We will have 2 new saints on Sunday as two beatified young Italian men—Pier Giorgio Frassati & Carlo Acutis—will be canonized on September 7. Carlo will be the first millennial saint. All this week will make available free blessed holy cards of Pier Giorgio Frassati. We hope to have other sacramentals of Carlo Acutis this week or soon.
We are blessed that St. Joseph Chapel & the Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was featured in an article by the Detroit Catholic in the August 31 issue. Entitled, “A Jubilee Pilgrimage of Hope through the Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” by Gabriella Patti, the reported recounts how the Blessed Mother herself asked for this shrine back in 1947 at the Marian Congress in Ottawa, Canada. We are now trying to honor the request she first made to Fr. Jarzembowski. You may access the article: https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/a-jubilee-pilgrimage-of-hope-through-the-shrine-of-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary.
As we begin the last third of this Jubilee Year of Hope that, in the United States, ends on the Feast of the Holy Family (Dec. 28), some clarification is in order about how to obtain a Plenary Indulgence at one of the 12 official Jubilee sites—our shrine included. Besides the normal necessary conditions (Holy Communion, Confession within 20 days of Communion, praying for the Pope, visiting the site), one must also do the following: do some Eucharistic adoration & meditation, and conclude with the Our Father, invocations to Mary and a creed “for a suitable period of time” (up to one’s judgment). The last conditions are listed in the Holy See’s “Decree on the Granting of Indulgence during the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025” but not in the Jubilee book provided by the Archdiocese—hence some confusion.
The three “firsts” fall this week: First Wednesday (Sept. 3), First Friday (Sept. 5) and First Saturday (Sept. 6). Let’s gather under the mantle of our Mother and, united with her Immaculate Heart, win souls for her Son, Jesus Christ.
We will be OPEN just for the Birth of Mary on Monday, Sept. 8, at the normal hours to honor her whose “YES” to God made possible our salvation in Christ.
Our Genesis Bible Study (chapters 12-50) will be on Saturdays, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 20, after Mass (about 12:45 pm) in the Lower Level. The textbook we will be using is Curtis Mitch and Scott Hahn, The Book of Genesis, Ignatius Catholic Study Bible.
To communicate with me, please DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL but email me directly at abunaalex@yahoo.com or call/text me at (313) 727-9784. Our Lady of the Cape, pray for us!
In Jesus, Mary & Joseph,
Fr. Alex Kratz, OFM
Spiritual Director of Terra Sancta Ministries