Dear Friends in Christ,
Here are a few updates from our parish for the week of January 16, 2022.
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1) 9 Days for Life Novena JANUARY 19-27, 2022: |
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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 image below to sign up for daily emails to pray the novena. |
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Rachel's Vineyard weekends for healing after abortion are offered throughout the year in locations across the United States and Canada, with additional sites around the world. Rachel’s Vineyard is a ministry of Priests for Life.
The program is an opportunity to examine your abortion experience, identify the ways that the loss has impacted you in the past and present, and helps to acknowledge any unresolved feelings that many individuals struggle with after abortion. Because of the emotional numbness and secrecy that often surrounds an abortion experience, conflicting emotions both during and after the event may remain unresolved. These buried feelings can surface later and may be symptoms of post abortion trauma.
Married couples, mothers, fathers, grandparents and siblings of aborted children, as well as persons who have been involved in the abortion industry have come to Rachel's Vineyard in search of peace and inner healing. The weekend is a lot of work but yields a fruitful harvest for all who are willing to labor there. To learn more, please read about our weekend retreats.
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3) Rosary Rally on Saturday, January 22 |
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4) SJA School Open House WinterFest: Thursday, February 3 |
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With the many changes to the tax laws, itemizing deductions will not benefit as many people as in the past. As a result, many people will not need or benefit from the usual end-of-the-year tax statements normally generated this time of year. Please consult with your tax preparer to determine if you still need a contribution statement from us.
If you need a statement of your offertory, capital campaign, and sponsorship appeal contributions for your 2021 income taxes, please click on the link below to fill out a form. We will then generate a statement for you toward the end of January.
Statements for the CSA will be generated by the Archdiocese of Detroit.
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6) Walking with Purpose ... It's NOT too late to Register! |
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Click on the image below for more information or to register. |
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7) The Chosen Season TWO Watch Party ... It's NOT too late to Register! |
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Click on the image below for more information or to register. |
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8) Depression in Children and Teens - Sunday, January 30th at 10 AM |
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Click on the image below for more information. |
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9) This Sunday's Readings - January 16, 2022 |
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10) Jeff Cavins: Encountering the Word - Reflections on the Sunday Readings |
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Jeff Cavins reflects on the readings for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time:
First Reading – Isaiah 62:1-5
Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8, 9-10
Second Reading – 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Gospel – John 2:1-11
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11) Grow+Go for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time |
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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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12) 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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13) This Week's Edition of TALLer Tales |
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Getting OLDer: When I was a seminarian studying in Rome and even for a few years after I was ordained a priest, I would watch many Papal liturgies on TV. It became more of a habit to sit down and watch some of the major solemnities and feasts of the liturgical year, whether live or recorded, from the Vatican. Back in the day, I knew many of the people I would see on TV, so it was fun to watch what was happening in Rome.
While I still catch the “Midnight minus Two” Christmas Eve Mass or the Easter Vigil, I don’t watch as many Papal liturgies as I once did. But one thing hasn’t changed in my many years of watching those beautiful Papal liturgies: Vatican TV has this uncanny ability to narrow in on some poor sleeping priest, bishop, or cardinal when they’re panning the crowd. I’ve learned as a camera operator at SJA, that sometimes you need that second camera shot ready to switch to when things just aren’t panning out too well with the scene being broadcast live on another camera. But I used to laugh … many of us used to laugh or more like snicker … at the shots of the poor priests, bishops or cardinals caught absolutely sound asleep at one of these liturgies. It just wasn’t the “I was just resting my eyes while I listened to the homily” routine, but often the full-blown eyes closed, head tilted, and mouth somewhat open routine. I laugh now at thinking how often I would declare, “THAT would NEVER happen to ME!”
Well, I’m OLDer now. And, when I’m tired, it takes only a few nano-seconds to fall asleep. As I’ve often said, I don’t know why I even bother sitting in my nice comfy La-Z-Boy chair in my back room at my house because that chair has this uncanny ability to launch me into a sleep routine within seconds of landing on it.
