Week of December 29, 2024

Feast of the Holy Family

1) Mass Schedule for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Our Mass schedule for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day is as follows (it is a holy day of obligation):

New Year's Eve:

4 PM

New Year's Day:

8 AM and 10 AM

2) God with US!

Several years ago, I came across this short video that uses the words from an 1854 Christmas Eve sermon by Charles Spurgeon, a young English Baptist preacher. The video is only 4 minutes and is a good and simple reflection of the power that Christ gives us through his birth as Immanuel.

Using Spurgeon's words from that Christmas Eve sermon, an original score, and a collection of animated paintings, this Christmas video illustrates the wonder of the ages, God with us.

3) Christmas Giving to SJA

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!

4) FIVE Ways to Be Like the Holy Family: Practical Tips for Parents on the Journey to Heaven

From Church POP: The Feast of the Holy Family, celebrated this year on December 29, is a beautiful way within the Christmas Octave to honor the human family to which Jesus belonged.

The Holy Family– Jesus, Mary, and Saint Joseph– is a model for all Christian families, each called to holiness in their own right.

So how does an ordinary family today model the Holy Family?

Here are five ways, all based on concepts from "The Prayer Book for Tired Parents: Practical Ways to Grow in Love of God and Get Your Family to Heaven," written by my husband and me:

1) Follow God’s laws together.

The Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph were faithful Jews. The Holy Gospels tell us Joseph was “a righteous man” (Mt. 1:19) and that Mary called herself “the handmaid of the Lord.”

The Holy Family kept Jewish practices, including going to the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:41-52) and raising Jesus according to rabbinical law.

We too are commanded to follow the Law of the Lord.

As a family, follow the Ten Commandments and hone in on the areas where you know your family needs to improve (see “The Prayer Book for Tired Parents” for an examination of conscience written for parents!) – particularly, putting God first and honoring the Lord’s Name, keeping Sunday as The Lord’s Day, practicing honesty and chastity, and not coveting your neighbor’s goods.

It also includes following the Precepts of the Church, some of which are based on the Ten Commandments, but all of which are, essentially, the “bare minimum” for Catholics – going to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days, fasting and abstaining on the two required days (fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday; abstaining from meat on Fridays, especially during Lent), going to Confession at least once per year, receiving Holy Communion at least once per year, and assist in providing for the material needs of the Church (tithing).

Seriously, the bare minimum.

Like the Holy Family, let’s strive to do better than the bare minimum by working to give God our best.

Read more ...

5) Want to become Catholic? Want to be baptized? Do you need to be Confirmed? Learn More about the Catholic Church

6) Operation REACH OUT

7) High School Youth Group

8) 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.

9) Holy Hour on Thursdays

10) This Sunday's Readings: December 29, 2024 - the Feast of the Holy Family

11) Sunday Reflections by Jeff Cavins

Feast of the Holy Family

Jeff Cavins reflects on the readings for the Feast of the Holy Family:

First Reading – Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14

Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

Second Reading – Colossians:12-21

Gospel – Luke 2:41-52

12) Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

Freeing Your Family for God

Friends, I always love preaching on the Feast of the Holy Family because I think the biblical message here is very surprising. We say the Bible is associated with family values, and indeed it is, but they’re probably not the ones we would automatically think of. We see this in the two stories that the Church brings to our attention today: the story of Hannah leaving Samuel at the temple in Shiloh, and the story of Mary and Joseph finding Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem.

13) Grow+Go

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.

14) 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.

15) TALLer Tales

The Great Christmas Cookie Challenge: As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my two major culinary days during the year are when I cook the turkeys for our family’s Thanksgiving Day dinner and when I bake cookies for our Parish Center Staff Christmas Cookie Exchange. Do I have the time to bake cookies? NO! But I have an ulterior motive: What I give pales in comparison to what I receive!

Mary Pat Brennan organizes our annual cookie exchange. A signup sheet goes out right after Thanksgiving, and I’m always amazed at how 99% of the people not only put their names on the sheet but also have already figured out what they will bake. Not me! I sign up and I figure out later what I’m going to bake. I save all the stress for a day or two before the cookies are due!

The cookie recipe of 2024 was Swedish Cookies from Taste of Home. The site said, “Our Swedish cookies are reminiscent of a recipe called brunscrackers or bruna kakor. They’re simple to make, and a nice change from the typical butter or shortbread cookie. Flavored with maple syrup, these turn golden-brown in the oven … Don’t be surprised if you want to make the cookies over and over.” Prep time was 10 minutes with a 25-minute bake time per batch. They were listed as simple and only had six ingredients: butter, sugar, maple syrup, flour, baking soda, and confectioners’ sugar. It sounded super easy, and the maple syrup ingredient made it a winner in my mind! With all my supplies, I went to town after the 6 PM Mass on Wednesday, December 11; our cookie exchange was the following day.

