Dear Friends in Christ,
Here are a few updates from our parish for the week of December 12, 2021.
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1) Advent Reconciliation Opportunities: |
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The SERF Vicariate Parishes have decided to have some common opportunities for reconciliation this Advent. Each parish has set aside Monday, December 13, from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. and then on Tuesday, December 14, from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m. for reconciliation. Father Andrew and I will be available for reconciliation during these times in one of the conference rooms in the Sr. Carol Center. Chairs will be set up in the Gathering Place and will serve as a “line” for confession; you’ll be getting some exercise moving from one chair to another as the line moves. If you wanted to wait for a specific confessor, you could do so.
You would be amazed how many times I welcome people back who haven’t celebrated the sacrament in years or even decades. Don’t be afraid if you’re one of these people and are worried about going to confession. Tell the confessor it’s been a while since you’ve gone to confession; he will walk you through the ritual. Don’t worry if you can’t remember the Act of Contrition; we have cards in the confessionals with the prayers. Your act of contrition could be as simple as: “Lord Jesus, Son of God have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Another excuse I often hear about why people don’t go to confession is: “Father, you don’t have the time to hear all that I need to confess.” Nice try, we’ll make the time! Another excuse: “Father, I wouldn’t have the time to do the penance you would give me. By the way, what kinds of penances do they give out these days?” The penances given out these days are often in the form of a prayer or some act of kindness. It’s not difficult, people! I encourage you to give it a try.
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2) Christmas with the Chosen - LIVE Global Event |
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The Chosen has a new episode! To launch the Christmas season this December, The Chosen has created a special episode about the birth of Christ through the eyes of Mary and Joseph. You'll also see an extraordinary lineup of musicians perform both new and classic Christmas songs from the set of The Chosen, including: Phil Wickham, For King & Country, Brandon Lake, Maverick City Music, Cain, Matt Maher, Bryan & Katie Torwalt, Jordan Feliz, We The Kingdom, The Bonner Family, Leanna Crawford, Dawson Hollow, and One Voice Children's Choir.
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3) Advent Resources:
There are a ton of Advent resources online. Here are a few to consider:
A parish in Iowa has a pretty comprehensive link to a ton of online Advent resources. Click HERE to access their Advent page.
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4) Christmas Children's Choir |
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Children Grades 2 and up are invited to be part of our Christmas Eve 4 PM Mass Children's Choir. The choir is directed by our music director Catherine Thomas.
Practices are Dec 18, and 23 at 11 am. We also need a few parents to commit to helping.
Help Needed:
Choir
Parent Help (must have taken Protecting God's Children)
If you are interested, please click on the button below to sign up!
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5) Great Family Activities for Advent from Ascension Press |
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The waiting of Advent can be a time filled with great family activities and memories. Jackie and Bobby share some activities for Advent that have helped make the season more meaningful in their family. Maybe something they do will make perfect sense for you and your household:
There’s the Jesse Tree they put up that goes through the story of salvation with ornaments for many of the major events in the Bible where God makes covenants with humanity.
Instead of the elf on the shelf, you can do “donkey on the shelf,” adding a new character to your Nativity set each of the nine days before Christmas.
Advent is also a time of giving. Prepare for Christ’s coming by serving other people. Sponsor a family or kid if your parish has a program like that.
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6) SJA's CSA Update as of December 12, 2021 |
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I am grateful to those who have already contributed to CSA 2021. As of today, we have $205,426 in pledges and gifts toward our $217,002 goal ($197,724 has already been paid thus far toward our total pledged amount). This amount represents gifts from 581 families (we have 3,285 families registered). We have thus achieved 95% of our goal!
Here is a breakdown by gift range:
$2,500+ (8)
$1,000+ (35)
$500+ (49)
$250+ (109)
$100+ (218)
$75+ (16)
$50+ (75)
$25+ (43)
$10+ (24)
$0+ (3)
As stated above, the easiest way to give is electronically by clicking on the button above. If you wish to give by check, feel free to contact the Parish Center and we will mail out an envelope and related material.
