Dear Friends in Christ,
Here are a few updates from the parish for the week of July 11, 2021.
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1) Archbishop Vigneron Celebrates 25 Years as a Bishop |
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From the Detroit Catholic — On July 9, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron celebrated his silver anniversary as a bishop, having been ordained to the episcopal ministry on July 9, 1996, to serve as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Twenty-five years later, Archbishop Vigneron’s ministry has touched thousands of souls in southeast Michigan, Oakland, Calif., and beyond.
To celebrate and honor the archbishop on the occasion of his 25th episcopal jubilee, Detroit Catholic has gathered a selection of photos from his ministry over the years.
To see this selection of photos from his ministry, click on the photo or button below.
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2) Catholic Services Appeal 2021 |
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Dear Friends in Christ,
In St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians, he urges them, "Whatever you do, do from the heart (Col. 3:23)." These words are particularly meaningful since he wrote them from prison, facing persecution and hardship. The faith community at Colossae was facing its own hardships as they strove to live the life Christ called them to whatever the circumstances. Being rooted in the Lord would serve them well as they continued to grow as a faith community, and as the Church continued to grow throughout the world.
The theme of the 2021 CSA is FUEL THE MISSION. The mission is simple, to make Christ's kingdom present in our day to the many people of Southeast Michigan. That mission cannot be fully accomplished unless it is fueled with human and materially resources.
Our CSA goal this year is just slightly more than $217,000. 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.
Your gift helps support men who are discerning a vocation to the priesthood. It impacts youth, family, and young adult ministries to help people at all stages of life grow in faith. It helps Catholic schools continue to form the next generation of leaders and disciples. It helps our food pantries and soup kitchens feed and clothe the poor. Your gift brings Jesus to Southeast Michigan in a very real and tangible way.
You may have already received a mailing from the Archdiocese of Detroit. If you did so, please make a contribution to the CSA as indicated in that mailing. You can also easily give by visiting: csa.stjoan.church or by clicking on the button below.
Also available at the Church exists, in the bins outside the Sr. Carol Center, and at the Parish Center are general CSA brochures and envelopes that can be used to make a contribution to the CSA.
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3) SJA's CSA Update as of July 10, 2021 |
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I am grateful to those who have already contributed to CSA 2021. As of today, we have $108,206.29 in pledges and gifts toward our $217,002 goal. This amount represents gifts from 348 families (we have 3,234 families registered). We have thus achieved 50% of our goal!
Here is a breakdown by gift range:
$2,500+ (3)
$1,000+ (24)
$500+ (36)
$250+ (62)
$100+ (128)
$75+ (11)
$50+ (49)
$25+ (21)
$0+ (14)
As stated above, the easiest way to give is electronically by clicking on the button above. If you wish to give by check, feel free to contact the Parish Center and we will mail out an envelope and related material.
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4) This Sunday's Readings - July 11, 2021 |
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5) Grow+Go for the 15th 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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6) Sunday Reflection by Jeff Cavins |
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In this week’s Encountering the Word video for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jeff Cavins discusses the many spiritual riches we have inherited thanks to Christ. |
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7) 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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8) This Week's Edition of TALLer Tales |
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Is There a Lawyer in the House? My poor mom. I warned her I was going to write about the following incident in my bulletin article. My mom’s response: “GREAT! Now EVERYONE will know what happened to me. But, I’m used to that by now.”
My mom has made incredible progress to the point where she’s now driving again and walking around most places without a cane or walker. Hurray! She says it’s like getting a whole new lease on life now that she can drive and not depend on people to get her to doctor’s appointments, drive her to the grocery store, or just back to the condo. She’s been doing really well! But we’ve also “lectured” her multiple times not to take risks or do things that her kids, grandkids, or friends could help with; she just needs to let us know what she wants done.
