Week of June 16, 2024

1) Father's Day Thoughts From Msgr. Mike

“God our Father, in your wisdom and love you made all things. Bless these men, that they may be strengthened as Christian fathers. Let the example of their faith and love shine forth. Grant that we, their sons and daughters, may honor them always with a spirit of profound respect. Grant this through Christ our Lord (“Order for the Blessing of Fathers on Father’s Day,” Book of Blessings).”

Much like I did for the celebration of Mother’s Day, I thought it would be interesting to search out the history and meaning behind Father’s Day. I found this: “Just as the saying goes that behind every great man there is a great woman, the inspiration behind the celebration of a Father’s Day is owed at least partly to its slightly earlier counterpart, Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day was just beginning to gather widespread attention in the United States in 1909, when Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, of Spokane, Washington, heard a sermon on the merits of setting aside a day to honor one’s mother. It gave her the idea to petition for a day to honor fathers, and in particular, her own father, William Jackson Smart, who had raised her and her five siblings by himself, after her mother died in childbirth. 

“With support from the Spokane Ministerial Association and the YMCA, her efforts paid off, and on June 19, 1910, the first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane. The rose was selected as the official Father’s Day flower, and some suggest that people wear a white rose to honor a deceased father and a red one for a living father. In 1972, Richard Nixon signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day (“History of Father’s Day” at www.123holiday.net).”

A little more research on Father’s Day showed another interesting “historical” fact (historical in the sense that this statistic predates the use of cell phones and unlimited calling plans): There once were more collect calls made on Father’s Day than on any other day of the year. Poor Dad always seems to get hit with the bill … even on Father’s Day!

If you are fortunate enough that your father is still alive, FaceTime him or give him a call if you are not going to see him today. If, for some reason, you haven’t spoken to your dad in a long time, consider putting aside your differences or disagreements and give him a call and thank him for the gift of life. Whatever the disagreement, whatever the difference, a simple word or a simple phone call will not only brighten his day (and your day) but also possibly open up communication channels between the two of you. In the words of Mother Teresa, “See the face of Christ in him!” Then, do as Christ would do. If your father has passed away, consider stopping by the cemetery for a visit soon or offer a special prayer for him!

2) Father's Day Tribute Video

Below is a link to the Father's Day Tribute Video that was played during the Masses this weekend.

3) Beatitudes of a Dad by Father Rich

Much like he did for Mother's Day, Father Rich wrote "Beatitudes of a Dad" for Father's Day. If you want a PDF copy of his work, click on the button below.

4) Annual Raffle and Kickoff to Summer Thanks Yous

5) Why Series: Why Register as a Parishioner?

Belonging to a parish is about much more than finding a place to attend Mass each Sunday. It’s about finding community, a place to plant spiritual roots, and to commit ourselves to being involved. Learn why belonging to your parish is so important in our current culture and choose to commit to your parish today!

6) Summer Storybook Hour for Preschool and Elementary Children

7) 6 Catholic Music Artists You Need to Listen To

Did you know that there is a revival going on? (and we’re not just referring to the Eucharistic Revival)

Today, Fr. Mark-Mary wants to share a secret about a new surge in amazing Catholic music that you might not know yet—but need to hear!

The Catholic Church has been the patron of the arts for hundreds of years, so why does it sometimes feel like there isn’t any beautiful Catholic music? A revival of vibrant Catholic music is emerging, from rising stars like Seth Schlueter and Marie Miller to more seasoned artists like Matt Maher, Brother Isaiah, Sarah Kroger, and The Hillbilly Thomists. These talented Catholic musicians draw audiences to Christ and his church through beauty.

Have a listen already!

8) Ascension's Bible and Catechism App

9) Holy Hour on Thursdays

10) This Sunday's Readings: June 16, 2024 - the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

11) Sunday Reflections by Jeff Cavins

The Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflecting on the Scripture Readings for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jeff Cavins encourages us to not be afraid or ashamed of small beginnings, because the kingdom of God itself is like a mustard seed. The readings are:

First Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

Alleluia: The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower. All who come to him will live forever.

