Week of January 28, 2024

1) SJA School Open House

2) Rescue Project

3) Walking with Purpose Women's Bible Studies

Join women of our parish in the Sr. Carol Center for a coffee and to learn about the fruits of these beautiful weekly Catholic Bible studies written especially for women. All women are welcome and invited to bring a friend. Each group is doing a different study. Feel free to drop in on the first session. There's always an open seat.

Beginning January 8th, the 7 pm evening group will start a 22-week program: Discovering our Dignity. Women of the Old and New Testaments were as flawed and broken as we can be, yet the power of God worked in their lives. Discovering Our Dignity will allow you to learn from their experiences and uncover ways to deal with unwanted circumstances and deferred hopes.

On January 22nd, the 10 am morning group is starting an 11-week look at Fearless and Free, a Bible study based on the book of Ephesians. This study is ideal for those who long for wholeness of heart and are in need of freedom from past wounds. So many of us are wrestling with the reality that life isn’t easy, even when we are doing the right thing.

No previous experience is needed.

4) World Marriage Day Dinner - Sunday, February 18, 2024

5) Ascension's Bible and Catechism App

6) Holy Hour on Thursdays

7) This Sunday's Readings: January 28, 2024 - The 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

8) Sunday Reflections by Jeff Cavins

In this week’s Encountering the Word video for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jeff Cavins shares how the book of Deuteronomy foretold the coming of Christ.

The readings are:

First Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 7:32-35

Alleluia: Matthew 4:16

Gospel: Mark 1:21-28

9) Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

Surrender to the Holy One



Friends, the first reading from Deuteronomy today is of signal importance. Moses, speaking to the people before they enter the Promised Land, says, “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin; to him you shall listen.” These words haunted the mind of Israel. Moses was the supreme authority; there was no figure in the Old Testament more important. Who could be greater than Moses? We find the answer in the Gospel: Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy One of God, who speaks on his own authority.

10) Grow+Go

11) Giving to SJA:

I'm truly grateful for all of 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.

12) This Week's Edition of TALLER Tales

Another Clark Griswold Moment: Last Sunday, some family members went to a restaurant in Rochester to watch the Lions’ game. A few went to the game! Some had a surprise birthday party to attend. But my mom and I decided to stay at the condo rather than brave the cold and go anywhere. I was pretty content accomplishing a “task” on the infamous “list” of things to do at my mom’s condo while watching the Lions’ game. 

Unfortunately, I tend to over-analyze and over-plan a project. I marvel at people who can come in, size up what needs to be done, and get it done without thinking through all the options. I waste a ton of time trying to anticipate all the obstacles so I don’t have to redo whatever I’ve done.

My task this past weekend was to install some strip lighting underneath the TV stand in what my mom calls the “Green Room.” This is a smaller room off the Great Room / Living Room. It got its name from the color of the walls. When my dad was alive, this was my dad’s primary TV room when my mom and dad were not watching the same program. If it were a different program, my mom would be in the Great Room, and my dad would land in the Green Room. My mom now finds that most of her TV watching happens in the Green Room.

To create a little cozy atmosphere in the Green Room, my mom said one day that it would be great if I could install some lighting underneath the shelves of the TV stand. This would be simple ambient / accent lighting. My wheels started spinning, and I thought it would be great to install multi-colored strip lighting that she could control with an app on her phone. This way, she could change the colors or dim the lights as she saw fit. She was delighted to learn she could change the colors because she only anticipated simple white lights. But my philosophy with projects is always: “Why go the simple when you can make it complicated!” So, I set out to accomplish the complicated.

My project would be complicated further because I could not put the lights up in one long “string.” The project encompassed two shelves, one of which was divided by two drawers. This meant I needed a strip light set I could cut to length, splice, and wire so I could connect each section and utilize just one controller. I ordered all the parts and had them waiting for the perfect moment. Last Sunday was that moment!

While my mom was watching a movie in the Green Room, and I had the game on in the other room, I got on the floor and started to cut, splice, and wire. I meticulously ensured I didn’t mess up any of my splices and that all the wiring was accurate. Because I was working with metal brackets, I could only use the adhesive on the back of the light strip to apply the light strip to the shelves. It seemed pretty sticky, so I wasn’t concerned.

