Dear Friends in Christ,
Here are a few updates from our parish for the week of January 23, 2022.
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1) 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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3) 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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4) 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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5) 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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6) This Sunday's Readings - January 23, 2022 |
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7) Jeff Cavins: Encountering the Word - Reflections on the Sunday Readings |
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Jeff Cavins reflects on the readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time:
First Reading – Nehemiah 8:1-18
Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 19:8-10, 15
Second Reading – 1 Corinthians 12:12-30
Gospel – Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21
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8) Grow+Go for the 3rd 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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9) 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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10) This Week's Edition of TALLer Tales |
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Working for the Bugarins: I am amazed how I can mess up even the simplest of tasks! This one will undoubtedly go down as one of the more creative Clark Griswold moments in my life!
As regular readers of this column will know, my mom has been doing some extensive renovations to her condo. My parents bought the condo in 1993, and it hasn’t been touched since then. As my mom watches more and more HGTV, she comes up with more ideas which often results in change orders with our contractor, Shane Campbell from NJC Enterprises and Atlantis Homes in Almont. We’re all pretty impressed with my mom’s design ideas. And, my mom has been impressed that she’s done this entirely without any help from any consultants or designers other than getting ideas from her HGTV shows.
To “tee up” this story, you need to know that I’ve been handling all of my mom’s finances since my dad’s death. My mom’s favorite saying now to those who need to be paid is, “Call Mike. He’s got the checkbook.”
Well, it came time to pay Shane our next installment plus some change order costs. I suggested I do this electronically so Shane didn’t have to wait several days for the check to clear. Usually, I have done some of these transactions by wire transfer, but I figured I would try to do this entirely by ACH (literally Automated Clearing House transaction, or by electronic funds transfer). So I spoke to our contractor, and Shane was kind enough to give me all the banking numbers I needed to initiate the ACH transfer. Now mind you, we’re not talking about a few hundred dollars but rather thousands of dollars. The other goal I had was to do this entirely from home. The wire transfers I’ve done up to this point have required me to be present at the bank. I went online to our web banking portal to see what could be done without going to a branch office. While I could initiate an electronic funds transfer bank to bank to a person, the credit union doesn’t allow funds to transfer electronically to a business without human interaction. So, I called the bank and explained what I wanted to do and the limitations of their online banking platform. The bank representative confirmed that a paper check would be sent if I did this through the regular web banking portal. As I further explained what I wanted to accomplish, she said she could make this work through an electronic funds transfer initiated from their end. “GREAT,” I thought. “All of my goals would be accomplished.” This means I didn’t have to go into a branch office, and the funds would be transferred electronically. She sent me a form. I diligently filled out the “Electronic Funds Transfer” form and figured the task was done. I initially thought I should transfer a few dollars like some companies do to ensure the numbers were accurate, but I trusted I had the correct numbers and did everything accurately. As I did this on a Friday, the transfer was to take place on Monday. I called my mom and told her what I did and that Shane would get paid on Monday. Done deal … so I thought!
Early that Monday morning, I got a call from Shane. “Monsignor, I think there was some clerical error or some misunderstanding with the bank transfer.” “Oh, no. What happened,” I asked. Shane proceeded to tell me that the transfer happened in reverse. His bank called him and said there was an electronic request to WITHDRAW a large sum of money out of his checking account and put it into mine; they wanted to know from him whether it was legitimate or whether they should block the withdrawal. I was stunned and thought there was some mistake. OH, YES, there was a mistake … a ROYAL mistake! I immediately went onto my mom’s account, and sure enough, I had a CREDIT already from NJC Enterprises rather than a DEBIT. OH MY! What a mess. After a bunch of phone calls, we figured it would be best to block the transfer and that I would initiate a wire transfer, and all would be set (at this point, I could have driven a check over to Shane’s office in Almont, considering how much time we spent on this already).
Unfortunately, the transfer had been completed before they could block it. I then called my credit union to figure out what happened. When I spoke to the person who initiated the transfer, she told me I signed a form requesting money to be withdrawn from another institution and have it deposited into my account. I wasn’t going to debate her, but that wasn’t what I thought I signed. The form clearly said, “Electronic Transfer Form.” I then read all the fine print at the bottom of the document (yes, I should have done that earlier). As I read the fine print, sure enough, it said I was requesting money be electronically transferred INTO my credit union account from another institution. I guess the process is primarily for credit union members who want money transferred on a one-time or regular basis into their account from accounts THEY own at other institutions. So, the problem was MY fault (it’s ALWAYS my fault).