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34

12) Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

See Things Differently



Friends, people of faith just see things differently. They see what the nonbeliever sees—they read history and watch the news and see what’s going on in the world—but they see more than that. They see the world according to God’s plans and purposes—an ample and even peculiar vision that can often make spiritual people seem a little crazy. All three of our readings this Sunday are touching on this theme.

13) Grow+Go

14) 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.

15) TALLer Tales

Two Weeks and Counting: I’ll be in my 60s in two weeks! How did that happen? Even more impressive is that I will have completed 20 years at SJA at that time! Can you believe that? I officially arrived on June 25, 2004, straight from Washington, DC, and was getting ready to celebrate my 40th birthday! Oh my, that seems like eons ago.

As I usually do, I go back to previous editions of TALLer Tales to see what I wrote about around this time of year. I returned to TALLer Tales No. 3, published on July 11, 2004. My file structure has been such that I sequentially number each of my TALLer Tales editions. In TALLer Tales No. 3, I reflected on how my family threw a “Welcome Home and Happy 40th Birthday Party” for me at St. Blasé in Sterling Heights, where my sister worked at the time. My first gift from my new co-worker at SJA, none other than the infamous Sr. Carol, was a cane and walker! I’m laughing because little would I have known I would have already “borrowed” several canes and walkers from our health ministry closets up in the Parish Center. As I typed this, I even got a text from Julie Munson, our parishioner and my PT person from Gilboe’s, asking if I had done my PT exercises for the day! Oh my, how life has changed since 2004!

Fast forward to this edition of TALLer Tales (and even this is a milestone as this is edition No. 1,008 … YES, I have written 1,008 TALLer Tales thus far). No, I haven’t done any PT exercises (today, yesterday, the day before, etc.). I should still use a cane, but I get around much better than it looks (trust me)!

Lately, I’ve been trying out different supplements to “calm down” the joint inflammations, but nothing works like the prescription dosage of Meloxicam. I have found that I get around much better when I keep up with my exercises and the anti-inflammatory regimen. But it has been somewhat of an experiment trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t. The ONE I haven’t tried yet, which would be pure torture, is something that Craig and Bettyanne Hodges have suggested on many occasions. I even hate to type their suggestion: Give up ALL sugars! As I have written in the past, that would affect everything from my coffee to my cereal, to my many trips to the kitchen for snacks, to lunch, to dinner, to the after-dinner snacks, to even my chocolate wine! Could you imagine me without sugar? I’m holding out on that one for the time being!

Well, it was Memorial Day weekend, and I was experimenting with different supplements to control the joint inflammation in my foot and knees. And I was having a pretty lousy weekend from a mobility perspective. That was one weekend where if I looked like I was in pain, I was!

On Memorial Day, I celebrated our 7 AM mass and then went to Star of the Sea for our combined Family of Parishes 9 AM liturgy. Monsignor Smetanka was the celebrant. When I got to my chair, I struggled to sit down because the chair had no arms. But then, even worse, I had difficulty getting up because the chair had no arms. And, I’ll admit it was a bad day as my knees and foot just ached.

At the end of Mass, when Monsignor made his announcements, he turned toward me with his mic still on and promised that next time he would get me a chair with arms … “because we’re all getting older, you know, and need the extra help.” UGH!

If Sr. Carol gave me a walker and cane at 40, could you imagine what she would be giving me now on my 60th if she were still alive?

Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers! Happy Father's Day!

gmb@sjascs.org

16) Along the Way with Father Adam

Fathers

Last week I wrote about my dad and the importance of fatherhood. However, we must also acknowledge that not everyone has had a good father or a present father. Maybe you are still hurting from a back father experience and during this weekend (and maybe the whole month) you have a father wound that aches. With that in mind, I want to offer you a beautiful reflection from Blair Linne.

Like a Shadow

Like mothers, fathers are a shadow. They are to point us to our heavenly Father. The problem with shadows is that they can bring joy or fear. Delight or distress. How we feel about shadows depends upon our interaction with them. 

Have you ever made shadow puppets at night? Merging hands and twisting fingers together, to mimic one of God’s creatures of nature, projecting it onto the bedroom wall by using the visible light. We laugh in amazement at what hands can create. Hands transform into a flying bird with flapping wings, crab claws walking sideways or an elephant with tusks and a trunk. Young eyes widen in amazement until the shadow changes form. 