This past Wednesday, she made a trek from my sister’s house back to the condo. She’s been doing this a few times each week as we continue the great “basement clean-up.” When she arrived at the condo, she found an extensive trail of ants going from the kitchen door wall, through the kitchen, and marching toward the garage. These were ants on a mission. Well, my mom was irritated. She hasn’t had ants in the condo in over six years, and she wasn’t going to let them march through her house! So, she decided my dad probably had a can of Raid ant spray sitting someplace in the house. So, she went searching. She started in the garage and then moved to the basement. She finally found a can in the basement. She then returned to the kitchen. Her mission was simple: she did not want those ants to see the light of another day. The kitchen floor is more like a stone tile. After picking up as many ants as she could with wet paper towels, she started to spray the entire floor with the Raid ant spray. She did not want any more ants marching through her condo! And, given that someone is only there a few times each week, the ant problem could grow if it wasn’t addressed.
After spraying the floor, she saw her pop can on the counter. She walked over, grabbed it, and then started to head toward the garage. As she did so, she fell on the slippery stone floor. YIKES! She came down on her knees, tried to break the fall with her wrist, and then smashed her face on the floor. Unfortunately, her medical alert button didn’t detect the fall. Still, she remained conscious throughout the whole episode and remembered she had to press her button for several seconds for it to activate. By this time, she was concerned she broke something. She was hurting all over. The medical alert operator finally came on, but the operator couldn’t totally understand my mom because she was face down on the floor and rattled, but they figured something had happened. They dispatched EMS to the condo and then contacted me to let me know something had happened. Not knowing that EMS was on the way, my mom crawled through the hallway … through the Raid covered floor … to her bedroom to grab a phone to call 911 and then us to get help. We are so grateful she never lost consciousness because it would have been some time before someone realized something was wrong. EMS got there within minutes and took her to ER before any family members arrived at the condo. My nephew J.J. arrived at the condo first and stayed there to clean up the ant remnants and slippery floor. A couple of my sisters and I then decided to head directly to Troy Beaumont. My sister Cindy arrived first and met my mom in the ambulance arrival area. My mom had a neck brace on and was still pretty shaken up by the whole experience, mainly because she was worried she broke her wrist, her nose, or possibly a knee. My sister Jackie and I then arrived, and I was the designated one to go inside to be with mom. I met her in the ambulance triage bay and went with her as she got x-rays and CT scans. After a few hours, we were able to go home because everything checked out okay. She didn’t break anything, and there was no sign of trauma to the brain. We were saying our thanksgiving prayers to God over this one. She really lucked out by the grace of God! As the doctors also noted in ER, all of her titanium parts saved her! From our own Dr. Nicholas’ work on reconstructing her wrist when she fell at my house many Christmas’ ago to the work of Dr. Nicholas and Dr. Knapke on her knee replacements, the work of these doctors prevented something more serious from happening with this fall.
Just as we were getting the great news back from radiology, my phone rang. It was one of our parishioners. For the sake of this story, let’s say her name is Ann, she’s a lawyer, and one of her brothers happens to be a Cardinal (and I’m not talking about the St. Louis ones). I started to tell Ann that I couldn’t talk at that moment because I was in the hospital with my mom and that I would call her later. Just as I was about to hang up, I told my mom it was Ann, so I put her on speakerphone. After Ann assured my mom of her prayers, my mom says, “I may need your lawyer help soon.” Ann replied, “Sure, Chris, whatever you need. How can I help you?” “Well,” my mom continued, “I may need your help to get my son off my back because I’m sure THE ‘lecture’ is about to start soon.” Hmmm, I wonder how she knew?
The Sacrament of the Sick (Part Three): I’ve been writing about the Sacrament of the Sick over the last few weeks, in part because many people have misinformed opinions or information about the sacrament. This week, I want to begin by looking at the redemptive value of our sufferings.
Before we go any further, let’s deal first with this notion of redemption. The word “redeem” literally means to buy out. Specifically, it meant the purchase of a slave’s freedom. In the Christian context, it means that we have been freed from our slavery to sin and death by Christ’s cross. Yes, by the wood of the cross we have been redeemed! Yet, there are ways along our journey of life that bring about little redemptions. Our crosses and sufferings, as long as we endure them with the proper attitude of faith, can be great sources of blessing for us.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me (Matt. 16:24).” To follow in the footsteps of Christ means that suffering, and even the acceptance of crosses, are part and parcel of our life. Some may see sufferings and crosses as nothing but negative realities. However, a person of faith sees the redemptive value in every suffering and cross they are called to embrace.
