Next weekend will be Father Andrew's last weekend with us at SJA. We will have a reception for him after all the masses with some of his favorite food: cake!

As was announced a few months ago, Father Andrew has been assigned to the in-solidum team of priests who will provide pastoral care to Prince of Peace Parish in West Bloomfield, Our Lady of Refuge Parish in Orchard Lake, and St. Benedict Parish in Waterford, with his primary responsibility as the lead in-solidum priest for Prince of Peace Parish.

Moving from one assignment to the next is, by far, one of the most challenging aspects of being a priest. It's not only the physical move that's a challenge, but leaving behind the group of people you have been working with and the people you see every day or every weekend is likewise a challenge.

During the time a priest is with a parish, they touch the lives of many people. The larger the parish, the greater the number of lives that are touched.

So, think about presenting Father Andrew with a card or note about how he has touched your life or the life of your family. You can also send him an email at adawson@sjascs.org.

During my homily at the 10:00 AM Mass on Sunday, I incorporated the powerful short video "The Veil Removed." The quick video gives us a glimpse of what we would see if we could see what the angels and saints see every time mass is celebrated anywhere in the world. 

If you have yet to see this video, please take a few moments to watch it now. It is powerful! I have watched this video hundreds of times and I keep getting drawn back to it to remind me of everything that is happening in the celebration of the Mass.

To learn more, goto https://theveilremoved.com/

We kicked off this weekend the first of many social activities for the remainder of the year.

If you attended the Summer Sunday Funday (aka the Kickoff to Summer event), we would appreciate it if you would fill out a brief survey to let us know what you liked, what you thought could be improved, and provide us with ideas of what we could incorporate into future Summer Sunday Fundays.

We'd also like to hear any ideas that you may have for social activities we might consider incorporating into our yearly calendar.

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

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

In this week’s Encountering the Word video, Jeff Cavins reflects on the readings for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi):

First Reading: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14B-16A

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

Alleluia: John 6:51

Gospel: John 6:51-58

Friends, we come now to the marvelous Feast of Corpus Christi, of the Body and Blood of Christ. What has been on my mind a lot recently is the famous story of the feeding of the five thousand—the only miracle, with the exception of the Resurrection, recounted in all four Gospels. Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes to the feeding of this great crowd must have made a massive impression on the first Christians. With this feast in mind, let’s look at the earliest version of this story in the Gospel of Mark, because every part of it is worthy of meditation.

Called OUT … AGAIN! From the moment I saw the picture of Rachel Allemon, my mom, and me that I put in the bulletin last weekend and then watched the video of my little stroll with Rachel (which I posted in my Sunday email), I knew I would be in trouble! My first thought was, “Boy, do I look tall!” I say that every time I see a picture of myself with a group of people, or anyone for that matter. I usually don’t think of myself as tall until I have to buy clothes or vestments or when I participate in a photo op. But immediately after realizing how much I towered over Rachel, I saw my posture and how “small” my walker looked in my hands. I thought, “BOY, that doesn’t look good.” I immediately became very conscious about my appearance and posture, but I figured I was the ONLY person who would see it! WRONG!

By Sunday afternoon, I had a few emails from people concerned that my walker wasn’t the right fit for me or that I needed to work on my posture. People were very kind about their comments and were generally concerned I may be causing other problems if I didn’t use the right walker or ignored my posture.

The posture stuff has plagued me for months, especially as the knee pain increased. As we know, I was the only one in the world that didn’t realize I was limping … and limping a lot. A few weeks before my surgery, someone (maybe her name was Dr. Ingrid) stopped me in Church as I was flying from one thing to the next. She stopped her prayers to say she was concerned I was compensating too much with my gait because of the knee pain. She cautioned me that I needed to pay more attention to my posture, especially now, because I didn’t need this to become a pattern and thus cause other issues for my other leg or even my hips.

Then my family would call me out on this too. My mom would say, “Have you noticed you’re starting to waddle like your father?” I would think, “No, I don’t … but then again, everyone sees me limping but me. Maybe I AM starting to waddle like my dad!” My sisters would say, “You’re walking bow-legged.” Then there are those who may have been watching our Masses in person or our live stream from Arizona, maybe Diana and Gloria, let’s say, who noticed I started to lean against the mosaic wall whenever I was up at the altar. That one, I will admit, was a conscious “thing.” That way, I didn’t keep moving from one foot to the other, moving in such a way that people could tell I was in pain! There was a method to my madness.

But the other place you have no choice BUT to pay attention to your posture is at physical therapy. And there are TWO ways you realize that you have bad posture. One is when the PT staff mentions it; the other is seeing yourself in the mirrors as you do your PT routines.

