Over the course of the last month information has been in our parish bulletin speaking about the special Synod called by Pope Francis. This Synod is unique in that Pope Francis is calling the Church to begin this Synod by listening to the entire People of God.
"It is a process of journeying together by listening, dialoging, praying, and making decisions together for the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
The Pope has asked each Diocese to gather people together with the goal "to be present with one another, to listen and learn with each other, and to grow closer to the Lord and His Church."
You are invited and encouraged to participate in this Synod by coming to one of the Synod gatherings in our parish. Each gathering will be a 2-hour session, at a small table discussion with up to 5 people at each table with a designated, trained facilitator, and participants are asked to wear a face mask. There will be four Listening Sessions at our parish, held in our Parish Center, Meeting Room.
Please register to attend the listening session so the facilitators may plan accordingly.
After Mass, Saturday March 12, 5:15 p.m. — 7:15 p.m. (register by March 5)
After Mass, Sunday March 20, 10:15 a.m. — 12:15 p.m. (register by March 13)
Wednesday, March 23, 6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. (register by March 16)
Thursday, March 31, 1:00 — 3:0 0 p.m. (register by March 24)
Please register by calling St. John Paul II Parish office at 989-755-0828.
Catholic Grief Recover Series
Mondays, Mar 21 - May 9 — 6:30-8:30 PM
St. John Paul II Parish Office Meeting Room
St. John Paul II Parish will be hosting a Catholic Grief Recovery Series beginning Monday, March 21.
This series if for any adult who is grieving a loss due to a death that occurred three months ago or longer. All who have experienced a loss will find support and encouragement, learn what grief is, create coping skills and develop the ability to move forward.
We will meet from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM on Mondays, March 21-May 9, 2022 in the Parish Office Meeting Room.
Christ the Good Shepherd will also be hosting a Catholic Grief Recovery Series on Tuesdays, March 22-May 10, 2022 from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM in Shepherd Hall.
For more information or to register to attend one of these series, please contact Lori Becker, Coordinator of Diocesan Outreach at (989) 797-6652.
Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe
Novena Parish Schedules are available at St. John Paul II Parish Church. The Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe begins Saturday, December 4 through Sunday, December 12. Various times are noted in the schedule. Novena Masses will be held at St. Joseph Parish and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Saginaw; and All Saints Parish in Bay City. Please see the schedule for more information.
A Novena in honor of St. Joseph will be prayed throughout the Diocese of Saginaw beginning Sunday, October 24 and run through Monday, November 1, Feast of All Saints. This Novena asks for graces from God upon our lives, our families, and our world through the powerful intercession of St. Joseph, patron of the Church. In particular, we ask through the intercession of St. Joseph, defender of life, to guide us to a greater respect for all human life and move us to follow his example in protecting and caring for all human life. A different aspect of his intercession for us will be expressed each of the nine days.
You can participate in this Novena in a variety of ways. Key to participation is to have a Novena guide of prayers which is available at the entrances of the Church or via PDF here.
Through the guide you can daily pray the Novena prayers for the nine days. A second way that you can participate is by watching the live-streamed St. Mary Cathedral Mass each of these days and pray the Novena prayers along with those gathered in the Cathedral for the Novena. Or due to our proximity to the Cathedral attend this daily Mass. A third way is to visit and pray the Novena to St. Joseph at the various designated Pilgrimage sites (churches in our Diocese dedicated to St. Joseph).
SUNDAY, OCT. 24 | 10:30 A.M. (LIVE-STREAMED) Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption, 615 Hoyt Avenue, Saginaw
MONDAY, OCT. 25 | 6 P.M. St. Joseph Church/St. Gabriel Parish, 84 W. Midland Road, Auburn
TUESDAY, OCT. 26 | 6 P.M. Mount St. Joseph Church/ Nativity of the Lord Parish, St. Louis, 605 S. Franklin Street, St. Louis
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 27 | 6 P.M. St. Joseph Church/Resurrection of the Lord Parish, 7842 Newbery Street, Alger, AND St. Joseph Church/St. Hubert Parish, 3455 Rapson Road, Rapson
THURSDAY, OCT. 28 | 6 P.M. St. Joseph Church/St. Christopher Parish, 375 W. Ohmer Road, Mayville
FRIDAY, OCT. 29 | 6 P.M. St. Joseph the Worker Church/Parish, 2168 N. Winn Road, Mount Pleasant (Beal City)
SATURDAY, OCT. 30 | NOON St. Joseph Church/Parish, 910 N. 6th Street, Saginaw
SUNDAY, OCT. 31 | 10:30 A.M. (LIVE-STREAMED) Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption, 615 Hoyt Street, Saginaw
MONDAY, NOV. 1 | 8 A.M. (LIVE-STREAMED) Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption, 615 Hoyt Street, Saginaw
Visit saginaw.org/novena for more information.