After all was wired, I said a little prayer and felt like Clark Griswold waiting to plug in all his outdoor Christmas lights. This was the moment. And, much to my amazement, all of the sections turned on when I flipped the switch. They were a nice white, and I was delightfully happy. I then got the app and made sure they would dim as designed. That worked. Then, I went to check out the different colors. And it was here that I started to sweat (and my mom even caught me saying a not-so-nice word). Only the white and green worked. This didn’t make sense. I tried the other colors like red, blue, etc, but only white and green worked. “Okay,” I thought, “maybe I messed up the wiring.” But after tracing through all my work, I found it was all wired correctly. I tried again. Same thing. So, I started messing with the controller. I’m not sure what I did, but it began to work. We could change the lights to any color and dim them as needed. I was pretty happy and felt a sense of accomplishment. I showed my mom her new lights, and we set up a schedule so they would go on and off each night. I was relieved. I could now check off another project on the “list.”

That sense of accomplishment didn’t last even two days. My mom texted me Tuesday morning with a picture and these words: “All the work you did and look what happened (with a sad face).” At first, I thought, now what happened? Then I glanced at the accompanying picture and saw all the light strips fell. I guess the sticky tape wasn’t too sticky for the steel brackets. UGH! Why can’t my projects just work? So, I’m now researching other light strip mounting brackets. Otherwise, I’ll use my solution of all solutions: Crazy Glue or Gorilla Tape! For now, I’ll have to erase the check mark on this project! UGH!

Catholic Schools Week: This week, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week throughout the United States. This weeklong celebration is an opportunity to highlight the great work and ministry being accomplished in our Catholic Schools.

Catholic Schools integrate faith and values into every part of the educational experience. Whether in the classroom, on the athletic field, or in Church, Catholic School students learn to think and act according to the mind and heart of Christ. Giving students the resources they need to accomplish the task of thinking and acting according to the mind and heart of Christ is so vital in our complex world.

SJA’s celebration of Catholic Schools Week begins bright and early on Monday morning, January 29th, with the celebration of mass at 8:30 a.m. I encourage you to join us or watch the liturgy online as we thank God for the many beautiful ways St. Joan of Arc School prepares students for the task of thinking and acting according to the mind and heart of Christ. The Catholic Schools Week celebration is also an opportunity to thank God for all the outstanding teachers, staff, volunteers, and parents who help make SJA School such a place of excellence.

I’d also like to call your attention to the fact that we’ve scheduled an open house on Thursday, February 1st, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The event will take place in the school and parking lot between the Church and School. The gathering will be an opportunity for attendees to meet our school teachers and administrators, enjoy some food from a few Food Trucks, roast some marshmallows, make s’mores, and even light a candle in Church as our regular Holy Hour takes place at the same time. The Open House is an excellent opportunity to see firsthand the great things happening at our school. The Open House / Winterfest is also a perfect opportunity to invite a prospective SJA School family to visit the school and witness the great family atmosphere of our school community. So, please mark your calendars and consider joining us on Thursday, February 1st. Please see the flyer elsewhere in the bulletin for more details.

Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers!

In Christ,

13) Along the Way with Father Adam

Marriage Cruising

When I consider marriage, I cannot help but think about the bishop in the Princess Bride: “Mawwige is whut bwings us togevveh today.” 

Marriage is a beautiful sacrament of service in our Church. But, as I’m sure you know all too well, marriage is not always easy. It takes work; it takes sacrifice!

Dr. Ed Sri, a well-known Scripture scholar put it like this…

“A friend of mine was in the sacristy of the church on his wedding day, waiting alone in the final minutes before the ceremony began. His best man came to check on him one last time. The best man, who had been married with children for several years, walked into the sacristy, gave the groom a serious stare for a few moments, and then started laughing at him.

Perplexed, the groom asked, “I’m about to get married … Why are you laughing at me?” The best man replied, “That’s just it—you don’t know!”