The first time I walked into Gilboe’s two days after surgery, I was greeted by Sue Schram. After her pleasant “Hello, Monsignor. You’re doing great” greeting, I got, “Now MONSIGNOR, you need to stand tall. It’s all about the posture. You can’t be walking funny.” I quickly learned the “rules” that when I walked into Gilboe’s, I had to play the game, be conscious about my posture, and stand tall. I may have been hunched over in the parking lot, but I knew what to do before walking through those doors. When I told Sue I knew the rules, she reminded me that I had to hear her voice not only at PT but beyond the walls of Gilboe’s only because posture would become very important for my recovery.

That comment about posture being necessary for recovery got drilled into me even more when even Dr. Nicolas said he was worried about how I was walking. When I questioned why he was worried, he said, “Well, I don’t want you to wear out one side of the implant after all the work we’ve done.” Immediately I realized how vital the posture thing would be. This WAS serious stuff.

The next time I had PT after posting the infamous picture of my mom, Rachel, and me, I walked into Gilboe’s as usual. But this time, it was as if Sue and her co-workers were on the lookout for me. “MONSIGNOR, we need to talk! Remember what we said about standing TALL and using your walker correctly.” “OH, you saw the picture, did ya?” I. Was. In. Trouble. It was a kind “lecture,” though!

After Sue got me going on the Nu-Step bike, I stayed there for about 7 minutes. Then Josh came over and had me walk over to the makeshift stairs. He had me do this routine where I ascend and descend only one step at a time. But the “rule” is that you have to go up with the surgical leg and down with the other leg (I’ve learned that PT has lots of “rules”). I started to do two sets of eight. As I was doing them, I glanced in the mirror and was horrified at my poor posture. I noticed that I looked a little hunched over. Good heavens. It’s one thing to be TOLD about your poor posture but another to see it yourself! Before I could get “yelled” at, I straightened up.  At this point, I didn’t think anyone even noticed! I was lucky this time.

Then Josh had me do this calf stretch where I put my feet on this half-round foamy thing on the floor. As I was doing my 2 sets of 30-second stretches, I noted that Josh started to move to check my shoulder alignment (after a few weeks of PT you learn the rules). I looked up in the mirror and noted I was leaning to one side. Darn it, can’t I get any of this right? There is SO much to remember. But before I could make a correction, Josh gently reminded me about my posture and the importance of keeping my shoulders aligned correctly during this stretch routine. Physical therapy is as physical as it is mental; there’s a lot of thought that goes into PT!

I also wish there was a PT Manual for First Timers! Physical Therapists ask you some very tricky questions from time to time. The toughest question is, “How does that feel?” You have to be VERY careful how you answer that question. Half the time, I didn’t want to be the wimp, so I would respond that I felt great … which only piled on a few extra routines. Today’s anti-wimp response allowed me to graduate to this obstacle course meant to do balance training, where I had to walk over these raised bars on the floor. It was like watching someone do a sobriety test, I’m sure! That was tough work!

But NOWHERE in any of my pre-surgical material or stuff about having a knee replacement warns you about the “Posture Police!” They’re EVERYWHERE!

The Body and Blood of Jesus: The central theme of today’s Solemnity of Corpus Christi and of our gospel today is clearly the Eucharist, the Body and Blood, soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, our Savior. The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ offers us this most important passage from John’s Gospel, from the Bread of Life discourse, which is so crucial to our understanding of what we do here at mass, and why. Jesus says, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” The real life that Jesus is talking about is the life of the soul, the life that connects us to God eternally.

It is Jesus we receive in the miracle of the Eucharist; it is Jesus who feeds us through the actions and the words of the priest, and though He remains undetectable to our senses, hidden under the appearance of bread and wine is Jesus’ own body and blood, sacramentally present to us. In every broken fragment of the host, consecrated through the words of institution spoken by the priest, is contained the fullness of Jesus Christ Himself, in the same way that every fragment of a broken mirror still reflects back the full image. This is why we must so carefully guard and respect every crumb of the Eucharist and every fragment on your hand. It’s the reason we should never receive the Eucharist with dirty hands or with gum in our mouths or without fasting from all food and drink (yes, coffee!) for at least an hour beforehand. We prepare our minds and bodies to receive the Lord worthily.

In the same way, we must prepare our souls to receive Him worthily. We offend the Lord and commit the sin of sacrilege, and do damage to our soul, if we receive the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin. In such a state, the grace of the Eucharist is not accessible to us. Then the Eucharist not only does us no good, but becomes harmful to us. Our souls become “hardened” until the grace of Sacramental absolution is sought, and administered, in confession.

St. Paul tells us, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (1 Cor 11:27-29)

The word Eucharist originates from the Latin eucharistia, and from Greek eukharistia meaning "thanksgiving” or “gratitude.” In the Lord, we have much to be thankful for.

Jesus says, “Amen, amen, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within in you.” This is why is is so important that we make attending mass in person a priority… to receive this grace.