Have you experienced seeing a “monster” projected on that same bedroom wall? Waking up in the middle of the night to find a dark shadowy figure is in your room. Your hands are under the blanket so you know it is not a puppet show. Fear rises up inside your heart making you wish it were only a dream. It is not until you turn on the light that you realize it was just a few coats hanging near the closet, or the comforter you balled up and plopped on top of your dresser - and forgot about - several hours earlier. Sometimes shadows leave us jovial and other times jittery. This is especially true when dealing with human shadows.

Flipping the Idea of Father

Often for those who did not grow up with their father, when we think of “father” the idea is riddled with so much pain and truancy that we cannot formulate a healthy picture in our brain of what it means to have God as our Father. This may be because our natural father projects an image of God that has been distorted, scary, or aloof. We ask ourselves if we want to face these scary shadows. Sometimes, rather than moving toward the light, we bury our head in our blanket out of fear. In truth, our mind must flip the concept on its head. Our concept of fatherhood should be the other way around. 

When we think of “father” we should immediately think of God. For he is the epitome of fatherhood, the Father of fathers. Yet, as with everything that is to be a pointer to the original, Satan’s goal is to distort the shadow so that it only exudes pain, leaving fatherless children writhing in order to draw our attention away from the light and onto the dark silhouette. This blinds us from seeing our human fathers as a temporary figure whose job is to point to the prototype. Thankfully our imperfect father is not the only one who can point us to God.

We have a perfect brother who also points us to the perfect Father. Jesus says if you have seen him you have seen the Father. For he is the image of the invisible God. Jesus teaches the disciples (and us believers) in the Sermon on the Mount that God is our Father. In Matthew 7 he tells them the reason they should ask, seek, and knock is because God gives good gifts to his children. He says, “If you then, who are evil (speaking of human fathers), know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him. (Matthew 7:11)”

Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater here. Earthly fathers are an imperfect picture of provision but God the Father is a perfect picture of provision that is always good. Even if our earthly father doesn’t give good gifts, it does not change what our heavenly Father will do. And let me share this, even if your earthly father has never made provision for you, he has helped give you life, and that is a good gift. If we cannot praise our earthly fathers for anything on Father’s Day, we can at least praise them for giving us life. You are here in part because of your earthly father. Even with the gift of life our earthly fathers helped give, the reality is we can expect more from our heavenly Father than our sinful earthly one. 

Looking to our Heavenly Father

Our heavenly Father not only gives natural life, but spiritual life. As Christians, God has made us his children. He sent his only begotten Son Jesus into this world as our unblemished lamb. He laid his life down on the cross to take away any punishment we deserved for our sin by bearing the wrath himself. Jesus took his hands and stretched them out in this dark world, allowing them to be pierced for our ultimate joy. Not only his pierced hands and feet, but also his death are signs of him being a shadow we could behold to point us to God. He resurrected from the grave and is now at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.

Jesus is our brother that brings us to God. He not only brings us to God in order to justify us through faith, he makes us one with himself and through that faith adopts us into God’s holy family. We are God’s children now! God is our Father. And God shows no partiality. He loves us the same way he loves Christ. 

So if Father’s Day is typically filled with pain and fear because of a distorted shadow, remember you can acknowledge the gift your father has given you in the divine shadow and know that you have another Father you can behold today. Turn on the light, open his scriptures, which say he is a “Father to the fatherless,” (Psalm 68:5) and get to know his beautiful transcendence and his fatherly love.

Our brother Jesus says, ask, seek, and knock. He is waiting to provide you with good gifts, the first being more of his fatherly affection. So rather than give your mother a Father’s Day card, you can send one to your father if he is around, thanking him for life. Whether or not you can get a card to your dad, you can look up and give your heavenly Father praise today for the good Father he has always been and will always be.

Blessings!

Fr. Adam

anowak@sjascs.org

17) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz

How to Offer It Up

Momma always said, “Son, you don’t like something? Well, offer it up!”

Today, Fr. Mike explores the traditional understanding of offering up your pain, embracing your suffering, and making sacrifices in the spiritual life.