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7) This Sunday's Readings - December 12, 2021 |
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8) Jeff Cavins: Encountering the Word - Reflections on the Sunday Readings |
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Jeff Cavins reflects on the readings for the Third Sunday of Advent:
First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-18A
Responsorial Psalm: Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7
Gospel: Luke 3:10-18
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9) Grow+Go for the 3rd Sunday of Advent |
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Grow+Go, content is designed to help you understand what it means to be an evangelizing disciple of Christ. Using the Sunday Scriptures as the basis for reflection, Grow+Go offers insight into how we can all more fully GROW as disciples and then GO evangelize, fulfilling Christ's Great Commission to "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19) The concept behind the weekly series is to make discipleship and evangelization simple, concrete, and relatable.
Click on the button or image below to download a PDF copy of this Sunday's Grow+Go.
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10) Giving to SJA:
I'm truly grateful for all of your support of SJA during this pandemic. Your support means so much. The increase in electronic giving has been tremendous. Giving electronically, whether on a one-time or recurring basis is pretty simple. For more information on online giving, please click on the following button.
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11) This Week's Edition of TALLer Tales |
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Momma’s Always Right: I’m sure there is something in chapter 200 of the Child/Parent “Handbook of Life” that you shouldn’t debate with your mom over something you are not qualified to debate about. Disqualifying you from the topic of discussion could be over something you are not an expert on, or maybe, just maybe, you have no way of verifying the information about the topic you find yourself debating about ... especially when the discussion is with your mom! As I think about it, I’m sure the first rule, probably the first sentence of Chapter One of the “Child/Parent Handbook of Life” is Momma’s Always Right!
I have to set up the context of this story. First, my mom got pretty ill last week, and we had to take her to ER. She had severe headaches and some infection that was causing havoc on her body (she’s doing better thanks be to God). I heard how crazy the ERs have become, but I got to experience it first-hand last week.
My mom is staying with my sister and family in Allenton, about an hour from here, while her condo is being renovated. Initially, my mom was going to go to Troy Beaumont’s ER, but they had a six to seven-hour wait that night. So, we decided to run over to Grosse Pointe Beaumont even though they had a two to three-hour wait. My sister Cindy drove my mom down to our meeting point at Bob Evans on I-94 and Hall Road, and I then took her down to Grosse Pointe. When we arrived at Grosse Pointe, it was so chaotic! Ambulances were coming and going, and people just kept pouring into the ER doors. I’ve never seen a scene like the one I saw that night, and I’m in and out of hospitals a lot. With all the chaos there and after getting a tip from Dina at the Parish Center, we decided to head over to Henry Ford Cottage’s ER. We got great care over there, and she was able to get some diagnostic tests right away to determine the cause of the infection and illness. We finally got out of there at 1:30 in the morning. I couldn’t see driving for an hour to my sister’s house and then another hour to come back home. So, we decided to land at my house. Having my mom at my home recuperating has proven to be a Godsend because my sister Jackie and I and a few others could easily watch over her since she would be literally next door. It was also good to have her here from the perspective that we weren’t sure yet if she would have to go back to ER again if she continued to be so dehydrated. This way, we wouldn’t be traveling so far to go back and forth.
Now, my house is a bit small, perfect for a single person, but small based on today’s standards. God bless Mr. and Mrs. Goodin for raising three children in that house! Since I wasn’t anticipating visitors at 2 a.m., I had to do a mad dash to straighten parts of my house, especially my spare bedroom. This is when you start throwing things in boxes and toss them into a closet! I was hoping my mom didn’t see the mess in her weakened and tired condition! We then quickly got settled in our rooms and called it a night.
It turns out I proved not to be the best Caregiver on Duty that night. The following morning, my mom said she tried calling out to me a couple of times during the night when she needed help, but I never responded! YIKES. Did I feel bad! I wasn’t even 30 feet from her; I was so tired that I didn’t hear ANYTHING! Right away, I started to concoct a better solution to hear her in the middle of the night using my Alexa devices I have all over the house. That was bad enough, and there was no debating her at all that I didn’t respond! I was dead tired and totally out of it that night and morning.