Like so many of you, I find that the days leading up to Christmas can get rather exhausting. There is so much to do and so much to remember. I’m lucky if I even remember to bring my family gifts to our Christmas Day gathering. And I know that if I even thought of sitting in my big chair in my back room for a few minutes after the last mass before I began the hour journey north … I’d wake up to a phone call wondering if I got lost or fell asleep!
At the Christmas Day mass that Father Andrew was the celebrant, I caught myself dozing off a bit during the responsorial psalm. This wasn’t good because it was so early in the liturgy. Normally, I will doze off for a nano-second, but I’ll catch myself and get my act back together. But during the homily, I flat out fell asleep. This was full-blown with eyes closed, head titled, and mouth slightly opened. I don’t know how long I was out, but I was clearly out. OH NO, I HAVE become like one of those old priests at the Vatican. How did that happen? I’m only 57! I just hoped they didn’t pan the sanctuary with the camera and catch me in the act.
But then I realized I had another problem. With the two screens in Church now, I have found that people don’t always look at the screen on THEIR side of the Church. NO! I’ve seen a fair number of people sitting on the pulpit side of the Church look at the screen on the right side of the Church. This puts the concelebrants seated in the chairs down near the piano DIRECTLY in the line of sight of those sitting on the pulpit side looking at the right screen. There’s no escaping being caught asleep now! Good heavens! I’ll need to be on my best behavior from now on. Or, I just have to accept the fact that I really am like one of those OLD priests at the Vatican I used to snicker about!
Speaking about Getting Old: At a baptism we had this past weekend, the grandmother pointed out how many in the family I have baptized over the years. She just kept pointing and saying, “and that one, and that one, and that one.” Then one of the sons piped up and said while pointing to his head, “And you know you’re an old priest when someone you baptized is as bald as me!” Gee thanks!
End of the Year Tax Statements: With the many changes in the tax laws, itemizing deductions do not benefit as many people as in the past. As a result, many people do not need or benefit from the usual end-of-the-year tax statements we generated years ago. Please consult with your tax preparer to determine if you still need a contribution statement from us. If you need a contribution statement for your 2021 income taxes, please complete the online form found at sjascs.org/taxstatements. We will generate a statement for you toward the end of January. You can indicate if you would like to pick up the statement or have it mailed or emailed. Please note that statements for contributions to the Catholic Services Appeal are generated separately by the Archdiocese of Detroit. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Parish Center at 586-777-3670 or info@sjascs.org.
A Day of Prayer and Penance for Life: Saturday, January 22, marks the 49th anniversary of the infamous ROE vs. WADE and DOE vs. BOLTON decisions that rocked the foundation of human life in our country. With those two decisions, a woman’s right to “choice” outweighed an innocent child’s right to life. It’s incredible to think how many abortions have taken place in our country alone. We need to continue to pray for a greater respect for human life in all of its stages, not just during the annual March for Life in January but throughout the year.
“The over 60 million abortions since the 1973 decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton reflect with heartbreaking magnitude what Pope Francis means by a ‘throwaway culture.’ However, we have great trust in God’s providence. We are reminded time and again in Scripture to seek the Lord’s help, and as people of faith, we believe that our prayers are heard (usccb.org).”
“Only with prayer—prayer that storms the heavens for justice and mercy, prayer that cleanses our hearts and souls—will the culture of death that surrounds us today be replaced with a culture of life (U.S. Catholic Bishops, Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities).”
9 Days for Life: One great way to pray for life is by participating in the annual 9 Days for Life Novena. The novena, a signature event of the USCCB’s pro-life initiatives, invites participants to receive daily prayers and reflections by email or text from January 19 through January 27. To sign up for the novena, please visit www.9daysforlife.com or follow the link on the home page of our parish website. The daily messages, which are youth-friendly, include an intercession, simple prayers, a brief reflection, and suggested actions to help build a culture of life. There are also iOS and Android apps available. You can also take advantage of prewritten content on the 9daysforlife.com site for sharing on Facebook or Twitter.
