “Every analogy necessarily breaks down, of course, but consider that when you eat at a restaurant that allows you to select and fill your own drink from a soda fountain or a coffee pot, you often go for a free refill. Rarely do you put a different kind of soda or type of coffee, which is a substance, in the same cup you used for the first fill. You would fill it with the same substance. When God came into the World, He came Himself, not some substitute of lesser stature, or different flavor. Consubstantial may not be a word we use often, but there’s no better word to describe the relationship between God the Father and God the Son.”

charlestondiocese.org/divine-worship-and-sacraments/articles/consubstantial-with-the-father/

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Mass Journals: I’m excited for your sake, and for our Lord’s sake! Our Lord is eager and anxious to speak to each one of us, no matter our age. This weekend at Masses we kick-off the Mass Journals. These journals will help you hear the Lord speak personally to you. If you’re away this weekend, you can pick up a Mass Journal at our churches or parish office.