Anointing of the Sick
There will be an opportunity to receive the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick on Wednesday, September 22, 1:00 PM at St. John Paul II Parish.
Fr. Raj and Fr. Bill will be at this Mass to pray, anoint, and bless anyone who is in need of healing of mind, body, and soul. People will be seated every-other-pew and people will stay in their pews, where they will receive the Anointing and Communion. Everyone is invited to attend. Mark your calendars and plan to be there.
Next weekend, July 10-11 is the Annual Mission Appeal Sunday in our parishes. Fr. Michael Carsons from the Mission Diocese of New Gallup, NM, will be present to celebrate all of the weekend Masses and to make an appeal for your financial support of their Mission. Please be generous to the Missions. In serving them, we serve Christ!
Fully funding the Diocese of Saginaw Priests’ Retirement Fund is critically important. Each year, parishes are asked to participate in a special collection for this purpose. This retirement fund helps pay for the basic needs such as food, housing and transportation for those priests who are currently retired and those who will retire years from now.
This Sunday, June 20 - Father’s Day, we will take up a special “Priests’ Retirement Fund” collection. Please carefully and prayerfully consider a donation to this fund. Envelopes for this special collection are in your regular envelope packet.
We are adding another opportunity for Mass on Saturday evening and adjusting our Mass times. Now that our parish has been blessed to have another priest, Fr. Raj, we are in a position to add another weekend Mass. Beginning June 12-13, the following weekend Mass schedule will become effective.
4:00 p.m. Saturday evening Mass at St. John Paul II Parish
5:30 p.m. Saturday evening Mass at Christ the Good Shepherd Parish
9:00 a.m. Sunday Mass at St. John Paul II Parish
10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass at Christ the Good Shepherd Parish.
Each Saturday Mass will be preceded with an opportunity for Private Penance (Confession) -
3:00-3:45 p.m. Confessions at St. John Paul II Parish
4:30-5:15 p.m. Confessions at Christ the Good Shepherd Parish
Hopefully this addition and adjustment to our weekend Mass times will provide more opportunities for people to attend Mass. It will eliminate the rotation of the Saturday evening Mass. A Saturday 5:30 p.m. Mass may be helpful to people who want/need a later Mass, especially in the summer. This 5:30 p.m. Mass will be the latest Saturday evening Mass in the Tri-city area giving an opportunity for others to attend. There is at a 30-minute interval between the Masses at each parish in order that one priest could travel between the two parishes to cover all four Masses should the occasion arise for him to have to do so. We will go with this new schedule for one year and then evaluate it to see if more people are able to attend.
Following the latest CDC the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services recommendation, the Diocese of Saginaw is adjusting its COVID-19 protocols. Effective immediately, the wearing of masks in liturgical celebrations will be optional for those people who have been vaccinated and are 14 days beyond their last shot. People who have not been vaccinated should continue to wear masks. There will be a more complete update on Diocesan COVID protocols provided in the near future. We should remember we have not yet fully emerged from the pandemic and the need for vigilance still exists. Other mitigation practices such as washing hands, staying home when sick, and social distancing when appropriate remain important. Let us all - whether vaccinated or not - show consideration and charity for each other, so that all members of the Body of Christ feel welcome at the Mass and all parish events.
Filmed in Saginaw and broadcast across North America, Europe, Asia, India and Africa last year on EWTN, the Stations of the Cross for the COVID pandemic connect the difficult months we've lived through with the Passion of Jesus Christ.
The inspired prayer, written locally, has offered healing and hope to thousands of people in our diocese, state, country and around the world.
The prayers were updated this year to reflect the experiences of loss and isolation we have encountered over the last 12 months.
You are invited to join Bishop Robert Gruss in praying these Stations of the Cross on Sunday, March 21 at 11:30 a.m. on WNEM TV-5.
Since the initial release of these Stations of the Cross in 2020, requests to pray them have come in from near and far.
The Disciple Maker Index survey is now available – by taking the Disciple Maker Index each parishioner will assess where they and our parish community is in our faith life. Through this survey you can express your knowledge of the Catholic Faith and how our parish is doing as a faith community.
The survey is easy to take and everyone is encouraged to participate! The survey takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. The greater the participation, the greater our assessment will be of our parish community. Please click the button below to get started right away!
We all know that the only way by which to move forward in making any improvement or positive course of action in life is by first taking a look at where we are now. This includes our spiritual life and our relationship with God. Taking this survey is one of the best ways that we, as individuals and as a parish, can have a fruitful Lent this year. We appreciate your consideration and taking time to complete the Disciple Maker Index for our parish.
The Disciple Maker Index survey is available from February 17 – March 22, 2021.
Winter Weather Policy
Please be advised that if Carrollton schools are closed due to inclement weather, the parish office will also be closed and all masses scheduled for that day will be cancelled as well.
