Dear Friends in Christ,
This year’s Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) theme comes from the First Letter of Peter: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Peter 4:10). It’s a call for hospitality and service, and to “let love for one another be intense.”
The Catholic Services Appeal is an opportunity to celebrate the ways our Church in Detroit responds to the material and spiritual needs of individuals and families. Our parish alone could not meet these many needs. It is through the sharing of our gifts and our service that we, together, can be the Church Christ wants us to be.
Would you consider making a gift to this year’s CSA?
Your generosity makes it possible for more than 170 ministries, services, and programs to love intensely and to bring the indescribable joy found in Christ to our communities.
Our CSA goal this year is $211,447. 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.
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: sja.aodcsa.org 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.
I'm grateful to those who have already contributed to the CSA. We have already received $42,825 in pledges toward our $211,447 goal. I hope I can count on you to help FUEL the MISSION of all that the Archdiocese of Detroit is trying to accomplish in the name of Christ in Southeast Michigan.
Assuring you of my prayers, I remain,
Sincerely yours in Christ,
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Archbishop Vigneron's Message for CSA 2022 |
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2) Exceptional Needs Gathering - June 11, 2022 |
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3) SJA's Family Faith Camp: July 26-28, 2022 |
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Our parish will soon join the other half of the dioceses in being formed into a Family of Parishes.
Our family consists of St. Joan of Arc, Our Lady Star of the Sea, St. Basil the Great, St. Lucy, and St. Veronica Parishes.
To learn more about Families of Parishes please watch the two short videos below or click on the link below to check out a FAQ site the Archdiocese of Detroit has developed to answer questions about Families of Parishes.
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How Will Families of Parishes Work? |
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Introducing Families of Parishes |
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Click on the image below to visit the FAQ Site about Families of Parishes |
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5) SJA's Men's Fellowship Group Invites you to THE PROPHETS 10-Part Bible Study |
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6) Ukraine Relief Efforts |
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If you are interested in supporting the Catholic Church's relief efforts for the people of Ukraine, please click here to donate through our OSV Online Giving Platform. |
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7) This Sunday's Readings - June 5, 2022, The Solemnity of Pentecost |
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8) Sunday Reflections by Jeff Cavins |
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Jeff Cavins reflects on the readings for Pentecost Sunday:
First Reading: Acts 2:1-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3B-7, 12-13 or Romans 8:8-17
Gospel: John 14:15-16, 23B-26
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9) Bishop Barron's Reflection for the Solemnity of Pentecost |
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Friends, Happy Pentecost Sunday! On this great celebration of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, meditating upon the number three will tell us a lot of what we need to know about the Spirit, whose distinctive mark is not oppressive unity, nor conflictual diversity, but unity in diversity. The Church is one Body with many parts, animated by one Spirit manifesting many spiritual gifts |
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10) Grow+Go for the Solemnity of Pentecost |
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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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11) 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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12) This Week's Edition of TALLer Tales |
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The Winter Raincoat: It’s no secret that every fall and winter, you’ll occasionally (okay, more like constantly) hear me moan and groan about how cold it is outside … and inside! While I love the range of temperatures that Michigan seasons offer, the bone-chilling days of winter are certainly not my cup of tea! It’s one thing to deal with the temporary bone-chilling temperatures while traveling outside; it’s another when you’re perpetually cold in your office or house.
While I happily control the thermostat in my house and keep it such that I’m not cold, the situation in the office is another story. My office is at the back end of the heat chain. There are days it could be 68 degrees out in the front office but maybe 62 in my office. Yes, I do have a heater, and I do use it regularly, but there are days that I just forget to get up and turn it on (even though I also have a remote control for the heater). The Parish Center Staff has absolutely no sympathy when the guy listed at the top left corner of page 2 of the bulletin (ME) complains about the offices being too cold. Because they show no sympathy, I go out of my way to annoy them with my constant whining, moaning, and groaning about the temperature and how unfortunate it is that the poor pastor is constantly freezing. They may humor me by turning up the thermostat a few degrees to make it look like they care, but then I’ll come down the hallway with my thermometer and whine no one cares. Come on, 63 degrees is cold in the winter!
