9 Days for Life is a novena for the protection of human life. Each day’s intention is accompanied by a short reflection and suggested actions to help build a culture of life. Click on the button below to sign up for daily emails to pray the novena.

Driven by the nationwide United States Catholic Conference of Bishops’ Walking with Moms in Need initiative, the Detroit Walking with Moms in Need initiative is a partnership between the Archdiocese of Detroit and Catholic Charities of southeast Michigan, which equips and assists Catholic parishes and parishioners in raising awareness about resources that assist pregnant and parenting moms in need. The initiative seeks to make each parish in the Archdiocese a place where moms and their babies are welcomed and supported and where the dignity of every human life is upheld and valued.

Through Walking with Moms in Need, Catholic parishes and communities "walk in the shoes" of local pregnant and parenting women to connect them with the help they need.

As members of the Body of Christ, we are called to help moms in difficult circumstances, and we should know how we can best support them. While not trying to turn Catholic parishes into pregnancy centers, we can support local pregnancy centers where they exist. We can also find and share other resources with pregnant and parenting women that will serve them and the young lives entrusted to them.

What does it really mean to walk with moms in need? Watch this 5 Minute Video

SJA is moderating a Facebook group for our parishioners and friends embarking on the Catechism in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz and Ascension Press.

You can find the link to join on the SJA Facebook page or click the button below. We already have 90+ participants!

Our CSA goal this year is $211,447. Anything raised above the goal will return to the parish, while any shortfalls must be covered by the parish. Thus, your support is greatly needed and appreciated.

You can also easily give by visiting: sja.aodcsa.org or by clicking on the button below.

I am grateful to those who have already contributed to CSA 2022. As of today, we have $208,521 in pledges and gifts toward our $211,447 goal ($208,521 has been paid thus far toward our total pledged amount). This amount represents gifts from 621 families (we have 3,345 families registered). We have thus achieved 99% of our goal!

In this week’s Encountering the Word video, Jeff Cavins explains why Ordinary Time is actually a very exciting part of the year because it reminds us of the promises God has in store for us.

The readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

First Reading: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-3

Alleluia: John 1:14A, 12A

Gospel: John 1:29-34

Friends, we return this Sunday to Ordinary Time, and the Church gives us a rather extraordinary reading from the first chapter of the Gospel of John. Seeing Jesus, John the Baptist says something that we repeat at every single Mass: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Many Christians don’t know what this phrase means; they think that it has to do with Jesus’ gentleness or innocence. But John is drawing our attention here to who Jesus was—and the Good News of what he did for us on the cross.

‘Twas the “Night” Before Christmas: Yes, ‘twas the “night” before Christmas, when all through the Church, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The wreaths were all hung by the balcony with care, in hopes that the Christmas crowds soon would be there; the parishioners were nestled all snug at their homes; with visions of warmer temperatures dancing in their heads; and Father Andrew in his sweater and I in my long winter coat, walked over for early confessions before the long day was soon to commence. When out in the Church a few complained it was shivering; I sprang from the sacristy to see what was the matter. Away to the boiler room, I flew like a flash, tore open the doors and threw up the sash. When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but no boiler light and nothing but alarms! Nooooooo! Not on Christmas Eve! Seriously, why on Christmas Eve? Don’t the gremlins know we’re busy?

Father Andrew headed over to hear confessions while I surveyed the issues in the boiler room. I checked our temperature probes, and they only showed 45 degrees inside the Church. Pete, our maintenance staff member, was working on refilling the candles in the Pieta Chapel, and he reported it had to be even colder back there. UGH! “I don’t have time for this,” was the first thing I yelled to myself … okay, maybe it wasn’t “to myself!”

As a pastor, you learn how to deal with minor boiler issues quickly. You may not have a boiler operator’s license, but you know enough to get things going, to hit resets, and when you need to call in the pros. But the boiler wasn’t the only issue. The air handler was also down (which was good because we didn’t need any additional cold air pumping into the Church). So, I called Dina and Vern, and we quickly assessed that we needed to call in the pros in the form of De-Cal; they handle all of our boiler issues. It was now 1 PM, and I knew I was going to ruin a few people’s Christmas Eve, but we had no choice. De-Cal had someone out within an hour and got the boiler back up and running. It turned out that a motor that controls the ventilation system of the boiler was having issues, so the system shut the boiler off as a safety precaution. Once the boiler was up and running, we turned our attention to the air handlers. That turned out to be an easy fix. The air handlers have a temperature cut-off threshold. If the air gets too cold inside the air handlers, it shuts the unit off. It’s basically a freeze reset. And that would continue to pop until the boiler reached its normal operating temperature.