However, receiving communion is not the be-all-and-end-all of our Sunday observance. It is the summit of mass, but it is not just the thing you come for as though nothing else matters. It is a great disappointment to the priest, and to other parishioners when people receive communion and immediately walk out the door, as though that’s all they came for. What about those in the pews who are asking you to pray with them? The communion of community matters. Our Sunday obligation is not to receive communion—it’s to attend a mass and to the community.

The Lord died on a cross for us— it is hubris to take from Him and not stay to give thanks.

The Eucharist, God Himself, given to us to make us more like Him—this is the greatest gift we have ever, or will ever, be given. As St. John Vianney writes, “There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us.”

Let’s show God that we are thankful.

I knew it!: Some time ago, after several discussions on the matter around the lunch table in the PC, I was put to the test. Certain staff members were dubious about my claim that the green Garden Veggie Straws were not as good as the yellow and the orange ones. I don’t like the green ones. Though the bag does not state it specifically, it’s clear from the ingredients list that some are potato flavored, some are tomato flavored and some are all those bitter green vegetable varieties. They conducted a very non-scientific and highly-flawed blind taste-test on me, which they claimed proved my claim was unfounded.

But the high court has rejected that finding and up-held my assertion. Now, justice is finally being seen to be done and I am vindicated.

A new variety of this most tasty snack was launched to celebrate Memorial Day (look out for this around 4th of July!). Clearly, I am not the only one to notice the deficiencies of the green straws. And they have responded….

Garden Veggie Stars & Stripes, with no green straws! Delectable… although I have noticed that the number of stars relative to the number of stripes seems to be backwards.

What say you, Garden Veggie people?! Your move!

adawson@sjascs.org 

“If no one gets hurt is it still a sin?” “It was just an accident.”

How can we know if our actions are a sin or just a mistake? Can we be committing sin without knowing it?

Today Fr. Mike details the three elements that must be present for an act to be a sin and helps us grapple with our own sinfulness and God’s desire for mercy and reconciliation.

16) Words on the Word: June 11, 2023 - God is Right Here

With so much uncertainty in the world, one might expect people to cling hard to the things that are, indeed, certain. And, to be sure, there is nothing more certain than God.

And yet, according to an article a few weeks ago on a national news website, a recent survey shows that “only half of Americans now say they are sure God exists.”

It’s ironic in a way – and profoundly unfortunate – that it’s probably the uncertainty swirling through our culture that accounts for the skepticism about God’s existence.

That was one datapoint. There were others.

About 15 years ago, the story said, more than 60 percent of people were sure about the existence of God. Thirty-four percent of Americans do not go to church. Twenty-seven percent of Americans do not claim a religion. “The share of mainline white Protestants has fallen from 18 percent (of the population) to 14 percent,” the story said. “White Catholics have declined from 16 percent to 13 percent.”

In one bit of somewhat better news: “Only 7 percent of people do not believe in God,” the story said.

Those reading these words already know the power of God’s truth, of course, but the message bears repeating anyway.

“Do not forget the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery,” we hear in today’s first reading from Deuteronomy.

More to the point though, is the gospel message for this, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ:

“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you,” Jesus says in today’s gospel from St. John. “For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”

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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7:00 a.m., Antonio Calisi

7:00 a.m., Antonietta Mazzella

7:00 a.m., Lawrence Schenden

6:00 p.m., A Special Intention for Cindy Van & Family

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

7:00 a.m., The deceased members of the Rogier & Dettloff Families

4:00 p.m., Bonnie Batche, Joseph Gielniak, Thomas Lucchese, George Rupinski, Joan Weber, Dr. Lori Karol, Editha DeLeon, Christopher Weingartz, Edward, Helen & Henry Blind, George VanBecelaere, Gabriel Nehro, Samuel Moses, Eugene Wojcik, Anthony Curreri, and Special Intentions for the J. Champine Family, the Thomas Family, and for Alison Reslow

6:00 p.m., James Forrester

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

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

12:00 p.m., Hugo Calisi, Aniello Mazzella, Antonio Calisi, Petr Sarra, Jerome Rogier, Albert Rogier, Gerard Rogier, Dune Gore, Robert Boesiger, Allen Baumgart, Marie Haddad, Joseph Semany, John L. Joseph, Dr. Edmond Aubrey, Roland Doak, Jaclyn Maul, Dennis Venuto, Lewis McQuillan, Casey Zaranek, Pierre Zaranek, Charles McQuillan, Giovanni Ciccone and Special Intentions for Lynn Timmreck

10:00 AM - Funeral for Susan Federoff (Read Obituary HERE)

10:00 AM - Funeral for Richard J. Kueber (Read Obituary HERE)

Thursday (June 15):

Friday (June 16):

12:30 PM - Baptism of Jacob & Jolene Kalich

1:30 PM - Baptism of Isabella R. Baker