My solution most days is simply to wear my coat (whether my winter coat or my raincoat) all the time. And, I mean ALL. THE. TIME! Sometimes, it’s just pure laziness that I keep my coat on. Because I’m constantly coming and going out of my office, I find it easier to keep my coat on rather than take it off, put it away, and then put it back on again. Just leaving it on is so much more efficient and convenient … PLUS it keeps me warm! The Parish Center Staff has dubbed my coat my winter “bathrobe.” You’ll often hear them make snide comments like, “OH, there he goes again with his WINTER bathrobe!” I just ignore it. My thought is that if they really cared, they would make sure the guy listed at the top left corner of page two of the bulletin had heat in his office! I know, I know, I’m just the poor pastor.
A few years ago, you might remember a fad where people traveled around the globe with this flat cutout of a cartoon person affectionally called Flat Stanley. You traveled with Flat Stanley wherever you went and then took pictures with Flat Stanley. It was quite the “thing” to take pictures with Flat Stanley and then post them on social media or share them with family and friends. Well, on my trip to Naples, I decided to travel with my “winter bathrobe,” a.k.a., my winter raincoat, as my modified version of a Flat Stanley experience. I took the raincoat along as a joke to have some pictures taken of me decked out in my coat in the heat of Florida!
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When our family finally arrived at our destination in Naples, I took a moment and joyfully had my own “show and tell” with my family with my winter raincoat. You could only imagine the comments I got from the peanut gallery when they saw what I brought with me! Of course, they thought I was crazy, but they were willing to go along with the game plan to assist by taking pictures of me in my coat so we could send those pictures back to the staff. The plan was for my sister Jackie to take the pictures, and then she would send them to key staff back at the Parish Center!
The first venue to accomplish my plan was on this beautiful dinner cruise touring Naples Bay, Port Royal, and into the Gulf of Mexico for Mother’s Day. It was on the Naples Princess. The dinner was fabulous, and the views were spectacular. It was an awesome way to celebrate Mother’s Day with our Mom. But there I was, lugging my big raincoat around for pictures. I admit I felt a bit weird carrying this big raincoat around with me. I’m not sure anyone gave me any looks, but I felt the world was staring at me! So here we were at the loading dock waiting to get checked in, and in 85-degree heat with not a single cloud in the sky, I had my winter raincoat draped over my arm!
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After our delightful dinner, I waited for the right moment when many of the guests went upstairs to the top deck so I could get some pictures of me in my coat without too many people seeing or questioning this crazy guy in a heavy winter raincoat. Jackie took a few shots and then sent the first round of pictures to the staff! We couldn’t wait for the responses to start returning. Eventually, the responses started flying, and we were having quite a laugh on the boat. “There he is in FLORIDA with his ‘bathrobe!’” |
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As we toured Naples and the surrounding area, my raincoat came with me to many locations. One time, we were about 5 minutes away from the house and even turned around to retrieve the raincoat for another prized picture! Eventually, we got wise enough to keep the coat in the car! Every time a picture was taken, they were immediately texted to some staff back home. And the comments were flying faster than a hummingbird approaching its prized flower! I guess my pictures were even becoming the main chatter of the lunch hour!
When I returned home, I couldn’t wait to hear the comments about those pictures. As you can imagine, I got quite an earful from staff about both BRINGING and WEARING my winter raincoat on vacation in FLORIDA! But, the BEST part of the whole experience was that they actually thought I was serious!
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Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers.
In Christ,
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13) Tire Tracks in the d’Arc |
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Bold, not Cold: One of the annoying realities of media world is the portrayal of Christians on TV in recent years. They are often shown as feeble, slightly odd and out of touch, sheltered characters, who come together to sing Kumbaya in small groups, but are fairly irrelevant in the world and who shrink away when the culture around them looks their way and says, “Boo.”