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Enjoy the week.
Know of my prayers.
In Christ,
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14) Tire Tracks in the d’Arc |
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The Nine-Times Table Lesson: I did not like math when I was in school (or now!). But what I did like was the Dukes of Hazzard on TV. That was my favorite show. So when I was supposed to have worked on learning my nine-times table for school, but hadn’t, my mom knew exactly where to strike that would hurt the most. I was banished to the dining room to do my homework at 5pm on Saturday, instead of my weekly dose of the Dukes. It was just one of the many lessons I had as a child to teach me about consequences. If we don’t learn when we’re young that our behavior has a consequence, there is no limit to where narcissism and reckless pursuit of misjudged freedom will take us. We never learn what it means to be responsible for our actions and we’re surprised when they come back to bite us.
On too great a scale, our nation has missed the nine-times table lesson. The pursuit of personal freedom is on the verge of hitting us hard. It’s been 49 years since the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v Wade and this ruling has led to over 63 million deaths in those years. Worldwide, over the same time-period, the number is over 1.5 billion—that’s 20% of the world’s population. The Church marks that notorious anniversary with Sanctity of Life Month in January.
Besides the moral decay that has been eating away at our society since the introduction of the legally-approved oral contraceptive pill in 1960, the wide use of birth control has facilitated the growth of a permissive society. In such an environment, young people are often at a loss to understand the need to respect their own and each other’s bodies. The culture tries hard to persuade them otherwise with a “Life-is-cheap-so-have-fun-and-fix-it-later” attitude.
In the midst of this comes the heart of the nine-times table lesson. The consequence of our 63 million aborted children, many of whom would have by now had their own children, is a population that is badly out of balance. The Baby-Boomers are now already retired and retiring, but there is a void in the population holding them-up. Behind them trail their children and grandchildren, many of whom were aborted before birth, before they had chance to enter society – before they had the opportunity to enter the workplace and to support their parents and grandparents in time-honored tradition. Who ought to be the top wage-earners and contributors today? Who should be at the height of their earning potential? It’s those in their 30s and 40s, by now well-established in their careers….or they would have been had they been allowed to live…
In 1940, there were 160 people supporting each Social Security recipient. Today there are 2.7 people paying to support each recipient. How can one worker support two or three retirees while still working and trying to raise a family with mortgage payments, food, healthcare, etc.? Obviously, they can’t, at least not forever. Our nation has let these flood-waters in, and it will take a conversion of hearts on several fronts to right the ship. We need to be a people of Gospel charity, willing to assist those in need. But even more profoundly, we need to realize fundamentally what the Church has always insisted to be true - all sin is universal. We do nothing in isolation; we can’t expect that ignoring the dignity of human life at every stage will have no consequence upon our society. It’s a lie.
As Catholics, we’re often called to be bold for the sake of Christ. But it’s not bold to preach the gospel. It’s not bold to preach the truth Jesus speaks. What is really bold is to know the truth and not to preach it in the face of such an attack on life. This doesn’t mean we should be throwing rocks at the other side, rather it’s the duty of every Catholic to point people to Christ by our lives and by our docility to Him ……. to accept what the Lord says, because He’s the LORD, and not because it’s convenient.
A Different Way: The Church has always taught that abortion is a grave sin, but we condemn the sin, and never the sinner. The Church wants to offer mercy and healing. But I’m more and more convinced that we can't win the argument on faith and logic and reason in a society that is abandoning all of these. As Catholics we must speak of the beauty of life. We must show the beauty of life, something that all people are capable of seeing.
I was reading this week about baby Richard Hutchinson. He was born in Wisconsin, in June 2020, in those early days of the pandemic, and he was born prematurely at just 20 weeks. 24 weeks is often claimed to the minimum age of viability for a baby. Richard was given a 0% chance of living, but the doctors were willing to give him a chance. He’s now a happy, healthy 18-month old.
