Week of December 22, 2024 | |
1) Mass Schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day | |
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Our Mass schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is as follows:
Christmas Eve:
4 PM, 6 PM and 10 PM
Christmas Day:
8 AM, 10 AM and 12 PM
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2) Hat, Mitten, and White Socks Project | |
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This year, for our Hat and Mitten Tree Project, we are also adding white socks to our list. We are donating to multiple agencies this year and are accepting hats, mittens, and white socks for children and adults. If you wish to donate hats, mittens, or white socks, you can place them in the bins on either side of the Sr. Carol picture in the Gathering Place or drop them off at the Parish Center.
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3) Christmas Giving to SJA | |
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Parishes worldwide rely on their parishioners' generosity ... especially at Christmas. The Christmas Collection is our biggest collection of the year.
As each of us prepares to provide people important in our lives with a gift or some token of our appreciation at Christmas, please remember to include our amazing parish in those plans too! Your generosity goes a long way and helps us continue our mission of bringing Christ to so many people.
The easiest way to give a Christmas gift to the parish is electronically. Click on the link below to make an electronic gift to the parish. You can do so as a guest or by setting up an account. It couldn't be any easier! Thanks for your extraordinary generosity!
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4) 10 Great Christmas Movies You'll Want to Watch With Your Family This Holiday Season | |
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From Church Pop:
Watching Christmas movies is a beautiful way to spend time with family.
However, finding Christmas movies with a plot discussing the season’s true meaning can be difficult.
Here’s a list of 10 of the best Christmas movies to watch with your family this year:
1) The Nativity Story: The Nativity Story presents a scripturally based story of Jesus’ birth. This 2006 Christmas movie details the biblical timeline. In all honesty, it's one of my favorite live-action films about the Birth of Jesus.
Fun fact: Oscar Isaac plays Saint Joseph in this movie. He also plays Poe Dameron in the new Star Wars trilogy.
2) A Christmas Carol: There are multiple retellings of this Christmas story based on the Charles Dickens classic. Ebenezer Scrooge meets the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. These ghosts show him his life, which ultimately ends in his conversion.
Read More ...
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5) 12 Delightful, Faith-Filled Catholic Stories to Enjoy as a Family This Advent & Christmas Season | |
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From Church POP:
'Tis the season for cold nights and warm pajamas – the perfect time to cozy up with your children and enjoy some heartwarming stories together.
I’ve curated a list of my family’s favorites, which you can get at the EWTN Religious Catalogue.
1) "Christmas in Heaven," by Anthony DeStefano
"Christmas in Heaven" by Anthony DeStefano / EWTN Religious Catalogue
New, and hot off the press, Anthony DeStefano delivers readers with another marvelous story the whole family will enjoy.
Weaving together truths about our faith (death, holy souls, and the Church Triumphant) with the nostalgia of Christmas traditions here on Earth, DeStefano encourages readers to lean into our Christian hope that we can see our loved ones again in Heaven one day.
As someone who misses Grandma, especially during the holidays, I highly recommend this book!
Check out other great books by Anthony DeStefano from the EWTN Religious Catalogue.
2) "The Spider Who Saved Christmas," by Raymond Arroyo
"The Spider Who Saved Christmas," by Raymond Arroyo / EWTN Religious Catalogue
Until reading this book, I could not have imagined a place in the Christmas story for a spider, but I’m happy to report that Raymond Arroyo proved me wrong.
Now, this is one of my kids’ all-time favorite Christmas stories!
When King Herod’s men set out to kill all Jewish boys under age two, the Holy Family, on their way to Egypt, seeks refuge in a cave occupied by Nephila and her young. See how the eight-legged heroine and her spider babies spring into action and risk their own lives to save the hallowed visitors. And if this story inspires you to hide a little spider in your Christmas tree from now on, let me know!
Read More ...
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6) Want to become Catholic? Want to be baptized? Do you need to be Confirmed? Learn More about the Catholic Church | |
10) High School Youth Group | |
11) Ascension's Bible and Catechism App | |
It's Here: The Bible & Catechism App!
The word of God and the complete teachings of the Catholic Church. Answers and commentary by Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, and other experts. Video, audio, and textual commentary. Right on your phone.
