Our Parish
San Francesco Parish, in Clinton Township, Michigan is a personal parish established to serve the Italian community and all people who choose to use its services in lieu of their territorial parish. San Francesco Parish has no geographic boundaries, and all are welcome to come together to worship and grow in faith and love.
MASS TIMES
DAILY: 8am
SATURDAY: 8am and 6pm
SUNDAY: 8am, 10am (Italian), 12pm
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament every Friday from 8:30 AM to 12:00 noon with Benediction at 11:50 AM.
First Friday devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament.
First Saturday devotions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament.
Every Friday the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available from 6:30 – 7:30 pm.
BAPTISMS
SUNDAY: 1pm BY APPOINTMENT
MARRIAGES
CALL RECTORY OFFICE AT LEAST 6 MONTHS BEFOREHAND
Link to Detroit Priestly Vocations Website
Make ALL choices, choices for LIFE: rtl.org/find-help/
Some ways of “hanging out” with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
Spend as much or as little time as you wish on any of the following spiritual suggestions or come up with your own)
- Do a brief “Lection Divina” (read, reflect, respond and rest) on the readings of the day.
- Invite Jesus to tell you how he “reads” your body language right now.
- Invite Jesus to explain to you why you feel the way you have mostly been feeling lately.
- Chat with Jesus about your chronic fears and worries. Listen to His comments about them.
- Recite unhurriedly the 1st decade of the Rosary. (Sunday & Wednesday: Glorious; Monday & Saturday: Joyful; Tuesday & Friday: Sorrowful; Thursday: Luminous).
- Ask Jesus to point out to you your “blind spots” in reading the Gospel and in daily events of all sizes.
- Allow Jesus to convince you that it is wise and spiritually healthy to live with a sense of inadequacy.
- Beg Jesus to fill your spiritual poverty with any richness He wishes to grant you.
- Let Jesus see how much certain situations in your family trouble you.
- Recite unhurriedly the 2nd decade of the Rosary.
- Open the hymnal in the pew rack and sing silently a couple of stanzas of a favorite song of yours.
- Go over with Jesus every member of your family and ask Him what He expects of you for them.
- Go over with Jesus your co-workers and/or associates who present challenges to you.
- Let Jesus tell you why He decided to be so accessible to you in a small wafer.
- Recite unhurriedly the 3rd decade of the Rosary.
- Recite the “Our Father” pausing for some time on the words: Thy will be done.
- Tell Jesus the reasons why you are not as generous as you should be with your talents.
- Ask Jesus to make you truly concerned about your brothers and sisters in distant mission lands.
- Get enough courage to ask Jesus to point out how you must unclutter your heart to make room for Him.
- Recite unhurriedly the 4th decade of the Rosary.
- List to Jesus the gifts He has given you and for which you are truly grateful.
- Confess to Jesus all your feelings of jealousy and listen to Him as He adds to the list of His gifts to you.
- Show Jesus how truly sorry you are for your sins. But, also, how much you trust in His mercy.
- Ask Jesus to help you focus on bearing the fruits of the Spirit rather than dwelling on your past sins.
- Recite unhurriedly the 5th decade of the Rosary.
- Apologize for the merely short-lived acts of abandonment into the Father’s hands; then surrender wholeheartedly to Him as Jesus did throughout His life on earth.
Fr. Dino Vanin, PIME
The Jubilee Year of Hope: Where & How to Get a Plenary Indulgence
Our Archibishop, the Most Reverend Allen Vigneron, has selected twelve sites in the Archdiocese of Detroit in which the faithful can attain plenary indulgences for themselves or for a specified faithful departed in Purgatory. The preferred site ought to be reached by the faithful with the spiritual disposition of pilgrims who want to leave sin behind and start a life truly becoming of genuine disciples of Christ.
Basilica of Sainte Anne 1000 St. Anne St., Detroit, MI 48216
Blessed Solanus Casey Center 1780 Mt Eliott St., Detroit, MI 48207
Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament 9844 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48202
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery 25800 W 10 Mile Rd., Southfield, MI 48033
National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica 2100 12 Mile Rd., Royal Oak, MI 48073
Our Lady of Fatima Shrine 18637 Ray St., Riverview, MI 48193
Our Lady of Hope Cemetery 18303 Allen Rd., Brownstown, MI 48193
Shrine of Jesus of the Divine Mercy 33826 Beaconsfield St., Clinton Township, MI 48035
Shrine of St. John Paul II 3535 Indian Trail, West Bloomfield Township, MI 48324
St. Joseph Shrine 1828 Jay St., Detroit, MI 48207
Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary 400 South Blvd., W. Pontiac, MI 48341
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel at Madonna University, 36600 Schoolcraft Rd., Livonia, MI 48150
Requirements for attaining a plenary indulgence by visiting one of the listed sites:
The faithful intending to gain it ought to be in a state of grace; resolve to be completely detached from any sin; have received absolution at the end of Sacramental Confession; have received the Lord in Holy Communion (preferably during Holy Mass); and recite some prayers for the intention of the Supreme Pontiff such as an “Our Father” and an “Hail Mary.”