Considering the transfer had been completed, I now owed Shane TWICE the amount, one to give back what was his to begin with and another to pay him what we owed. So, given my debacle and further conversations with the credit union, we decided I would do a wire transfer to Shane and that his bank would do a reversal of the transfer that started all of this mess. With those transactions, everything would be settled. I began to work with another credit union representative to do the wire transfer. I filled out another form (this time, I read the fine print) and electronically signed it. But she had a question and ended up calling the phone number the bank had on file for my mom. While my mom knew of the issue, I hadn’t shared all the details with her yet. When the credit union called, they asked for George (remember that George is my first name). My mom gently told the credit union representative that her husband George died a year ago. There was a long pause on the phone, and I’m sure the credit union person was thinking, “OH, this is great. We’ve been talking to George all morning, and now we find out he’s dead.” As the representative started to share she had been talking to a George about a wire transfer, my mom interrupted her and said, “Oh, you’ve been talking to my son. This is about that wire transfer and ACH mess isn’t it?” Once she confirmed what the call was about, my mom told her to call me! My mom said there was a sigh of relief on the other end. Talk about confusing.
After several hours of back and forth, we finally got the mess straightened out. I signed the correct form. They reversed the initial transaction, and I did the wire transfer. It took two days, but we finally got it all squared away. It was a royal Clark Griswold mess! I guess you’ve gotta watch when you’re doing business with a Bugarin … at least this one! You do the work, and we charge you! Great going, Clark!
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Enjoy the week.
Know of my prayers.
In Christ,
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11) Tire Tracks in the d’Arc |
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Right Man For The Job: One of the lasting images I recall from my childhood was watching the night-time news on the BBC and seeing the report of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. I was only 10 years old, but I remember seeing those images and watching clips of President Reagan’s TV address to the nation. For a kid, I was always pretty aware of new events around the world and would often watch the news with my parents. But that day is particularly vivid because I was and always have been fascinated with the Space Shuttle, along with most engineering or mechanical subjects. I think I’ve watched every shuttle-related documentary out there more than once. I’m particularly thinking of this right now because this Friday in the anniversary of that day.
At my previous parish there was an after school Lego Club. I used to go to the Lego Club just because it was a good way to interact with some of the 1st and 2nd graders. Of course, they thought it was cool that “Father likes building Legos” and I played that up a little. I would make sure I highlighted it in the mass announcements when talking about the school open house.
“What’s your favorite part about the school, Father?” “Lego Club!!” Truth be told, I always loved Legos as a kid and they are a neat thing, but my adult enthusiasm for them is… a little less. But I have a friend who just loves his Legos and has been working on one 9ft-long model spaceship for the last 16 years! So last Spring, he bought me a Lego Space Shuttle Discovery kit, and it has been sitting in my dining room ever since, all 2,354 pieces of it, still unopened. I don’t know how long it would have been there and not been built if an idea hadn’t come to me…. a solution that wouldn't put my dining room table out of action for a year or more!
What do you do when you can’t do something yourself? Outsource! We have a 12-year old in the parish who I happen to know is a Lego guru, and I figured he would love to take on this project. I was also sure it wouldn't be too much of a challenge for him. I’m not sure I would have had the patience.
Sure enough, in about two weeks flat, and really only about 7 hours of actual work, he had the model built and decals applied, along with a scale model of the space telescope Hubble that fits neatly into the cargo bay of Discovery. He told me that he’d had it all planned-out and each individual bag of pieces in a separate container. He knew how long each bag had taken to complete. He had the whole thing organized on the level of an actual NASA mission! And I was grateful to have the model completed and glad that he’d enjoyed doing the work.
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We each have our own gifts, different, but all necessary to the building-up of the Body of Christ. What one does not have, another supplies. Where one has a need, another can supply. St Paul says in today’s second reading, “the body is not a single part, but many…. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not need you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I do not need you.’”
The gifts God has given to each of us, and the purposes He intends those gifts to be put to, are not to be a source of envy or competition. That can lead to division in the Body.
St Paul speaks specifically to this point:
“God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.”
The greatest gift we have all been given by God, however, is not a skill or a proficiency—it’s the gift of faith. And it’s a gift, like all the others that is meant for the good of the body of Christ. It is not intended to be kept to ourselves. Right now, especially, the Body of Christ needs us all. Specifically, it needs our prayer. This weekend we remember an even more destructive and deadly anniversary than the Challenger disaster, as we mark the 49 years since the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v Wade, and the legalizing of abortion in our nation. The Body of Christ is missing some 63 million of its members, and our nation and our Church is much the poorer for their tragic loss. Let us commit ourselves to praying for the conversion of hearts in our nation and to speaking-out against the culture of death, which is so readily accepted by the secular world. We will never be the Church God intends until all the gifts he gave are present and valued.