The recipe seemed simple. I did EXACTLY as the recipe said. I usually take my own shortcuts, but I had little room for failure. If my cookies failed, it had to be before 9:30 PM so I could run to Kroger and get some ready-to-bake cookies before they closed at 10 (I’ve had to do that before). In the past, I’ve also had the ingredients on hand for a backup cookie if cookie recipe number one failed me. But this time, I only had the ingredients for the Swedish Cookies.

My sisters and mom would tell you that I’m not so bad in the baking or cooking department, but I’m a COMPLETE disaster in the keeping the kitchen clean department. I find a way to make a complete mess and use more utensils and pots and pans than you can imagine. Included here are some pictures. And this is just from 6 ingredients!

The dough came out as expected, and I rolled it into the 9-inch “logs” as scripted. I wasn’t sure how the rolled cookies would flatten like the pictures on the website, and I was worried I was doing something wrong. Even though every ounce of me wanted to flatten out the dough, I followed the recipe as written.

I opened the oven at the 15-minute mark and was so happy to see the cookies flatten like they were supposed to. I was pretty geeked up things were going smoothly. Once the cookies were done, I cut them and allowed them to cool a bit before I took my first bite to sample the delicacy that had just come out of the oven.

I was so disappointed with my first bite. They. Had. NO. Taste! Nada! They were simply a hard dunking cookie like a biscotti. I was SO bummed. I had a complete disaster in the kitchen, and the cookies were hard and tasted so blah. Oh well, this is what happens when you’re me!

The other members of the cookie exchange were kind and tried to lift my spirits, saying this was my best yet! It didn’t matter in the end. I did what I had to do to get some great cookies in exchange that would decorate my Christmas Eve dinner table! I just hoped no one would break a tooth with my contribution!

With that experience, my culinary days were over until Thanksgiving Day 2025. I can breathe a sigh of relief! But it may take me that long to clean the kitchen!

2024 Giving Tree Project THANKS: What an incredible year for our Giving Tree Project! We truly have so much to celebrate and, more importantly, so many people to thank. This wouldn’t have been possible without the extraordinary generosity of our parish families, the Saint Clair Shores Police Department and their Toys for Tots program, Allemon Landscaping and the Allemon Family, Corewell Grosse Pointe (Labor and Delivery, Step Down, and 3 NE departments), and seven amazing adopting families.

Together, you helped us raise an incredible $11,000 in online and cash donations. On top of that, we collected $6,000 in gift cards, 350 toys, and enough canned goods and non-perishables to bless 350 families at Munger Elementary School in Detroit. Every child at that school received a toy, a coat, and a box of food—because of YOU! 

Your kindness stretched even further. We also supported St. Aloysius Parish, St. Raymond’s Parish, St. Veronica Parish, Gianna House, and Father Murray Nursing Center. Through our Adopt-A-Family program, 12 families were adopted and given the Christmas they deserved.

Words can’t quite convey my gratitude for every one of you. Your extraordinary kindness brought joy and hope to many who might otherwise have gone without. I wish all of you could have witnessed the joy of the recipients! This is what Christmas Giving is all about!

Thank you for making the 2024 Giving Tree Project such a phenomenal success.

Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers!

Happy Holy Family Sunday!

In Christ,

gmb@sjascs.org

16) Voiland's View

We humans are creatures of habit. We are most comfortable dealing with familiar things. Certainly, there are thrill-seekers out there, constantly looking for the next breath-taking rush, but most of us are happy knowing what’s coming next. We don’t crave new experiences all the time. So, for many of us, the dawning of a new year can be unsettling. Like any new year, 2025 brings with it many unknowns. Venturing into the unknown can even be kind of scary.

Fear of the unknown is an interesting thing. Why should we be fearful or uneasy about something which is literally unknown? Afterall, a completely new experience has the potential to be the greatest experience we will ever have. Nothing to fear in that! But a strange, new experience also has the potential to be miserable – confusing, dark, or overly-demanding. That’s where the fear comes in. We feel uneasy with the unknown because we realize that evil of some sort might lurk in the experiences we approach.