But then my mom said, “Boy, I didn’t really know you snored that much!” “SNORE; I don’t snore,” I thought to myself with a crinkled-up forehead. I was still trying to process the failed Caregiver on Duty job when I got hit with the fact I supposedly snored (loud enough for her to hear over her CPAP machine, I might add). I was stunned into silence. Amid the silence, my mom added, “Your sisters would mention your snoring when we were on vacation, but I never added to the conversation because I never heard it. But now I know!” “WHAT … I don’t snore,” I continued to think to myself. I finally said (somewhat sheepishly knowing that I would never win this debate), “But I don’t snore!” I then got the “Mom Look” with that crinkled-up forehead that told me there was no debating this topic. I was going to lose no matter what I thought! And, rightly so. How would I know if I snored? I’m usually asleep … and obviously REALLY asleep that night! I could then hear this little voice inside me say, “Give it up, Michael. Momma’s ALWAYS right!” I don’t know; maybe I should record myself one night? “Give it up, Michael. Momma’s ALWAYS right!”
Advent Pause: As we enter into these waning days and hours of Advent and the pace of life gets rather hectic with the final preparations for Christmas, please remember to keep your priorities ever in mind. It’s all too easy to lose sight of what’s essential as we try to accomplish sometimes an unquestionable amount of activity. So as we prepare for the birthday of the Savior, may we keep Him ever before our eyes.
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Happy Advent. Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers!
In Christ,
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12) Tire Tracks in the d’Arc |
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First Light: I’ve always enjoyed camping. There’s something about going back to basics, having to use shoe laces to tie your tent to a tree because you left the poles at home, cooking pancakes on a rock because you forgot the pan, discovering that you can fall asleep with a tree root pressed into your back. And I’ve always been struck by those moments when the first morning light becomes evident. On the horizon there’s a glimmer of the sun that has not yet risen, and a promise of a new day that has yet to begin. The dark night of the forest is about to be forced aside by the light of a new day.
These images are reflected in today’s rose-colored advent candle. Gaudete Sunday calls us to reflect on St. Paul’s exhortation in the second reading, “Rejoice always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” Poking through the darkness of the world, through the penitential aspects of Advent, and the ways the season has been calling for us to keep watch and prepare ourselves, is now this light, a brighter color, a sign of the great joy that is coming into our lives, becoming visible on the horizon. That joy is Christ the King, who is “already, but not yet.” He is the Son who has already Risen, the one who is here with us, but on whom we still wait with great hope and anticipation to be born on Christmas. We wait to experience Him born anew for us, that we might rekindle the sense of joy we ought to have as God continues to love us.
God is intent on rescuing the world from evil and violence, at the cost of the wicked, in order that His love will be seen. He wants to create a world in which everyone can flourish in safety and peace. And at this prospect, prophesied by Zephaniah, in today’s first reading, the people of Jerusalem should be joyful, as God is joyful, because He is coming to rescue them. He is in their midst, a mighty Savior and He will rejoice over them.
Did you ever think about that?… that the Lord rejoices over you. Our God, who is love, wanted to express that love. It’s the ultimate in divine self-expression. God’s love couldn’t be kept hidden – He expressed it – it overflowed into creation, and we are His masterpiece. No matter how broken and wounded you might consider yourself, He loves you and finds joy in your existence.
Rejoice always in the Lord! He rejoices in you. You are the expression of His great joy, bubbling over into creation. We know how the Christian story unfolds, from birth to death to resurrection.
This is Advent and we await Christmas, but, in some sense, it is also an Easter moment because we can see now that the Savior is coming close and soon He will be here, an infant, born of Mary and the Holy Spirit, coming to rescue us. A new day is coming, and the darkness will be forced aside.
Last Sight: It’s hard to believe we’re already half-way through Advent, partly for me because I was gone most of November. The first week in December was my scheduled annual retreat, which was really a blessing as it was a week of silence, and a chance to try to recover my voice that had abandoned me by the 1st Sunday in Advent.
