St Raymond-OLGC Catholic Church

Archbishop Vigneron announced that the general dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days expired on Saturday, March 13, 2021. In its place, he is granting a number of particular dispensations for the faithful who may find themselves in specific circumstances.

PARTICULAR DISPENSATION INFORMATION

The general obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation (including the anticipatory Mass at 4:00pm or later on the previous day) is to be reinstated in the Archdiocese of Detroit effective Saturday, March 13, 2021.

Considering the grave obligation we have of being physically present with our brothers and sisters at Mass on Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation for the Eucharist, each of us is asked to make a good and sincere judgement as to whether these circumstances apply or not. Where doubt or confusion persists, consult any priest for clarity.

While the general dispensation is removed, there are specific instances where the dispensation will continue, as well as those circumstances where there is no obligation in the first place. One does not have an obligation to attend Mass on Sunday in the following circumstances:

1. You are ill or your health condition would be significantly compromised if you were to contract a communicable illness (i.e., you have underlying conditions or are in a high-risk category). Please use the dispensation and do not attend Mass.
2. You exhibit flu-like symptoms. Please use the dispensation and do not attend Mass.
3. You have good reason to think you might be asymptomatic of a contagious illness (e.g., you were in recent contact with someone who tested positive for a contagious illness such as COVID or influenza). Please use the dispensation and do not attend Mass.
4. You care for the sick, homebound, or infirmed.
5. You are pregnant.
6. Those 65 years of age or older (per the CDC’s recommendation of high-risk individuals).
7. You cannot attend Mass through no fault of your own (e.g., no Mass is offered, you are infirmed, or, while wanting to go, you are prevented for some reason you cannot control (e.g., your ride did not show up, the church was at capacity).
8. If you have significant fear or anxiety of becoming ill by being at Mass.

For questions about the application of any of these, please contact your pastor.

These categories will be reviewed in due course and revised as needed.

Those within categories #1-8 above must still observe the Lord’s Day and are encouraged to spend time in prayer on Sunday, meditating on the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection; an excellent way to do this is through participating in a broadcast of the Sunday Mass.

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Who is my neighbor??? Know someone struggling??? See a Vincentian and take them some food.....
 
Need Help?  Want to Help?
 
PLEASE CALL 313-372-0437
 St. Vincent de Paul Conference

(St. Raymond-Our Lady of Good Counsel )
Community Center , 20055 Joann Ave.
Tues. 9:30-11 am;        Thurs. 4:30-5:30 pm .  

St Raymond-Our Lady of Good Counsel has resumed in-person public mass. Social distancing and AOD guidelines will be observed. 

Any questions about St Raymond-Our Lady of Good Counsel please call 313-527-0525. Leave a message as office hours are limited until further notice or email:
infosaintraymond@gmail.com

St Vincent de Paul Emergency Services are still available (Tues 9:30-11am Thurs 4:30-5:30pm)
Call 313-527-0437

Bulletins are produced last Sunday of the month 


Please Note: If you are dropping off donation envelopes please use the mailbox outside the rectory. Thank you.

Pulpit ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL MASSES; 

March 28 & 29, 2021
 

Our combined Penance Service in preparation for Easter celebration will take place on Monday, March 29,   at 6.30pm. Venue for this joint Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confessions is St. Raymond-Our Lady of Good Counsel. All parishioners in our three Families of Parishes are encouraged and expected to attend. There will be enough priests to attend to everyone. It is hoped no one will miss this important spiritual exercise. The function will end before dark.  See you all there. 

*1. Due to the current Families of Parishes structure, we will be doing something new at this year's Holy Week Liturgy. Specifically, since our three parishes are now regarded as a "Family", it means, we will be worshipping together at each of churches during the 2021 Triduum. Hence, going forward from now, the Triduum celebration will be rotated at each of our three parishes, in this manner: 

   (a) COMBIED HOLY THURSDAY LITURGY,  APRIL 1, at 6pm at St. Jude;            Fr. Michael & Fr. Tyrone (Scheduled Celebrants)

   (b) COMBINED GOOD FRIDAY LITURGY, APRIL 2,  Proclamation of the Lord's Passion: starting with the Stations of the Cross at 12.30pm, and ending with Communion rite around 2.40pm,
St. Raymond-Our Lady of Good Counsel                                                            Fr. Tyrone and Fr. Michael (Scheduled Celebrants)

 *PS: To be stressed once more is that our three parishes in the Families of Parishes are to worship      together during this Special occasion, now that the Archbishop has lifted the dispensation after the long Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Therefore, with adequate social distancing in place, we will be worshipping together as a family during this unique Triduum liturgy.  Each parish is to provide Fr. Tyrone or the church  secretary, with a Lector for each of the Liturgy, including Easter Vigil Liturgy. 

   (c) Combined EASTER VIGIL CELEBRATION, APRIL 3,
Our Lady Queen of  Heaven-Good Shepherd, at 6pm
Fr. Tyrone and Fr. Peter Ben (Scheduled Celebrants) 

It is important to stress that, moving forward, this will be the norm during the TRIDUUM every year. The TRIDUUM is to be celebrated together as a Family, and not each parish celebrating its own separately. This will also apply to other special celebrations when all the three parishes will worship together as a family.  Please, all take note of this important information, and pass it around to those not present at Mass at this time. This announcement will be repeated thru Palm Sunday March 28. Thank you. 

2. Starting on Palm Sunday, March 28, every Mass in our Families of Parishes will end with prayer to Joseph in observance of the year of St. Joseph. The lector will recite that prayer and at the end all will say, Amen. Then after that, the celebrant will give the final blessing for the Mass.  The prayer will be made available to the leading Lector at each church before March 28. Also, watch out in the coming weeks for other things lined up for the celebration of the year of St. Joseph. Thank you!