I urge you also to read my article “About Indulgences in Plain English” on the Home page of our website sanfrancescochurch.org and to overcome barren legalism, I encourage all make up for the hurts our sins caused to the Mystical Body of Christ by performing an act of charity to benefit the needy. Fr. Dino Vanin, PIME
N.B. For more information about indulgences and the Jubilee Year, go to https://www.aod.org/jubilee .
About Indulgences in Plain English
The starting point for a correct understanding of what indulgences are and how they are applied for the spiritual benefit of the faithful must be the beautiful reality of the Mystical Body of Christ in which we live through Baptism.
Saul, the future St. Paul, was on his way to Damascus with murderous thoughts to do away with the fledging Church of God in that city. This is what happened before he got there: He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Acts 9:4. From that shocking experience, St. Paul understood that by persecuting members of the early Church, he had been persecuting the Lord Jesus Christ himself as Head of the Mystical Body. Thanks to that experience, in St. Paul’s letters we find the best doctrine on the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. Especially in 1 Corinthians 12: 12-24, St. Paul draws many parallels between the human body and the Mystical Body of Christ and then he adds: so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy. Now you are Christ’s Body, and individually parts of it. 1 Corinthians 12:25-27.
Let us first reflect on what causes the Body of Christ to suffer: it is sin, any sin however small brings pain to the whole Body. Sin is an offense against God for breaking one of His laws. Although God cannot be hurt by anything, sin included, the Church, (Mystical Body of Christ) is hurt, and suffers.
The ordinary way in which the faithful can be reconciled with God and with His Church for the suffering caused by sinning is by availing themselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). Penitents who are truly sorry for their sins and who resolve, with the help of grace, to avoid sinning in the future and who receive absolution, have their sins washed away by the Blood of Christ through the ministry of the Church. However, they need to do the “penance” assigned to them by the confessor. Penance consists of expressions of love such as prayers, charitable work, sacrifices, fasting, almsgiving, and so on, all designed to make up for the hurts caused to the “militant” part of the Mystical Body of Christ, the one living on this earth as distinct from the “triumphant” part (the Blessed Mother and all the Saints), and the “suffering” part, the one undergoing purification in the state of Purgatory.
Let us now reflect on what brings honor, solace, and joy to the Mystical Body of Christ. Docile and humble cooperation with the Holy Spirit enables the faithful to bear the fruits of genuine love: In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, Galatians 5:22. Since in Heaven there is no reason or need for faith and hope, the only reality which lasts for all eternity is love. God is love, those in Heaven are love (cf. 1 John 3:2). Love creates a permanent bond among the Saints, the faithful on this earth, and those being purified in the state called Purgatory. This bond is referred to as the Communion of Saints.
This bond of love is meant to be a source of tremendous comfort for us sinners. This is because, in virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted to her by the Lord (cf. Matthew 18:18 and John 20:23), the Church makes available to us and to those being purified the treasury of the infinite merits and prayers of Jesus Christ, those of the Blessed Mother and all the Saints, all the acts of love, the prayers and all the fruits of the Spirit, which those still on this earth are bearing.
Indulgences can be thought of as the applications of the riches of the Church’s treasury to lessen or nullify the temporal punishment resulting from sinning. Indulgences can be likened to a spiritual balm to soothe or eliminate the pain caused to the whole Body of Christ and to aid the faithful’s efforts to correspond to the Holy Spirit in their sanctification. The Church assigns certain conditions for the application of indulgences. The conditions are set by those to whom Christ has given the power to bind and to loose.
Indulgences can be partial, or plenary as defined by the Church. The partial ones are intended to remit a determined portion of the temporal punishment due to sins; the plenary ones remit the temporal punishment in its totality up to the time they are requested for those still on this earth.