I also saw a powerful video of a 95-year old lady who lives in a nursing home and has been separated for months because of Covid from her 96-year old husband of 70 years. The video shows the moment her husband is finally able to see her. He slowly lays down his cane as she abandons her walker and they stagger into each other’s arms in a tearful embrace.
The beauty of life, in all its stages; the power of love to see us through darkness. We must offer love and a better way to those who cannot see it, or we will only further widen the division that exists in the campaign to protect life.
A few years ago I met a lady who told me she goes to the March for Life in Washington DC every year. “I go,” she said, “because my pregnant mom marched for her right to abort me. But the law didn’t pass in time… so I march for life.”
In today’s first reading the prophet Isaiah says, “For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet.” Isaiah spoke to a people in the darkness of exile and he spoke the truth. But he spoke of the power of God to transform life….. that even those who had abandoned God had not been abandoned by God.
Pray for life, for all lives. Only with prayer — prayer that storms the heavens for justice and mercy, prayer that cleanses our hearts and souls — will the culture of death that surrounds us today be replaced with a culture of life.
Pray for the conversion of hearts. AND…. get involved, not just for your pension’s sake, but because if we are to call ourselves Christians, we must also accept our duty to our brothers and sisters, the most vulnerable in our world.
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You are in my prayers this week.
Fr. Andrew
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15) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz |
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What Can You Do When Another Won't Forgive?
You said an unkind word or reacted rashly. You feel terrible because it was directed at someone you love. When you ask for their forgiveness the wound they feel is too raw and they don’t accept your apology. What can you do?
Today, Fr. Mike shares a word of challenge and encouragement on how to exercise the virtue of patience and show mercy as you wait to be forgiven.
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16) Words on the Word: January 16, 2022 - Born to Run
For those who follow such things, the news was incredible.
Bruce Springsteen, aka “The Boss” to his legions of fans around the world, late last year sold his music portfolio, essentially his life’s work, to the Sony Music Group for somewhere more than $500 million.
“The … (valuation) represents more than 30 times the annual royalties on the combined recorded music and songwriting catalog,” according to a story in The Wall Street Journal.
The story compared Springsteen’s deal to similar transactions done with Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks, among others.
More power to him, and, indeed to all of them. There is no way to overstate the amount of work these artists dedicate to their crafts.
That said, it’s also important to remember that such abilities are gifts from God. And whether the talents are musical or something along other lines, it’s for God’s greater glory that they – and we – are called to use them.
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord,” we hear in today’s second reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.
“To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another, the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another, faith by the same Spirit; to another, gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another, mighty deeds; to another, prophecy; to another, discernment of spirits; to another, varieties of tongues; to another, interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.”
Bottom line, St. Paul reminds us, is we’re obligated to put our talents to work for the one, true Boss, God our heavenly father.
© 2022, Words on the Word
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17) The Bible in a Year Podcast by Father Mike Schmitz |
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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.
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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18) 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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20) RSV Study through Ascension Health |
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21) This Week on St. Joan of Arc LIVE: |
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This week's LIVE Stream
Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:
Monday (January 17):
7:00 AM - Mass
Tuesday (January 18):
7:00 AM - Mass
8:30 AM - School Mass
Wednesday (January 19):
7:00 AM - Mass
8:30 AM - School Mass
Thursday (January 20):
7:00 AM - Mass
7:00 PM - Holy Hour (Praise and Worship Music)
Friday (January 21):
7:00 AM - Mass
Saturday (January 22):
12:30 PM - Baptism of Cole Elliot Departee
3:00 PM - Baptism of Cali Rae Tauck, Brooks David Tauck,
and Colton John Tauck
4:00 PM - Mass
6:00 PM - Mass
Sunday (January 23):
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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22) SJA's Bulletin for Sunday, January 16, 2022 |
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Click on the image below
to download a copy of the bulletin
for January 16, 2022
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23) 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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