Though not quite what I would call camping, I was staying in a little cabin on the edge of the woods—a beautiful setting down a dirt road. The cabin is owned by an order of religious sisters, who provide it as a place for priests to come for retreat. I love watching for the deer that come out of the woods there. They most frequently show themselves around 5pm as the light is fading. There can be as many as ten at a time, but, for sure, if you see one, keep looking because there’s sure to be a least one more in close proximity. They will come right up to the cabin at times and there’s a big picture-window that means I can spot them from inside, often without them seeing me because of the reflection from the outside.
There are plenty of other critters and birds of prey to watch for too, and I admit I did keep jumping out of bed at night whenever the security light came on outside because I wanted to see what had showed-up this time… even if there was nothing more exciting than a possum.
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Partway through the week, I looked out to see these two preening each other. I stood-up to get a better look and unfortunately caught their attention. They looked-up at me for just a couple of seconds before turning their backs and walking away. But I was able to get this picture.
But I’m always looking for the perfect photo and I wasn't very pleased that I was taking photos through a pretty dirty window. So I found some Windex and went out to clean the window in anticipation of my next deer sighting and a better photo.
And of course…. that was it. Very unusual, but for the last two days, watching through this nice clean glass… how many deer showed-up? Precisely none! I guess I know now that deer do not really like having to look at my mug! But at least I left the cabin with cleaner windows than I found it with.
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You are in my prayers this week.
Fr. Andrew
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13) Words on the Word: December 12, 2021 - What, Me Worry?
As we continue through the pre-Christmas season of holiday gatherings and celebrations – Covid precautions notwithstanding – many people are surely fighting the annual battle of the bulge. That’s the ritual during which we try to enjoy the avalanche of sweets and high-fat foods that tempt us at every turn … and still somehow not tip the scales when we finally weigh in.
It was interesting, then, when one media source reported a few weeks ago that the majority of people responding to a survey admitted they not only will gain weight but expect to add somewhere on the order of eight pounds between now and the new year.
And that, according to the story, is on top of the weight many folks gained during the pandemic.
Even more interesting though, was this little nugget:
“In fact, 90 percent (of survey respondents) plan on enjoying the holiday season without worrying about maintaining a health diet,” the story said. “That may be due to stress from the pandemic, which is prompting two in three people to feel they ‘deserve’ more treats this year.”
The intent in bringing this up is not to render a verdict on people’s diet choices, but rather to pull out a helpful observation: perhaps there is something to be said for allowing oneself to “live a little,” and not be overly concerned, in the short term, with dieting.
After all, as St. Paul urges in today’s second reading, “Rejoice!
“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Christmas is just two weeks away. Are we caught up in anxiety, or settling into a sense of peace?
Food for thought.
© 2021 Words on the Word
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14) Ascension Presents with Father Mike Schmitz:
When You Don’t Understand the Bible
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Have you ever read the Bible and thought to yourself, “wait… what?”
Oftentimes in Christian media we see what Fr. Mike dubs a “Hallmark” version of following Christ. There’s struggle and hardship, but then God’s grace comes in and cures everything, making everything nearly perfect for the characters in the story. While these types of stories make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, they’re not very realistic. And while God’s grace is essential, it’s not a magic wand that makes everything bad go away.
This was something that St. Augustine struggled with before his conversion. It wasn’t until after he had accepted the faith and began to intentionally practice it that he realized it’s not God’s word that’s wrong, it’s our interpretation of it. He gives us 7 things to do when trying to understand a passage we’re unsure of:
1. Read the text in the original language. Or, if you’re not a scholar of Greek or Latin (more than likely), at least realize that a lot can be lost in translation, like idioms and turns of phrase, or context and foreign references.
3. Weigh what you’re reading with all of scripture (it’s ALL connected!)
4. Be humble and accept that you don’t know everything needed to fully understand God’s word (and that’s okay).
5. Sacred tradition always trumps our own interpretations.
6. Don’t take figurative language literally.
7. Don’t universalize a parable to be relevant for all situations in life.
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15) The Bible in a Year Podcast by Father Mike Schmitz |
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Join us for Day 1 on January 1st, 2022!