After a few hours of messing around with all of that, I went home to change and called my family to let them know they would have to deal with the final set-ups for our family dinner at the Parish Center after the 4 PM mass. At this point, I had no time to deal with all the last-minute stuff. So, after getting dressed in my good suit, crisp white shirt, and formal clerical attire, I headed back to Church. Thankfully, the boiler was pumping out some heat, and eventually, the air handlers stopped needing to be reset, but it would have been quite the picture with me in my suit and good white shirt climbing a ladder near the big air handlers on a Christmas Eve trying to keep things on until the boiler rose to its normal operating temperature. Usually, in these moments, I ruin my good clothes; but I’m delighted to report I didn’t rip anything … I only got grease on my cuffs! Not bad.

It was 2:45, and crowds were starting to roll into Church for the 4 PM mass. I already needed a nap (and a good glass of chocolate wine at this point). But it was still pretty cold in Church and even colder in the choir loft. The Church was slowly inching toward 55 degrees, and I was hoping some body heat would help warm things up. But it was still cold upstairs in the Choir loft. I saw someone … and for the sake of this story, let’s say her name was Catherine … start to lug a heater upstairs. I somewhat rolled my eyes because I was confident it would get warmer by the 4 PM mass, but this was the Choir loft. And since we had a bunch of extra musicians and the children’s choir, she wanted to make it comfortable for all of them to do their best … after all, it was Christmas Eve. Dumb gremlins, check your calendars and leave us alone! So, to the choir loft the heater went, and I turned my focus on the Mass in the Emmaus Hall, hoping beyond hope that things would settle down. Little did I anticipate all that was yet to happen.

It was now 3:45 PM. Crowds are pouring into the Sr. Carol Center and either going into the Church or the Emmaus Hall for Mass. Suddenly, I get all these mayday calls and texts. Now what? Well, a breaker popped and shut down the computer that controls the screens and all the streaming equipment. Noooooooo. Not on Christmas Eve. Seriously, on Christmas Eve? Do you see a pattern here?

Even though the breaker was reset, the streaming equipment wasn’t going live. I ran upstairs to the choir loft and frantically tried to diagnose with Kristine Hass what the problem might be now. Most of the power was on, but none of the streaming equipment was responding, nor were any of the cameras. UGH! There was power, but we lost all network functionality and connectivity. This wasn’t fair. It was now 3:53 PM, and my brain was on overload trying to determine the issue quickly. And, in a rare moment, I gave up! I rarely give up! But this was Christmas Eve, after all! Even though I wanted to stay upstairs to get the streaming equipment going, I had to get back downstairs, vest, and get Mass started in the Emmaus Hall. But my brain was on overdrive because what was happening didn’t make sense. But then again, this was SJA, and things often happen around here that don’t make any sense.

So, I quickly hobbled downstairs, pretended I was in a good mood for all the people wishing me a Merry Christmas, and got vested for Mass, knowing I had to get the streaming equipment back up and running for the next Mass. We have too many people dependent on our streaming to give up too quickly, especially on Christmas Eve!

After Mass, I had a brilliant light go on, and I realized the potential problem. Sure enough, I was right. An auxiliary piece of networking equipment was on the power strip that somehow also got fried, so I just needed to reroute that power cord to another outlet. Voila, it worked! Crabby pants here started to breathe a sigh of relief, and wandered over to the Parish Center for dinner with his family. Dinner was important, but we still had to place the 2,000 tea lights outside. I enjoyed my dinner and being with my family and looked forward to a nice calm rest of the evening. Little did I know what was still on the horizon! Darn Gremlins, didn’t they know it was Christmas Eve?

Oh yes, there’s more to come; after all, it was Christmas Eve!

Bloomin’ Winter!: Horticulturist, I am not. I was concerned about the little pine trees I planted in the Fall not making it through the winter (or even to the winter) but they seem to have survived the transit and planting and are doing okay.

The same cannot be said for my cactus. I kind of like the little planter so I keep it, but this thing is now at least a year and a half past the end of its life. It is not only spikey but now crunchy too! Have you ever seen such a sight as this for interior décor?!

Sad doesn’t even begin to cover it. But it’s the only plant I have. You’d figure I could keep a cactus alive… but no. I wrote previously about my coffee plant that lives in the office now. I claim no agency over the life and times of that plant now. It still refuses to produce coffee beans and the one flower it managed to squeeze out last year never gained a friend.

I do have the annual poinsettia, which last year I kept until Easter, but this one isn’t showing signs of wanting to hang on until then.

My fake Christmas tree went back in its box last weekend and my house is back to looking a little bare and barren.

So, I thought, maybe it’s time to “bring the Spring.” And without a whole lot of sun since before the New Year, we could all do with a little encouragement. Maybe the Spring needs it too, or at least my house could fake it for a while. While I was at the grocery store I saw these and decided it would be a good idea. What could go wrong? No planting, just replenish the water as it evaporates. So I bought these tulips, and who knows, I could soon have something that looks alive and intentional. They are already beginning to hatch (that’s probably not the right word, is it?!) And when the outside sees them, just wait, I bet the Spring will get its boots on too.