3. We announce with gratitude and heavy hearts the retirement of our long time parish nurse at St. Raymond-OLGC, Ms. Joann Clinchoc, who has faithfully served the faith community for many years. Bless her heart! We thank her for her wonderful and dedicated service to the faith-community and neighborhood. Please, join in thanking this angel of care, and wishing her God's abundant blessing in her well-deserved retirement.  Again, Joann, bless your heart! A special farewell party will be arranged for her after the Pandemic.

*4. In our Families of Parishes journey, we know that the first thing required of us is PRAYER. We are to pray for the success of the mission, that the Holy Spirit may guide and direct it. As Christ Jesus tells us, "Without Me you can do nothing." This means, we must constantly approach the Lord with our needs and challenges as we continue this important journey. Also requirement in our journey is open-mindedness and ardent faith in God, who can turn ugly   situations around for our benefit. Experience teaches us that chronic complaints and gossips do not solve problems; rather rolling our sleeves and working for our community in any way we can, do make real difference. The truth of the matter is, we are in it together. Therefore, all hands are to be on deck to move our faith-community to a bright and viable future. Thank you.

*5. Starting in April, Fr. Tyrone Robinson, one of the priests in our Families of Parishes, will be expanding his ministry at some level to include the faith-community of St. Jude. He will, among other things, be celebrating Sunday Mass at St. Jude church regularly. Details are still being worked out. St. Jude parishioners, please, welcome him with open-arms. Meanwhile, we thank Fr. Tyrone for his devoted ministry. Our thanks also to the other priests that help, or will be helping in due course in our Families of Parishes. May God's blessing be with them all! 

6. We congratulate our three parishes for reaching their respective C.S.A. goal for 2020. We congratulate all who helped to make this happen.  May you be richly blessed by the Lord! 

"The Passion and Victory of Christ"
 

     Happy Palm Sunday! And also Happy Easter!! May this blessed and wonderful season of grace bring us all God's amazing blessings! May it bring us God's unfailing protection from all harm, including the ongoing danger of the Covid-19 pandemic! May the Most High shine His loving face on us all, shielding us under His compassionate care. Amen!

    We thank God for allowing us enter the 2021 Easter season. It is solely an act of grace. Let us individually and collectively praise the Lord for His marvelous deeds in our lives. As we all are aware, this is a special season, the season that celebrates our rescue and salvation.
    This Sunday, March 28, we celebrate the Lord's Passion, and on the following   Sunday, April 4, we celebrate the Lord's victory over sin and death. How wonderful!  But, what lessons can we draw from these two different celebrations of sorrow and joy, crushing humiliation and amazing victory? What can we take home this period from the celebrations?

      The lessons are simple and straight forward. First, we are reminded of the enormity of sin. Our sins are no small matter, because they led to the suffering and death of Christ Jesus, the Son of God. In other words, sin is not only dangerous, but deadly as well. The good news, however is, there is another side to the human-divine story, namely, no matter our sinfulness and depravity, God's amazing love and grace constantly pursues and liberates us. How wonderful indeed!   
     During this Holy Season we must constantly remind ourselve that we are greatly loved by God. None of us should ever forget the eternal truth that we are lavishly loved by the Most High, and therefore, are cherished creatures with transcendental value. Although we reside our earth, we are heaven-bound. Thus we are of infinite value, and therefore, must never lose sight of what we are. Simply put, we are God's beloved children for whom He sent His Son to die and redeem us from the power of darkness and evil. Nothing should ever make us lose sight of this truth
The focus of this season is God's unmistakable and undying love for us despite our sinfulness. As we reflect on the Lord's Passion and Resurrection this period, let us be filled with gratitude for God's blessings and marvelous deeds in our lives. We can never thank God enough for His wonderful goodness in our lives. This explains why we must learn to cultivate a deeper relationship with the Lord at all times, even in the midst of life's ups and downs. In good and bad times let us always remember that our blessings far out-number our woes.  We are loved beyond measure, and the Cross is the surest proof.
      My fellow reflectors and friends, in the words of the African adage, "Nkem  ji  ka",   meaning, my blessings far surpass my set-backs,  let us strive to appreciate God's love and care for us daily, and not just when things are going well. Let us pause often to remind ourselves that we are made for love, and therefore, we must never descend to hate and animosity. To whom much is given, much is also expected. Having been loved so lavishly by the Most High, our love should also be infectious love, because love begets love.

       Come to think of it, Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection would mean nothing if we, His followers, do not love one another. "By this will all people know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another." (John 13: 35) But, are we known today by our love?  In other words, is love our distinguishing mark in today's world? I have my doubts. We still have some distance to cover, but we are not to give up trying. It is worth all our efforts.
     Believe it or not, without a contagious and compassionate love, our lives as Christians    become mere "window dressing," a sham, a counterfeit. The passion of our Lord, and the     entire Paschal Mystery tells us loud and clear that our vocation is to love, and that selfishness repudiates the Cross of Jesus. May we never lose sight of this truth. Amen!
 
      Have a great and wonderful Holy Week and Easter season!   Alleluia!!

 FR. MICHAEL CHIDI NKACHUKWU
 
PS: please check the website, social media, and email for any updates…


As we temporarily participate at Mass in this different way, each of us and our families are encouraged to make a daily Spiritual Communion by praying the following prayer:

My JESUS,

I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
 
I love You above all things and I desire to receive You in my soul.
 
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
Come at least spiritually into my heart.
 
I embrace You as I know You are already here with me,
and I unite myself wholly to You
 
Never permit me to be separated from You.
 
LORD, JESUS CHRIST, You are Alive
and we trust in Your unfailing love, grace, mercy, and care!
 
Amen

 

100 Days of Prayer

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