In the book Mother Teresa: In My Own Words, there is an often-quoted story Mother would tell about suffering: “Suffering will never be completely absent from our lives. If we accept it with faith, we are given the opportunity to share the passion of Jesus and show him our love. One day I went to visit a lady who had terminal cancer. Her pain was tremendous. I told her, ‘This is nothing but Jesus’ kiss, a sign that you are so close to him on the cross that he can kiss you.’ She joined her hands and said, ‘Mother, ask Jesus not to stop kissing me.’” I wonder if we would say the same if we were in the midst of a moment of suffering.
Next week, I’ll continue reflecting on the redemptive value of our sufferings.
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Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers!
In Christ,
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9) Tire Tracks in the d’Arc |
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A Place in God’s Plan: St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians today is a beautifully elegant reflection on the Christian vocation. In two long and breathless sentences, as St. Paul writes, he recalls God’s gracious initiative in calling the Ephesian Christians to a special place in His plan of salvation.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.”
This lavish outpouring of God’s love has been gifted to us by Jesus' selfless giving-up of His own life on the cross. His blood poured out for us, has given us life, as God’s adopted sons and daughters to the praise and glory of His name. Essentially our life as believers is not our own but has been won for us for a very specific purpose and role as disciples of Christ.
And so we are called to do something with that life—not just whatever we feel like, which we surely could, but to do what God intends us to do—for our fulfillment and for God’s glory. It’s not always going to be what we expect, and there’s the rub. If it’s not what we expect—if it doesn't fit well with what we had in mind or what we might think we want to do; if it seems challenging, we might be tempted to put up a wall of resistance.
That was probably in the mind of the lowly shepherd, Amos from our first reading today, when God called him to preach the harsh truth of the injustices of the greedy and arrogant ruling class in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. And it was certainly the response of Amaziah when faced with these truths. He didn’t want to hear them, and he had no intention of changing. To this point, Amos had been like the annoying but harmless gnat in the background, but Amaziah has had enough, accusing Amos of being one of the hired prophets, earning his keep by prophecy. Amaziah is in charge around here and he’s not interested in what Amos is selling….
A Brother in Christ: I subscribe to a monthly magazine called simply, “The Priest” (yes, there are priest magazines). In this month’s edition, I noticed an article by a priest I took a class with when I was in Omaha for a summer, as I mentioned last week. His name is Fr. Patrick Carrion.
It was a touching piece recalling the recent death of his older brother, who was also a priest. “Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection…” Fr. Patrick remembers saying, as he prayed the words of the Eucharistic prayer at the Saturday vigil mass, less than 3 hours after he had been standing over his brother’s body in the emergency room. Fr. Patrick had been driving home from the cemetery after finishing a funeral and committal one Saturday when we got a call from the hospital. His brother was in the emergency room, the voice of the doctor told him.
It transpired that his brother, Fr. Michael Carrion had also just completed a funeral and committal and was traveling back to his parish in the hearse with the funeral director when he fell ill and died suddenly. “Yes,” Fr. Patrick writes, “my brother died in a hearse. You can laugh. We do and did, even on the day of his death.” Both priests had been celebrating the corporal work of mercy in burying the dead when the older priest died.
Not fully comprehending all the details, Fr. Patrick rushed to the hospital to find his brother had already passed. He soon called his other brother, Timothy, whom he had already called to tell him something was going on with Michael. Now Fr. Patrick had to confirm that he had in fact passed away. But not long after the call, Fr. Patrick, a self-confessed “type-A” personality, realized it’s Saturday afternoon, 2:30pm and there’s a 4:30pm mass at Fr. Michael’s parish and a 5:30pm mass at his own parish.