That’s true for all of us. We don’t know what we’re really getting into when we get married. Indeed, nothing can fully prepare us for all the realities we will face in our vocation. We have to be thrown deep into the mystery of the other person, and the mystery of our relationship together, to appreciate what it’s really all about—the joys, the sorrows, the unexpected trials, the unanticipated blessings; how much it will demand of us; how much it will transform us; how we will be stretched like never before; and how much our hearts will expand as we take on the heart of Christ.

In our years of working with young people, Beth [Ed’s wife] and I have heard many devout Catholic couples express how surprised they were when stresses, tensions, and hurts came up in their relationship. This can happen a few months, a few years, or a few kids into their marriage. They were not expecting this level of difficulty, and they think they’re the only ones struggling.

“No one ever told us how hard marriage really is.”

“Before we were married, we thought to ourselves, ‘Our faith is important to us. We pray, we love Jesus, we go to adoration … Our marriage will be great …’ But we were shocked that we could have all that and still have many struggles in our marriage.”

“Two very different people—who think differently, look at the world differently, communicate differently, process things differently—coming together for this relationship? It’s crazy hard!”

“I never realized how selfish I was … until I got married.”

You can go through the best marriage preparation program; pray countless rosaries, novenas, and holy hours for your marriage; study the Church’s teachings on marriage and family; have amazing mentor couples to learn from; and even memorize the Theology of the Body … and you still will not have any idea of what marriage is really all about and what it will do to you until you are deep into it.

This is both the beauty and the challenge of marriage. St. Francis de Sales underscores how marriage is the only vocation in which people take a vow before any kind of novitiate. In religious life, there is a long period of preparation, formation, and much practical experience in living with the community one is entering. A novice gets to try it out for a while, to see if this is what he wants to do for the rest of his life before making final vows. As St. Francis de Sales explains, marriage is vastly different. The couple is immediately thrown into the deep end together—and it is for the rest of their lives. “In marriage, one takes a vow. But it is the only instance where a vow is taken without a novitiate. If it had a year of novitiate, how few would enter into it.”

The following saying applies most beautifully to marriage: “You build a life, and then it builds you.” This is what happens when man and woman come together in the sacrament of Matrimony. They decide to build a life together in marriage. And that decision—and the daily commitment to be faithful to that decision—is what God uses to form and bless the couple more than anything else in their lives. Indeed, it is precisely through the challenges, difficulties, and trials of ordinary, daily married life that God wants to transform us with his love and make us more like him.”

And so, a cruise?

As you are reading this, I am in the Caribbean with 400 married couples on the Good News Cruise. This is a Catholic cruise that will change your marriage forever. It is a chance for couples to get away on a fun, relaxing, and rejuvenating cruise with opportunities to grow closer together in marriage and faith.

There are engaging talks by well-known Catholic speakers, interactive activities and events, and exclusive cocktail parties. Fr. Joe Krupp from the Diocese of Lansing goes live on his podcast and Teresa Tomeo broadcasts live on Ave Maria Radio. Of course, there is daily Mass and opportunities for confession.

It’s a wonderful cruise and, for me, it’s great to see so many Catholic couples – some married for 50 years and others for only a year – grow together in their relationship.

Next week I’ll share a little more about the cruise, so stay tuned!

Fair winds and following seas.

Blessings!

Fr. Adam

anowak@sjascs.org

14) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz

What If Life Doesn’t Get Easier?

Don’t let anyone trick you into thinking life isn’t hard. Experience tells us all that life is truly difficult at times. But even still… haven’t you ever just wished it was easier?

Today, Fr. Mike proposes an alternative to just wishing things were easier. When life gets difficult, there is only one way forward (hint: it’s not just grinning and bearing it).

15) Words on the Word: January 28, 2024 - Friendly Advice 

It was The Beatles who famously noted that “I get by with a little help from my friends.”

Most people do, to some extent. But how is that, exactly?

In this age of sophisticated studies, it’s not surprising that time has been expended in figuring out how we make and keep friends.

A recent story in the Wall Street Journal provided details, noting that “it can be logistically tough to maintain friendships, but it’s good for us physically, mentally and emotionally.”

The story, based on the study, suggested people need approximately 50 hours for an acquaintance to turn into a “casual” friendship, and another 140 to 160 hours to turn the casual friend into a close friend.