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You are in my prayers this week.
Fr. Andrew
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12) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz |
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Kids: A Right? A Curse? or a Gift?
For probably the first time in human history, the common perception of children as a gift has been under attack by our culture at large. More and more the world sees kids as an affront to our personal autonomy or the driver of a pending apocalyptic catastrophe.
Today, Fr. Mike weighs in on the “primary goods” of marriage and why we need to re-orient our mindset when it comes to children.
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13) Words on the Word: January 23, 2022 - Roles We Play
“All the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare wrote in “As You Like It.” And while the context there may have been different, the idea resonates: all of us have roles to play, purposes to serve, in God’s ultimate plan.
A story first reported a few years ago in the National Catholic Register surfaced again recently thanks to the evangelizing capabilities of Twitter about a religious order in France specifically geared to nuns with Down syndrome.
The order, called the Little Sisters Disciples of the Lamb, is primarily contemplative, meaning the talents and abilities of the sisters are perfectly suited to the mission. Not all of the sisters have Down, but all of them participate in the day-to-day work of the order, and, more importantly, all of them share in the contemplative prayer that serves such an important purpose in the life of the Church.
That’s a particularly inspiring message for each one of us, as well, who may be searching for the singular or most important way that we can contribute to the coming of God’s kingdom here on earth.
Some may be gifted with an ability to pray; some to perform particular acts of charity; some to contribute financially. But all surely have a role.
“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it,” St. Paul writes to the Corinthians in one of the options for today’s second reading. “Some people God has designated in the church to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work might deeds? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?”
The answer, of course, is no. But all play a role.
© 2022, Words on the Word
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14) 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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15) 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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17) Mass Intentions for the Week: |
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Monday January 24, 2022 Saint Frances de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (White)
7:00 a.m.: Virginia Murphy
Tuesday January 25, 2022 Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle (White)
7:00 a.m.: Thomas Egan
Wednesday January 26, 2022 Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops (White)
7:00 a.m.: Paul Bogos and Dolores Zientek
Thursday January 27, 2022 Weekday Saint Angela Merici, Virgin and Religious Founder (Green/White)
7:00 a.m.: Michael Berch
Friday January 28, 2022 Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Religious and Doctor of the Church (White)
7:00 a.m.: Hugo Calisi
Saturday January 29, 2022 Weekday BVM
(Green/White)
4:00 p.m. George J. Bugarin, Duane Gore, Michael Urso, Bonnie Batchee, the deceased members of the Goor Family, Frank Nagy and Special Intentions for the Thomas Family and the J. Champine Family
6:00 p.m. George J. Bugarin
Sunday January 30, 2022 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)
8:00 a.m. For the Intentions of Saint Joan of Arc Parishioners
10:00 a.m. Judy Kniffin
12:00 p.m. Michael Ciaramitaro, Kitty Podsiadly, Guido Regelbrugge, Edwin Coatney, Earnest Romanelli
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18) This Week on St. Joan of Arc LIVE: |
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This week's LIVE Stream
Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:
Monday (January 24):
7:00 AM - Mass
Tuesday (January 25):
7:00 AM - Mass
8:30 AM - School Mass
Wednesday (January 26):
7:00 AM - Mass
8:30 AM - School Mass
Thursday (January 27):
7:00 AM - Mass
7:00 PM - Holy Hour (Praise and Worship Music)
Friday (January 28):
7:00 AM - Mass
Saturday (January 29):
4:00 PM - Mass
6:00 PM - Mass
Sunday (January 30):
8:00 AM - Mass
10:00 AM - Mass
12:00 PM - Mass
Please note that all of our masses and events can be accessed through the ARCHIVE section of our Live stream page if you are not able to watch it live!
We also have our own ROKU Channel. Search for "CATHOLIC" in the ROKU channel store, and you will find SJA's channel. A Fire TV Channel is also available.
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19) SJA's Bulletin for Sunday, January 23, 2022 |
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Click on the image below
to download a copy of the bulletin
for January 23, 2022
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20) Weekly Bulletin Mailing List |
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Sending the bulletin has been greatly received by so many people. If you are getting the bulletin online and would prefer that it not be mailed to your home, please click on the button below to be removed from the mailing list.
At the same time, if you are NOT getting the bulletin and would prefer to get it, click on the same button and ask to be ADDED to the list.
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Read the latest from the DETROIT CATHOLIC
Click on the image below.
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