Our Lady of Good Counsel is a neighborhood church in the
affluent suburb of Plymouth Township. You enter the church grounds off North
Territorial Road where it is surrounded by beautiful scenery which includes
large trees, bushes and assorted other plant life. Once on church property you
will be amazed at the beauty of OLGC. There is a garden called Gethsemane Garden and the Our Lady of Lourdes grotto. They help
highlight the beauty and elegance of the church grounds.
Our Lady of Good Counsel is a large parish and when you
enter the church it may be easy to feel a bit overwhelmed at everything that
surrounds you. However, once you get your bearings it is easy to feel and see
God’s loving presence all around you. There are no doors at the entrance to the
church area. The flow of the vestibule goes right into the church. The seating
is made up of a mix of wooden chairs with cushioned seating and regular pews.
The floors are concrete with a golden tinge to them.
The altar is as simple oak wood setup with leaf inlays and a
single candle on each side. Over the altar is a large cross with Jesus with his
hands held out stretched. Under the cross is written; “I Thirst for God”
Fr. John Riccardo is the pastor at OLGC. They also have two
associate pastors; Fr. Steven Mateja and Fr. Clement Suhy. Fr. Steven was the
celebrant at the Sunday Noon mass we attended. His homily focused on the need
for all of us to increase our faith and trust in God.
The mass we attended was pretty large given that it was the
last mass of the weekend. It consisted of a large cross section of God’s
followers including many families, young adults and seniors. Together they gave
OLGC a feeling of vibrancy and enthusiasm for God’s goodness.
We enjoyed our visit to Our Lady of Good Counsel and the
opportunity to worship in this beautiful house of the Lord.
On a personal note, it is with a heavy heart that I inform
you that our beloved wife and mother Maria passed away suddenly this past
month. Maria was a kind and loving person whom everyone adored. She always looked forward to visiting the different
churches each month and sharing her faith with others that we’ve met on our
journey. We will miss her very much and
our journey won’t be the same without her but we also know that she would want
us to continue our journey, share our faith with others and continue to explore
the Catholic Churches of the Detroit Archdiocese. So our journey will continue
as a memorial tribute to Maria and I’ll continue to write and post pictures about
the churches we visit in my blog right here.
Up Next: St.
Robert Bellarmine-Redford
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| Our Lady of Good Counsel |
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| Church Grounds |
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| Part of the Gethsemane Garden |
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| Our Lady of Good Counsel Church |
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| Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus |
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| Entrance to Church |
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| one of the many religious statutes at OLGC |
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| Altar at OLGC |
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| Another religious statute |
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| The altar |
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| View of altar from the side. |
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R.I.P. Maria You've been a good and faithful servant
May you rest in the loving arms of our Savior Jesus Christ
Maria and Alejandro at OLGC |