Within the Communion of Saints, indulgences can be applied to the faithful pilgrims on this earth and/or to those undergoing purification after death. With every sin committed, the image of Christ, which was perfectly pure on the day of Baptism, undergoes woeful “punishment” and disfigurement. After death, this “punishment” inflicted by sins to the image of Christ in each of the faithful, needs to undergo a punishment of fire until all the dross and incrustations built on that image are “burned away”, and they become pure love just as God is the pure perfection of love. Right away it should be said that we must think of this punishment of fire not as chastisement of a vengeful God but, rather, as an expression of His infinite love and mercy. For example, the finest swords, including the famed samurai swords, undergo an incredible amount of punishment in the forge of skillful smiths and the vigorous, incessant pounding of their hammers until perfection is reached.
The purification is done by a combination of three “fires:” First, the fire of God’s infinite love and mercy. Second, the fire of the excruciating pain and sudden, fierce embarrassment of the faithful being purified as, free from the distractions of earthly life, they realize their utter unworthiness and sinfulness in the blinding light of God’s absolute perfection. Lastly, the fire of the love of members of the militant Church expressed by their prayers, sacrifices, fasting, and acts of love including application to specific faithful departed plenary or partial indulgences and, most importantly, the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Cross to shorten the length of their purification.
Fr. Dino Vanin, PIME
The Missions Corner
What happened to Synod on Synodality?
The Synod on Synodality, which started with much fanfare in 2021, was concluded at the end of October of this year with what could be defined by some as an “ecclesiastical whimper.” It had been heralded as the most needed overhaul of the Catholic Church since Vatican II. To the expectations that were legitimate, because consistent with the topics proposed and programmed to thrust the Church into the future with pristine energy and resolve to carry out her mission more effectively, other expectations were added by fringe groups of Catholics who seized this venue to push their own agenda.
As the stages of the Synod on Synodality moved from the diocesan to the national to the continental phases towards Rome, it became evident that special-interest topics were dear only to small minorities of Catholics. But having failed to influence the Synod delegates, they never gave up. They kept proposing and reproposing their “pet issues.” Thus, the attendees would find their Vatican mailboxes stuffed with announcements about after-hour side-meetings and speeches on pet-issues dear to activists. As a result of these special interest “theological shenanigans,” some minor topics were overblown while some of those of vital interest to the whole Church were not given all the time and attention they deserved. The Synod, as scheduled, was closed on October 27 with a special Holy Mass.
These are the major points of interest gleaned from the Final Document. Pope Francis made it magisterial, i.e. official papal teaching, by approving the final text right away. Regarding, arguably, the hottest topic of women’s access to the diaconate, the document states that it needs further study in future venues. A close second controversial topic was the subject of inclusion of all of God’s people regardless of their sexual orientation. But the text never uses the term “LGBTQ.” This fact seems to indicate that inclusion does not mean approval of lifestyles that are contrary to Christian morality.
Since the Synod on Synodality was heralded as an ecclesiastical event the size of Vatican II, it is interesting to note how the Synod set out to implement what the Second Vatican Council referred to as “People of God.” For the last sixty years, this term, which should be inclusive of all members of the Church, has been used to underscore that the laity too has been endowed with a prophetic mission, not in contraposition to the teaching authority (Magisterium) of the Church, but as complementary. In Pope Francis’ mind, this must have been the main reason for organizing this Synod on Synodality. The laity from the four corners of the globe was directly involved in contributing proposals, initiatives, and suggestions designed to make the Church more effective in her mission. However, in all these years since Vatican II and now, at the conclusion of the Synod, the path to the spiritual renewal of the Church and its structural reform should take place in such a way as to harmonize the hierarchy’s role of leadership and decision-making without stifling the contribution which the laity is encouraged to offer for the good of the whole Body of Christ.
Another source of concern is the concept of decentralization of the decision-making process in doctrinal matters. What has already taken place in Germany and, to a lesser degree elsewhere, might give rise to doctrinal fractures—pitting one episcopal conference against another. Hence, what is considered unethical in Africa might become, de facto, acceptable conduct in parts of Europe…
Personally, I urge all of us to trust in the infinite and proven love that Jesus, the Divine Bridegroom, has for his Bride, the Church. I think that He is guiding the younger and more energetic Churches of Africa and Asia to keep the faith uncontaminated and the truth unaltered as it springs pure from the Gospel. Indeed, the best proposals and the most enlightened contributions to the Synod came from the young Churches of Africa and Asia. So, in a way, we have come full circle. The countless sacrifices made for centuries by missionaries from Europe and North America have borne good fruit. Now, gifted by the Holy Spirit, their priests and nuns are injecting new energies into the old Churches of Europe and North America. Praise be God!
Fr. Dino Vanin, PIME
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