There were plenty of caveats, including, for example, that intimate discussions can move things along more quickly, and that even after investing 200 or even 300 hours into a relationship, people aren’t automatically close friends.

Essentially, the matter came down to what for most people is common sense. 

“Routinely checking in with people we choose to connect with, through calls and texts or in person,” the story noted, “helped maintain relationships and led to higher scores of positive feelings, like happiness.”

The good news is that, when it comes to the best friend any of us could ever need, Jesus, it’s fairly easy to get to know him.

After freeing a man who had an unclean spirit, we hear in today’s gospel passage from St. Mark, people were intrigued.

“All were amazed and asked one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.’ His fame spread throughout the whole region of Galilee.”

In other words, Jesus started making friends. For us, getting to know him is a matter of spending time in prayer and the sacraments.

© 2024 Words on the Word

16) This WEEK on FORMED:

17) 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!

A Reason For Hope: The Truth About Down Syndrome

Hosted by Life Issues Institute President Brad Mattes, this video highlights the beautiful, happy lives of those with Down syndrome. Over two-thirds of parents who face a prenatal diagnosis opt for abortion, as babies with disabilities are preyed upon by the abortion industry. These babies deserve legislation that will protect them. Shauna Amick joins us to share the story of her daughter, Sarah Hope, who has Down syndrome. Utah State Representative Karianne Lisonbee shares her experience enacting a Utah law to protect these lives. Attorney Amanda Stirone weighs in with a legal perspective and explains the importance of this legislation, and lobbyist Katie Shaw shares how she and others with Down syndrome should be respected just like anyone. The program will educate, motivate, and serve those touched by individuals with Down syndrome.

18) Hallow App:

19) Mass Intentions for the Week:

Monday, January 29, 2024, Weekday (Green) 

7:00 am, George J. Bugarin

Tuesday, January 30, 2024, Weekday (Green)

7:00 am, Anthony Lombardi

Wednesday, January 31, 2024, Saint John Bosco, Priest (White)

7:00 am, Andrew, Rita and Gerald Kopacko

6:00 pm, Megan Winegar

Thursday, February 1, 2024, Weekday (Green)

7:00 am, Deacon Eugene DiCrese

Friday, February 2, 2024, Presentation of the Lord (White)

7:00 am, Elmer Gorde

Saturday, February 3, 2024, Vigil for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)

4:00 pm, Grace & Sam Valenti, Bonnie Batche, Laura Nelson, Richard Sistick, and Special Intentions for Peg Shaughnessy, the J. Champine Family, the Thomas Family, for Alison Reslow, Pam Haisenleder, Lorraine Jonas, and Linda Frank. Prayerful appreciation for the work of the priests and staff of St. Joan of Arc.

6:00 pm, Peter Accica

Sunday, February 4, 2024, The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)

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

10:00 am Anthony Cimini 

12:00 pm, Michael Ciaramitaro, Sam Ciaramitaro, Mark Dunn, Betty Fennell, Edward Baranek, Therese Gilgallon. Joel Byrne, the deceased members of the Cottone and Abate Families, Paul Krok and Special Intentions for Joe Serventi, Cecilia Plotzke, Alison Reslow, Pam Haisenleder, Lorraine Jonas, and Linda Frank.

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

This week's LIVE Stream

Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:

Monday (January 29)

7:00 AM - Mass

Tuesday (January 30):

7:00 AM - Mass

8:30 AM - Mass

Wednesday (January 31):

7:00 AM - Mass

6:00 PM - Mass

Thursday (February 1):

7:00 AM - Mass

7:00 PM - Holy Hour

Friday (February 2):

7:00 AM - Mass

10:00 AM - Funeral for Catherine Braga (Read Obituary HERE)

Saturday (February 3):

10:00 AM - Funeral for Michelle Seidl

12:30 PM - Baptism of Parker and Killian Hart

1:30 PM - Baptism of Lyla E. Kruczynski

4:00 PM - Mass

6:00 PM - Mass

Sunday (February 4):

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.

21) SJA's Latest Parish Bulletin

Click on the image below

to download a copy of the bulletin

for January 28, 2024

22) Weekly Bulletin Mailing List

23) Detroit Catholic