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The Ascension App Includes:
The full text of the Great Adventure Catholic Bible with color coding interwoven throughout so you can immediately recognize where you are in the story of salvation history.
The full text of the Catechism of the Catholic Church with The Foundations of Faith color-coding built in.
Every episode of Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz for easy access and cross-referencing with your reading plan and Scripture.
Every released episode of the Catechism in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz so you can easily stay on top of your daily readings.
Summaries, the exact wording of Fr. Mike’s daily prayers, and extra content for every single episode of Bible in a Year.
Over 1,000 commonly asked questions about the Bible with answers right in the text from experts like Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, and others.
An interactive reading plan for both podcasts that tracks your progress.
Notes and bookmarks so you can quickly pick up where you left off and write down your reflections and prayers along the way.
…And we're just getting started. More to be announced soon!
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12) Holy Hour on Thursdays | |
13) This Sunday's Readings: December 22, 2024 - the Fourth Sunday of Advent | |
14) Sunday Reflections by Jeff Cavins | |
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“The Ark of the New Covenant”
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Jeff Cavins reflects on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent:
First Reading: Micah 5:1-4A
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10
Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
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15) Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon | |
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Why Mary Matters
Friends, on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, we come to the Advent figure par excellence: the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. What I want to do in this homily is to look at some of the Church’s classical titles of Mary. These are not simply pious exclamations, but rather very substantive insights into her role in bringing Christ to birth—both in history and in us today.
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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 the button or image below to download a PDF copy of this Sunday's Grow+Go.
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17 Giving to SJA:
I'm truly grateful for your support of SJA. 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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Dear Friends in Christ,
In my own name and on behalf of our entire staff, I wish to extend to you and your family my prayers and best wishes for a most blessed, joyous, and safe Christmas.
To our visitors and guests, whether you are here in Church or joining us online, welcome to St. Joan of Arc! We are delighted you are praying with us and want you to know that you always have a place here in our parish family.
It’s so easy to get swept up in the hustle and bustle of this season and lose sight of the true reason for Christmas—the moment that changed everything: the Incarnation, when God entered the world as a tiny, humble, and helpless child.
Planning, parties, and presents can distract us, but let us take time to refocus on Christ, the source of lasting and true happiness. He alone offers the hope and joy our hearts long for. If you’ve been away from the Church, please accept this heartfelt invitation to return. As Scripture reminds us: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)
The Lord is born for us this day, and a light has shone upon us! May we treasure this precious gift of God in every moment and allow His light to shine through us, guiding others to experience the love and peace of the Prince of Peace.
Be assured of my prayers and best wishes for you and your family this Christmas season and throughout the coming New Year.
May you find joy and life in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.
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Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers!
Merry Christmas!
In Christ,
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One way to appreciate our Lord Jesus’ coming in the flesh is to imagine that he didn’t. Think about how your life would be different if there was no Jesus. You will have plenty of company. Scores of people deny that Jesus really existed. And many people who acknowledge that Jesus was indeed a truly historical person don’t think much about him beyond that. For many folks, if Jesus actually did walk the earth a couple thousand years ago, he was just ‘a guy’. “Whoever . . . whatever . . . who cares?” Kind of a different way of looking at things, if you’re a true believer, wouldn’t you say?
For one thing, if Jesus was just a figment of our imaginations, you wouldn’t be reading this article right now. You wouldn’t have dragged yourself to church to pick up a bulletin full of words, all having some kind of connection to Christ. Or you wouldn’t be clicking your way through the St. Joan of Arc website, or Msgr. Mike’s parish emails, to find out what he, or I, or anyone else on the parish staff has to say about living a life of Catholic faith. You wouldn’t be doing any of this “faith” stuff because there wouldn’t be any St. Joan Parish, or website, or Catholic Church, for that matter. You’d just be stuck with the world – nothing more, nothing less. Blah.
An increasingly large proportion of the human population has bought into “Blah.” This group of humans who have dispensed with Jesus, and supposedly with any serious religious or spiritual aspect of their human existence, have been labeled “the Nones.” In the space on any form that asks about religious affiliation, the answer is “None.” How much do you pray? “None.” How valuable is the practice of religion in our society? “None.”