Fr. Michael set about making calls to priests who might be available, but not to cover his brother’s mass, but to cover his own parish: “I just knew, if anyone should tell his parishioners, it should be me. I knew I would only regret not being the one to tell them.”
It was a courageous and generous act by a priest who understood his brother’s love for his parishioners and who wanted them to hear it first from family. Fr. Michael had been at the parish for 20 years and Fr. Patrick would often help out by taking masses there, so he was a familiar face to the parish.
By Providence, that Sunday was the 1st Sunday in Advent and the gospel of Matthew read, “You know not the day nor the hour…” Fr. Patrick notes that it was a particularly poignant reminder to all, not only to himself.
Fr. Patrick, in generosity and love, took the harder road. He could have tried to find two replacement priests. He could have at least found one and asked him to cover his brother’s parish and taken his own mass. But even in grief and the shock of the moment, he knew that God had ordained him for a particular purpose and one that would bring glory to His name. He knew that God had called him to be a shepherd of his people, to tend to His sheep. And he was going to do that.
The article went on with further reflections on Fr. Michael’s funeral and the family’s memories of that time, but what impressed me so much was that initial response by his brother.
Doing what’s right, doing what we think God is asking us to do is rarely the easiest option. And it’s rarely something we expected God to call us to. But call He does… maybe through the words of a prophet, maybe a modern “prophet,” just someone God chooses, perhaps just a lowly shepherd, to pass on the word of His Will to us. Maybe it’s just something we know—Fr. Patrick knew this was what he was ordained to do.
God “who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens” and “has sealed each of us with the promised Holy Spirit” at our baptism and at confirmation (and for some at ordination). “In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory.”
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You are in my prayers this week.
Fr. Andrew
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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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11) Words on the Word: July 11, 2021 - Moving On
Eventually, things wear out. Maybe that favorite sweater is fraying at the seams. Maybe what once fit like a glove no longer does.
Whatever the item, people eventually need to move on to something new.
Increasingly though, the new things aren’t being purchased at a mall. As other types of retail have become more prominent – from digital channels to the so-called big-box stores – shopping centers have declined. As a result, then, the sweaters and gloves that need replacing are swapped out elsewhere.
And the same can be said for the shopping centers themselves.
Local media reported a few weeks ago that Eastland Center in Harper Woods will be razed, and an industrial complex built in its place. The plan, at least at this point, is for about 250 construction jobs to be created, followed by another 560 permanent jobs.
“We’re embarking upon a great partnership to move forward, to move Harper Woods forward, and to do the best thing we can for our citizens,” the mayor of Harper Woods was quoted as saying. “So much good is going to come out of this. We haven’t even realized all the good that will be coming forward.”
That’s a bright, optimistic appraisal of the situation, and is, to be sure, a great way to embrace change, difficult as it may be, whether what’s being changed is a pair of socks or a tract of land.
Or the course of people’s lives, which is what Jesus is sending his disciples to accomplish in today’s gospel passage from St. Mark.
“He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave,’” Jesus says. “’Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.”
Jesus message, essentially: nurture, grow and move on as necessary.
© 2021, Words on the Word
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12) Teresa and Deacon Dom's Roman Holiday Marriage Retreat
Click on the image below to learn more about this Roman Holiday Marriage Retreat.
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13) 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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14) This Week on St. Joan of Arc LIVE: |
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This week's LIVE Stream
Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:
Monday (July 12):
7:00 AM - Mass
Tuesday (July 13):
7:00 AM - Mass
Wednesday (July 14):
7:00 AM - Mass
Thursday (July 15):
7:00 AM - Mass
7:00 PM - Holy Hour (Praise and Worship Music)
Friday (July 16):
7:00 AM - Mass
Saturday (July 17):
1:00 PM - Baptism of Landon Gadde
4:00 PM - Mass
6:00 PM - Mass
Sunday (July 18):
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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15) SJA's Bulletin for July 11, 2021 |
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Click on the image below
to download a copy of our
Bulletin for July 11, 2021
The 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Weekly bulletin: 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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