Our awareness of evil in our world heightens with age. Once we get burned a few times by life’s experiences, we can become a little gun-shy. Those fireworks going off to welcome the New Year can cause a sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs. “Wow. I don’t know if I can do this again. Last year was pretty rough. I don’t see anything to indicate that this year will be any better.” As time passes by, our awareness of evil in the world can be destabilizing. We are overcome by the presence of moral decay at every level.

Global, national, state, and local community news swirls around us. To be “news,” it’s usually “bad.” Particularly when bad news erupts on a global scale – like war in Ukraine, Syria, the Middle East, and other areas – we feel impotent to do anything. And fear sets in. Even the unknown fallout from the recent national election keeps us on edge. No one really quite knows how things will play out with the transfer of political regimes in Washington. Then, to further heighten our anxiety, we have come to greatly distrust long-established sectors within our political structure because they have demonstrated blatant ineptness, or downright corruption. And we are not people of influence who are able to correct the evil we see.

Even in our local communities and immediate families, we see breakdowns in relationships that threaten the peaceful coexistence of neighbors and family members. The temptation to give in to lives of selfishness leads to all kinds of unnecessary pain and suffering. We see evil in very real, everyday terms. And so, for some of us to want to crawl into a corner and avoid the future is understandable. But such cowering is not what we were created to do. We were created as God’s children to live life boldly and happily in our own personal, unique way – not to give in to evil.

To this end, we are given a gift in Holy Scripture that effectively beats down our fear of the supposed power of evil in our world. By pulling ourselves far out of the world to give ourselves, not a bird’s-eye view, but an angel’s-eye view of life on planet earth, we can be at ease with whatever the future may bring. This eternal view of life is invigorated by Scripture’s commentary on evil. Psalm 37 speaks in strong terms about the insignificance of evil: 

“Do not be provoked by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. Like grass they wither quickly; like green plants they wilt away. . . . Those who do evil will be cut off . . . Wait a little, and the wicked will be no more; look for them and they will not be there. . . . The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but my Lord laughs at them, because he sees that their day is coming. . . . Their swords will pierce their own hearts; their bows will be broken. . . . The wicked perish, enemies of the Lord; they shall be consumed like fattened lambs; like smoke they disappear. . . . I have seen a ruthless scoundrel, spreading out like a green cedar. When I passed by again, he was gone; though I searched, he could not be found. . . . Sinners will be destroyed together; the future of the wicked will be cut off.” [Read the whole psalm. It’s great!]

Regarding the words of this psalm, if we remain anchored in the world, at ground-zero, we would readily say, “I’m not seeing any of this. Evil is blossoming like a nuclear mushroom cloud and overtaking the human race. Evil is having its day.” In a certain limited (contemporary) sense it is; evil is taking ground. But in the bigger eternal sense, evil is in its death throes.

Consider this: Hitler. Everyone’s favorite embodiment of evil is Adolph Hitler. It we hate anyone or anything, it is Hitler. But where is Hitler? What remains of Hitler? What ultimate, enduring effect did Hitler have on The Good? The answer: none whatsoever. All of the carnage he brought, the venom he spewed, the hatred he enabled, the darkness he cast, has been distilled into a disgusting epithet people use in the 21st century to describe evil – “like smoke they disappear.”

Such heinous evil does affect our earthly timeline, but it has no effect on the destiny of those committed to do the will of God. This is why our human efforts must be directed toward our eternity with God. We are not bound as slaves to worldliness. This calls for us to make a choice. Do we invest in the here and now, or the here and later? Do we embrace God or do we let evil squeeze us? This is the stuff martyrs are made of. We are made for God – not fear.

Peace in Christ,

Fr. Bob

rvoiland@sjascs.org

17) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz

Family: Your Shortcut to Holiness

Fr. Mike explains how being at home with our family is one of God’s favorite ways to make us holy—if we are honest about the areas where we need to grow in our relationships with family members.

Fr. Mike has observed that college students often have a profound encounter with Jesus through their college’s Catholic community. They find that they are praying more, receiving the sacraments more, participating in more service opportunities, and so on. Then they get back home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or—in the most recent cases—a lockdown. They realize, in their interactions with their family that they’re not as holy as they thought they were.

Why do we struggle to be loving toward those whom we claim to love the most? It’s harder to love family members sometimes because—Fr. Mike explains—you didn’t get to choose this group, and they can make demands on you. 

It’s easy to be generous when it’s on your own terms. 

Our relationships with our family can reveal the impatience and lack of generosity inside us—the unedited version of us. 