The mental upheaval that accompanies the rejection of Jesus Christ is dramatic. If Jesus is either a fairy tale, or a legend that way outgrew the reality of who he was, the fallout is incalculable. For someone who has always lived a life of Christian faith, to think that Jesus was not real is unsettling, to say the least. The foundation of life would crumble beneath us. We would be rocked because the life of a practicing Catholic is touched by Christ is every daily detail. Our motivation for getting up every day, acting as we do throughout our day, making the ethical decisions we make, and often sacrificing to care for ourselves and others, would all come into question. Why do this?
This is not to say that we could not glom onto some other religious experience. In fact, that would be our only alternative, if we believe there is something beyond material humanism. We could become Jewish and start waiting again for the Messiah to come. We could embrace Islam and pledge allegiance to the Prophet. We could become “one with the universe” and unite ourselves with an Eastern mystical religion. We could imagine there is something to be gained from crystals, cards, ‘energy centers’, the stars, or hallucinogenic substances. Then again, there is always the option of going completely off the deep end and fooling with the occult. But why?
Jesus Christ is as real as real gets. He is as real as anything else is in the past. (Can you definitively prove yesterday did or did not exist? Think about it.) In fact, he is more real. If what we know about Jesus is true, then he is Truth itself. And the Way. And the Life. Without him, nothing has enduring meaning.
For those of us who embrace Jesus as our Savior, our Brother, and our God, imagining a world without him sucks all the air out of the room. Life gets dark fast. We get shaky, disturbed, depressed, and filled with despair. Yet, consider this: an untold number of people in our world live in this darkness without knowing it. Because they have either rejected Christ, or never known him, they live a greatly diminished version of life. They seem “happy,” but people born and raised in the ghetto can be happy, too.
In this gift of Jesus, having come as a helpless baby to simple parents, we have the fullness of life. Christ’s story, as we know it from both secular historians and Church history, makes sense. Beyond that, the story of Jesus Christ makes sense of everything else in our world. Given the way that human history has unfolded, life would be quite absurd without Jesus. He is the key that unlocks life’s meaning, while at the same time, he is the Sacrificial Lamb who gives us eternal life. Pretty cool gift! Thank you, Jesus, for coming!
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20) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz | |
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How to Celebrate Christmas When Life Is Hard
Have you ever heard the song “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”? Have you listened to the lyrics carefully? It’s not exactly the blissful naiveté of “Deck the Halls”. It’s much more real and raw than that.
Today, Fr. Mike is here to remind us that although “hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men,” the truth is that “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good-will to men.”
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21) Words on the Word: December 22, 2024 - Light in Darkness | |
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Baby, it’s dark outside!
One need not be a meteorology geek to know we’ve reached the shortest days of the year. The sun comes up in the morning as late as it’s going to. It sets in the evening as early as it’s going to.
The days are short. The nights are long. Overall, it’s very dark.
And yet, we’ve also reached some of the days most filled with a different kind of light. The light of love.
Consider the story a few weeks ago from The Detroit News, reporting on how, yet again, an anonymous donor dropped a South African Krugerrand into a Salvation Army collection kettle outside a grocery store in St. Clair Shores.
According to the story, it’s the 12th consecutive year a Krugerrand has been donated in this way. The story also said officials estimate the value of the gold coin to be about $2,700! What a beautiful way to shine one’s light into a dark world.
The story also said the donor left a note with the coin saying that this year’s contribution will be the last, and hoping that, perhaps, another kind-hearted person might be able to pick up the tradition.
We can indeed hope. But regardless, the good news of this day is that God is with us … Emmanuel.
And, come what may, through light and dark, Jesus is the light of the world.
“The angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people,’” we hear in St. Luke’s Christmas gospel passage. “’For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.’”
Christmas is here. May each of us of us, in our own way, be light in the darkness!
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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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23) 52 Stories: Good News from Spirit Juice Studios | |
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Prepare to be Inspired
Spirit Juice Studios is blessed to work with countless Catholic organizations, dioceses, parishes, and schools. We get to help them tell their powerful stories about all the good stuff that is happening within the Church. Sign up for 52 Stories so we can share them with you! You’ll meet the unsung heroes of the Catholic Church, discover the stories of holy women and men around the world, and witness miraculous moments of God’s grace in everyday life.