18) Words on the Word: June 16, 2024 - Garden of Life

The Oxford High School shooting tragedy a couple years ago is still a source of pain, one might expect, not only for the families of the victims, but also for others in the school community and, indeed, for the community at large.

And, to be sure, the criminal trials associated with the case have kept the entire matter in the news on a pretty constant basis ever since.

It was nice to see, then, a positive and refreshing story arise from the situation.

The Detroit News reported a few weeks ago on plans for a public garden at a still-to-be-determined location in Oxford.

It will be named after one of the victims but will honor all four of the students who lost their lives in the tragedy.

According to the story, “the garden will feature perennials and native flowers, bushes, trees, and a water component. It will also include a sculptural tree covered in Wisteria plants, hardscape and softscape materials to create a ‘visual mix …to provide a small oasis of healing and remembrance for the community.’”

It’s a great idea, and a nice reminder that gardens overall are a tremendous metaphor for the larger lessons of life’s cycles that are a part of the human condition.

“This is how it is with the kingdom of God,” Jesus says in today’s gospel passage from St. Mark.

 “It is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. 

“Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”

© 2024 Words on the Word

19) This WEEK on FORMED:

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:

• 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.



20) 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!

The Road to Sanctuary

In this film, Fr. Anthony Buś, C.R., pastor of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Chicago, recounts the incredible story of how his dream for a sanctuary dedicated to Divine Mercy became a reality through the intercession of Our Lady. Featuring a personal interview with Fr. Buś and beautiful imagery of the sanctuary, the film powerfully expresses the importance of this place of prayer in Chicago.

21) Hallow App:

22) Mass Intentions for the Week:

Monday, June 17, 2024, Weekday (Green)

7:00 am, Rita Snyder, 

Tuesday, June 18, 2024, Weekday (Green)

7:00 am, Zenaida deLeon

Wednesday, June 19, 2024, Weekday, Saint Romuald, Abbot (Green/White)

7:00 am, Kathleen Doak

6:00 pm, Bishop Thomas Gumbleton

Thursday, June 20, 2024, Weekday (Green)

7:00 am, Sister Silveria Conte

Friday, June 21, 2024, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious (White)

7:00 am, Giovanni Ciccone

Saturday, June 22, 2024, Vigil for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green/White)

4:00 pm, George Van Becelaere, Grace & Sam Valenti, Bonnie Batche, the deceased members of the Batche Family, Irene Troia, Katarina Goitz, the deceased members of the Zatyracz Family, Mary Lou Racine, Mary O’Keefe, Anna Dombrowski, Special Intentions for Thomas Sloan, the J. Champine Family, the Thomas Family, Alison Reslow, Lorraine Jonas, Pam Haisenleder and Linda Frank 

6:00 pm, Timothy McCarthy

Sunday, June 23, 2024, Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)

8:00 am, The Intentions of SJA Parishioners

10:00 am, Anthony Cimini

12:00 pm, George & Lucille Bugarin, Louisa Sarra, Karen Kowalski, Richard Coatney, Edwin Coatney, Anna Dombrowski, Alison Reslow, Lorraine Jonas & Pam Haisenleder and Linda Frank

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

This week's LIVE Stream

Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:

Monday (June 17)

7:00 AM - Mass

Tuesday (June 18):

7:00 AM - Mass

Wednesday (June 19):

7:00 AM - Mass

10:00 AM - Funeral for Judi Nowaczewski (Read Obituary HERE)

6:00 PM - Mass

Thursday (June 20):

7:00 AM- Mass

7:00 PM - Holy Hour

Friday (June 21):

7:00 AM - Mass

10:00 AM - Funeral for Richard Wheeler (Read Obituary HERE)

12:00 PM - Funeral for Mary Louise Orsini

Saturday (June 22):

10:00 AM - Funeral for Thomas Demsky (Read Obituary HERE)

12:30 PM - Baptism of Emma Kay Niemi

4:00 PM - Mass

6:00 PM - Mass

Sunday (June 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 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.

24) SJA's Latest Parish Bulletin

Click on the image below

to download a copy of the bulletin

for June 16, 2024

25) Weekly Bulletin Mailing List

26) Detroit Catholic