Be honest with God and admit that the things you thought you defeated are still somewhere inside you. Surrender these things to Jesus. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable with your family. They love you. Ask family members where they want you to grow this week. 

Pursue holiness at home. Like St. Teresa of Calcutta said, find your own Calcutta.

18) Words on the Word: December 29, 2024 - The Stuff of Memories

Most people are probably familiar with - or intuitively understand – the five stages of grief as defined decades ago by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

People generally agree that, while reality runs on its own timeline, and rarely is as linear as depicted in the model, it is nevertheless a reasonable illustration of what those in the grieving process experience.

That model, of course, is applicable to anyone grieving the loss of anyone else. A recent article published on an internet aggregation website, however, approached grief from a slightly different perspective. It explored the feelings experienced, specifically, by the adult children of recently deceased parents working through the process of clearing out their childhood homes. 

The stages defined in this study: sentimentality, calculation, avoidance, disappointment, totem, and dumpster. It was, for the most part, an honest and sentimental examination of the cascade of feelings people in these circumstances experience, balancing the grief of loss with the realities of keeping, selling, or discarding a lifetime of accumulated parental belongings.

For those who have dealt with such circumstances, the grief and guilt are likely well remembered. For those who have not, the article served as a good reminder of how important it is to cherish parents and grandparents while they are still here, and to respect them.

“My son, take care of your father when he is old,” we hear in one of the options for today’s first reading from the book of Sirach. “Grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him; revile him not in all the days of his life; kindness to a father will not be forgotten, firmly planted against the debt of your sins – a house raised in justice to you.”

A fitting reminder that the Church, in her wisdom, offers on this feast of the Holy Family.

© 2024 Words on the Word

19) This WEEK on FORMED:

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:

• 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.



20) 52 Stories: Good News from Spirit Juice Studios

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!

Liturgy of the Hours

This informative video by Word on Fire brings to life the beauty and spiritual depth of the Liturgy of the Hours. Narrated by Bishop Robert Barron and featuring stunning Catholic architecture and artwork, it shows how the Liturgy of the Hours is a prayer for the whole church and an opportunity for families to grow in the faith.

21) Hallow App:

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.

22) Mass Intentions for the Week:

Monday, December 30, 2024, Sixth Day in the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (White)

7:00 am: Donnie Hunsucker

Tuesday, December 31, 2024, Seventh Day in the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord (White)

7:00 am: Bernard J. Champine

Tuesday, December 31, 2024, The Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God (White) 4:00 pm: David Damm, and a Special Intention for the Bommarito Family and Staff 

Wednesday, January 1, 2025, The Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God (White) 

8:00 am: Josephine Ciaravino

10:00 am: George J. Bugarin

Thursday, January 2, 2025, St. Basil the Great & Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church (White) 

7:00 am: Jean Ringwald

Friday, January 3, 2025, Christmas Weekday (White)

7:00 am: Valentin Solano

Saturday, January 4, 2025, Vigil for the Epiphany of the Lord (White)

4:00 pm: William Heythaler, Bonnie Batche, Michael Bowman, Gakobe Milton, a special intention for the living & deceased members of the J. Champine Family, and Prayerful appreciation for the work of the Priests and Staff of St. Joan of Arc

6:00 pm: Sara Elizabeth Olivieri

Sunday, January 5, 2025, Epiphany of the Lord (White)

8:00 am: The Intentions of SJA Parishioners

10:00 am: A Special Intention for the Family of Patrick Wearn

12:00 pm: John Gaines, Edwin Coatney, Richard Coatney, and Tina Calisi

23) This Week on St. Joan of Arc LIVE:

This week's LIVE Stream

Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:

Monday (December 30)

7:00 AM - Mass

Tuesday (December 31):

7:00 AM - Mass

4:00 PM - Mass

Wednesday (January 1):

8:00 AM - Mass

10:00 AM - Mass

Thursday (January 2):

7:00 AM- Mass

7:00 PM - Holy Hour



Friday (January 3):

7:00 AM - Mass

10:00 AM - Funeral for Kenneth Clouse (Read Obituary HERE)

Saturday (January 4):

10:00 AM - Funeral for Gloria Kwiatkowski (Read Obituary HERE)

12:30 PM - Baptism of Levi A. Sapiano

1:30 PM - Baptism of Anthony S. Soulliere

4:00 PM - Mass

6:00 PM - Mass

Sunday (January 5):

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.

24) SJA's Latest Parish Bulletin

Click on the image below

to download a copy of the bulletin

for December 29, 2024

25) Weekly Bulletin Mailing List

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.



26) Detroit Catholic