In a world full of bad news, these stories will give you 52 reasons to believe that God is working through the Catholic faith to transform lives through His love and mercy. Sign up today!
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Keep Christ in Christmas
This short video by the Knights of Columbus reminds us of Christ’s centrality in Christmas and his desire for us to be close to him.
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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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25) Mass Intentions for the Week: | |
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Monday, December 23, 2024, Advent Weekday (Purple)
7:00 am: Raquel Kosebutzki
Tuesday, December 24, 2024, Advent Weekday (Purple)
7:00 am: Frank Shuder
Tuesday, December 24, 2024, The Nativity of the Lord (White)
4:00 pm: Mary and Frank Fleming, Suzanne and Victor Markowski, Dennis Fleming, Joe Komaroff, Mary Hobig, Marie Champine, George and Sophie Rupinski, George J. Bugarin, Frank Shuder, Dorothy Shuder, the deceased members of the Bugarin, Shuder, Scheuer, Lemanski, Finn, Hunsucker, Wiegand, Labut, and Dichtel families, Aggie Butki, Roseann Coules, Virginia Prill, Mary Lou Orsini, Alan DePorter, Jill Miller, Alison Reslow, Michael Timmreck, David Damm, Sam and Grace Valenti, Mitzi Phillips, Deceased members of the McQuillan, Zaranek, Gaidis and Walters Families and Special Intention for David and Donna Lawrence, Lori Becker, Peggy McCarron, Joan Kowalewski, Natividad Mallare
6:00 pm: Living and deceased members of the Rogier and Detloff Families
10:00 pm: Dennis Venuto
Wednesday, December 25, 2024, The Nativity of the Lord (White)
8:00 am: Cornelius B. Thelen
10:00 am: Stancel Mecha
12:00 pm: Joseph and Florence Semany, Charles Semany, Ron Lagodna, Cecelia Pearson, Marissa DiStefano, David Curcuru, Jerome Walczak, Nicholas G. Nehro and Special Intentions for the Mallare Family
Thursday, December 26, 2024, Saint Stephen, The First Martyr (Red)
7:00 am: Clara M. Champine
Friday, December 27, 2024, Saint John, Apostle, and Evangelist (White)
7:00 am: Jesse F. Champine
Saturday, December 28, 2024, The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (White)
4:00 pm: Karen Jones, Robert P. Gatliff, Bonnie Batche, Blair Zernick, Mary Steele, David Sperry, Thomas Benoit, Paula Nagel the Deceased members of the Swalec Family and Special Intentions for Tina Calisi, Germaine Bryan, Rachel Allmon, Sam Manalo, the J. Champine Family, Ray Dinser, Charlotte Power, the Thomas Family, Frank Poeschel, Pat Maher, Jeff Trudell, and for the Andary and Jacob Families
6:00 pm: Hugo and Tina Calisi
Sunday, December 29, 2024, The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (White)
8:00 am: For the Intentions of St. Joan of Arc Parishioners
10:00 am: Nick DiCresce
12:00 pm: Paula Nagel, Germaine Bryan, Tina Calisi, and special intentions for Jeff Trudell, Frank Poeschel, Sammy Manalo, Charlotte Power, Rachel Allemon, and Pat Maher
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26) 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 23)
7:00 AM - Mass
2:00 PM - Baptism of Adalynne L. Kyle
3:00 PM - Baptism of Asher A. Craig
Tuesday (December 24):
7:00 AM - Mass
4:00 PM - Mass
6:00 PM - Mass
10:00 PM - Mass
Wednesday (December 25):
8:00 AM - Mass
10:00 AM - Mass
12:00 PM - Mass
Thursday (December 26):
7:00 AM- Mass
7:00 PM - Holy Hour
Friday (December 27):
7:00 AM - Mass
Saturday (December 28):
12:30 PM - Baptism of
4:00 PM - Mass
6:00 PM - Mass
Sunday (December 29):
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 cannot 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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27) SJA's Latest Parish Bulletin | |
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Click on the image below
to download a copy of the bulletin
for December 22, 2024
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28) 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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