Fr. Patrick's June 11 letter
-
Dear Corpus Christi Family,
I pray this note finds you well, staying safe, healthy and prayerful as you radiate the presence of Jesus. Today, I’d like to share a brief follow-up on the communication I sent regarding the Families of Parishes initiative the Archdiocese is undertaking as the next step in the Unleash the Gospel Movement.
First, a great way to understand the Families of Parishes initiative is to visit this website established by the Archdiocese:
As part of the initiative, each parish will join a family of parishes that will seek to work together and share resources in some capacity to help each other thrive in the Great Commission given by Jesus to the Church (Matthew 28:20) to make disciples of all nations. The whole Unleash the Gospel movement is aimed at helping the Archdiocese reclaim, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the missionary evangelical DNA of the Church that we see on the pages of the Acts of the Apostles in the scriptures.
I shared in the letter that I wrote that during this time of discernment for the Archdiocese regarding which parishes will be joined to which family, that I will remain as parish administrator for the next year rather than pursue the office of pastor at this time. In the last letter I gave a few reasons for my decision to remain administrator both pertaining to the reality that a discernment is underway for the Archdiocese that will affect how parishes operate (joining a family of parishes will entail some level of collaboration) and how the parishes are governed (the Archdiocese is looking at different models of how parishes will be served by clergy).
What it means for me to remain as an administrator is that I will continue in the same leadership role for the parish that I have served in the last year. According to Canon Law, an administrator functions essentially as a pastor: “A parochial administrator is bound by the same duties and possesses the same rights as a pastor unless the diocesan bishop establishes otherwise.” (Code of Canon Law, Paragraph 541)
So as this phase of discernment for the Families of Parishes initiative unfolds, we’ll continue on as we have, serving the Lord and continuing to grow as a band of joyful missionary disciples. I’ll be sure to share more with you as the discernment process unfolds.
I do believe the Holy Spirit is guiding the Unleash the Gospel Movement and this next step in it, let’s keep our parish and the Archdiocese in prayer, that God’s will for the Church of Detroit will be done.
Love you & Bless you!
Fr. Patrick- Special notice for this coming weekend, June 13th and 14th: Our 9:00am Mass will be the Mass that is livestreamed this coming weekend. It will be saved immediately for further viewing later that morning … or later that day … or days later! The feast will be The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, or as it is called “Corpus Christi”, the name of our beloved community. A parish tradition: To get into the Corpus Christi spirit some of us like to wear something red when we go to Mass on our parish feast day. To see recent previously recorded Masses just click on the button below.
View Masses - For safety reasons, please register by noon Saturday if you wish to attend a Corpus Christi Mass at 4pm Saturday or Sunday at 9am or noon. Please click on button below to register.
Register for Mass
Let us raise our prayers in this time of protests! Let us pray …- For those who have been adversely affected by racism.
- For true repentance from all who perpetuated the evil of racism.
- That governments at all levels find and implement new policies that will reduce and effectively eliminate racial disparities.
- That each of us find ways that we can individually improve our relationships with people of other races.
Dcn Paul