Monsignor mentioned this week that he would not be opposed to a snow day or two right about now. Those are always helpful as catch-up days, but at the time of writing, no dice. But a teacher friend of mine frequently reminds me that she once really wanted a snow day and even prayed for one. It was March 2020… the next day, no snow, but the world shut-down for the pandemic. She doesn’t pray for snow days anymore!

Even the hint of possible snow on Friday has thought better of it and turned into wind instead, at least according to the weather app on my phone. I am tending to believe the app more than I believe the weather station in my back-yard now, which for a couple of weeks has been reporting some unusually gusty conditions behind my house, as you can see…

I suspect that a 199mph wind gust may not be entirely accurate! I think the recent hibernation of the sun forced the weather station to run on its battery, which is now drained, leaving the sensor confused, so it has turned to making it up to get by.

All of which leads me to the same conclusion…. Michigan weather will do whatever it wants, but I hope it wants what I want soon!

Moving Forward: After the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Church has now entered into Ordinary Time, called "ordinary" not because it is common, but simply because the weeks of Ordinary Time are numbered. The Latin word ordinalis, referring to numbers in a series, stems from the Latin word ordo, from which we get the English word order. The numbered weeks of Ordinary Time represent the ordered life of the Church—the period in which we live our lives neither in feasting (as in the Christmas and Easter seasons) or in more severe penance (as in Advent and Lent), but in watchfulness and expectation of the Second Coming of Christ.

It's appropriate, therefore, that the Gospel for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time (which is actually the first Sunday celebrated in Ordinary Time) always features either John the Baptist's acknowledgment of Christ as the Lamb of God or Christ's first miracle—the transformation of water into wine at the wedding at Cana.

Thus for Catholics, Ordinary Time is the part of the year in which Christ, the Lamb of God, walks among us and transforms our lives. There's nothing "ordinary" about that!

The normal liturgical color for Ordinary Time, when there is no special feast, is green. Green vestments and altar cloths have traditionally been associated with the time after Pentecost, the period in which the Church founded by the risen Christ, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, began to grow and to spread the Gospel to all nations. But it only began—this work is not finished and will not be finished until we are all on board and doing our part to spread the Gospel. Having Christ at the center of your life make life anything but ordinary. It is a roller-coaster maybe, but it’s the best way to travel through this year.

adawson@sjascs.org 

Stories matter. We tell them to help us understand the world around us. But what if the stories we tell don’t mirror our Catholic morals? What if the lessons that they teach don’t agree with our values? Should we keep telling those stories?

Today Fr. Mike wrecks your childhood version of the Little Mermaid and spoils the ending of the real story. Spoiler: It doesn’t have a happy ending.

Christmas trees are, for the most part, either put away or thrown away.

Holiday decorations are, in most cases, either packed up or soon will be.

The last of the Christmas cookies have been eaten.

And life is returning to more of a routine. The church, for its part, has shifted back into Ordinary Time, where we will be until the Lent begins at the end of February.

But the needs of our less-fortunate neighbors, so acutely felt and addressed during the holiday season, haven’t suddenly disappeared. If they were hungry then, odds are good they are hungry now.

So it was refreshing, a few weeks ago, to see a sponsored story in The Detroit News about the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign – so ubiquitous and recognized during the holidays – and its lasting impact over the course of the entire year. Through that campaign, support is provided for disaster recovery, rehabilitation and after-school programs, legal aid, and more.

It’s a giving mindset that people of goodwill should strive to carry out whether it’s December, January … or July.

“Families in our communities are struggling to make ends meet,” a Salvation Army spokesman is quoted as saying in the story, adding the reminder that a really effective charitable contribution “not only supports our community’s most vulnerable through the Christmas season, but 365 days a year.”

And so, whether through prayer, financial contributions or volunteering, may we all keep in mind the ongoing needs of our brothers and sisters, and act accordingly.

“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, to do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart,” we pray in today’s responsorial psalm. “Here am I, Lord, I come to do your will.”

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7:00 a.m., For the deceased members of the Calisi Family who died in the Month of January

7:00 a.m., Pamela Gervasoni

7:00 a.m., Ricky Sanders

7:00 a.m., Geraldine Rogier

7:00 a.m., Paul T. Daudlin

4:00 p.m., Joan Weber, Dr. Lori Karol, Bonnie Batche, Joseph Calus, Mark DeKoekkoek, and a Special Intention for the J. Champine Family, and for Catherine Lovasco

6:00 p.m., George J. Bugarin

8:00 a.m., For the Intentions for St. Joan of Arc Parishioners

10:00 a.m., Joseph Paluzzi Jr.

12:00 p.m., Denise Allossery and Dee Allor

Wednesday (January 18):

Thursday (January 19):

Friday (January 20):

Saturday (January 21):