If you’ve struggled to read the Bible, this podcast is for you.
Ascension’s Bible in a Year Podcast, hosted by Fr. Mike Schmitz and featuring Jeff Cavins, guides Catholics through the Bible in 365 daily episodes starting January 1st, 2021.
Each 20-25 minute episode includes:
- two to three scripture readings
- a reflection from Fr. Mike Schmitz
- and guided prayer to help you hear God’s voice in his Word.
Unlike any other Bible podcast, Ascension’s Bible in a Year Podcast for Catholics follows a reading plan inspired by the Great Adventure Bible Timeline® learning system, a groundbreaking approach to understanding Salvation History developed by renowned Catholic Bible teacher Jeff Cavins.
Tune in and live your daily life through the lens of God’s word!
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16) FORMED Pick of the Week: |
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Our parish has a subscription to FORMED, a premier online platform filled with over 4,000 Catholic studies, movies, audio dramas, talks, e-books, and even cartoons for our children. FORMED has content from over 60 apostolates, including Augustine Institute, Ignatius Press, and the Knights of Columbus, with material that is professionally produced, engaging, and solid in its catechism. Best of all, this material is free to you because of our parish subscription.
You have easy access to all of the material on FORMED to support your own faith journey and that of your family members.
You can enjoy FORMED on your computer or on your television with an inexpensive Roku device or Apple TV. You can even listen on your phone as you commute to work or do chores.
To gain access to all of FORMED’s content, follow these simple steps:
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Go to https://signup.formed.org/
- Enter our parish’s zip code 48080 or enter St. Joan of Arc
- Enter your name and your email address
That’s it! You’re in. Now you can get the free FORMED app for your phone by searching FORMED Catholic in your app store.
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Are you looking for a one-stop app for prayer and meditation? Look no further than Hallow. Hallow is an awesome prayer app. Hallow is a Catholic prayer and meditation app that helps users deepen their relationship with God through audio-guided contemplative prayer sessions. The app launched 2 years ago and is already the #1 Catholic app in the world.
We have a number of parishioners who are already using the app and loving it (my mom being one of them and she is on the app most of the day). Great for praying alone or together with your spouse/family, Hallow truly has something for everyone, no matter what you are going through (see below for their different content categories).
Hallow is free to download and has tons of permanently free content, as well as a premium subscription, Hallow Plus.
To get started, simply click the button above/below to activate your free account on the Hallow website. Make sure to select “Sign Up with Email” when registering. For step-by-step instructions, you can visit this process guide. Enter the code stjoanofarcmi to obtain a discount on individual pro plans.
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18) This Week on St. Joan of Arc LIVE: |
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This week's LIVE Stream
Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:
Monday (December 13):
7:00 AM - Mass
Tuesday (December 14):
7:00 AM - Mass
8:30 AM - School Mass
Wednesday (December 15):
7:00 AM - Mass
8:30 AM - School Mass
Thursday (December 16):
7:00 AM - Mass
7:00 PM - Holy Hour (Praise and Worship Music)
Friday (December 17):
7:00 AM - Mass
Saturday (December 18):
4:00 PM - Mass
6:00 PM - Mass
Sunday (December 12):
8:00 AM - Mass
10:00 AM - Mass
12:00 PM - Mass
Please note that all of our masses and events can be accessed through the ARCHIVE section of our Live stream page if you are not able to watch it live!
We also have our own ROKU Channel. Search for "CATHOLIC" in the ROKU channel store, and you will find SJA's channel. A Fire TV Channel is also available.
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19) SJA's Bulletin for December 12, 2021 |
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Click on the image below
to download a copy of our
Bulletin for December 12, 2021
The 3rd Sunday of Advent
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20) Weekly Bulletin Mailing List |
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Sending the bulletin has been greatly received by so many people. If you are getting the bulletin online and would prefer that it not be mailed to your home, please click on the button below to be removed from the mailing list.
At the same time, if you are NOT getting the bulletin and would prefer to get it, click on the same button and ask to be ADDED to the list.
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Read the latest from the DETROIT CATHOLIC
Click on the image below.
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