Perhaps what is most annoying about the image is that these TV shows have played on and promoted a stereotype. It’s not true of many Christians, who daily offer a powerful witness to Christ.
But a stereotype doesn’t resonate if it has no basis in truth, however, and while this image of the Christian is far from true for all Christians, there is much in the image that is being mirrored from reality. And if there is a reality that is played-out in the image, it’s because Christians have allowed it to be seen in them.
We live in a society that makes its presence felt loudly. Making your opinion known seems to be a badge of honor, but who is being the watchdog and guardian of the Truth?
Life lived in and for Christ is the truth. Christ is Truth. We who have been baptized into His body have been born into Truth. We have God Himself living within us in the form of the Holy Spirit, Who is the subject of today’s great Feast of Pentecost. Christ has shared Himself with us in the Eucharist and at Pentecost the great promise of the Father is realized, with the descent of the Holy Spirit.
There are so many ways in which God has shared His love for us. If you won the lottery, wouldn’t you be itching to tell someone the good news? Still, so many Christians shrink away at the thought of sharing the news of that which God has gifted them. They become feeble, falling back on the false notion that their faith is “private,” just between me and God, not something I have any need to defend when it is publicly opposed. None of our theology supports this. Jesus’ words carry more authority than that distortion. The very last words Jesus spoke to his disciples before He ascended into Heaven were the commission to evangelize all people: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) That can’t be done sitting on our hands and never talking about Jesus. That will not be enough to convince the Lord of our love for Him when we one day come face-to-face with Him and He asks us to make an account of what we did for Him.
Today, our Feast of Pentecost, celebrating the birth of the church, marks the 5th anniversary of Archbishop Vigneron’s Pastoral Letter, Unleash the Gospel. I will always have a reference to that date because it was published on the day of my ordination to the priesthood. I think one of the most pointed and powerful sections of the letter comes in just the second paragraph:
“Just as in the Upper Room at Pentecost, it is the Holy Spirit who transforms Christ’s disciples from ordinary people into Spirit-filled evangelizers. Before the coming of the Spirit, the early Christians did not seem a particularly impressive group of people. They had good reason to be filled with fears, concerns, and feelings of inadequacy as they contemplated the awesome task Jesus had given them: to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. They were still struggling to comprehend the events of recent days: the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord. But when the Spirit fell upon them, their hearts were set ablaze with the fire of God’s love and they could no longer keep the good news of Christ to themselves. They went out from the Upper Room overflowing with the joy of the Gospel. Through their witness, the Gospel was unleashed in Jerusalem and from there throughout the ancient world.
Today no less than two millennia ago, there is no limit to what the Lord can do in our midst.” (UTG, Introduction)
The letter continues:
The love that we celebrate in the sacrament [of the Eucharist] is not something we can keep to ourselves. By its very nature it demands to be shared with all. What the world needs is God’s love; it needs to encounter Christ and to believe in Him. The Eucharist is thus the source and summit not only of the Church’s life, but also of her mission: “an authentically eucharistic Church is a missionary Church.” We too must be able to tell our brothers and sisters with conviction: “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us” (1 Jn 1:3) (UTG, 3.4)
In his Apostolic Exhortation The Joy of the Gospel Pope Francis challenges us, “If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life....”
As a priest I know once said, we get so angry about scandals in the church, and yet so comfortable with the scandal we’re responsible for—the scandal of people not being in our pews. It calls us to look inside ourselves and ask if we’ve actually done what the Holy Spirit has empowered us to do to get them there.
We must rid ourselves of the TV-Christian stereotype. We cannot afford to be feeble; nor should we be willing to be portrayed as feeble any longer. And we have no need to be – the Holy Spirit has been given to us. Now we have to take Him places.
The Church needs more St. Peters and St. Pauls. It needs courageous and bold men and women who are engaged enough to recognize the gifts they have received from God and who are affected enough by them to want to share them with others. Private faith is a distorted faith that is wasteful of God’s love.
Christian disciples cannot practice a Sunday-only faith, a twice-a-month faith, a cold faith, a faith of convenience, a faith in name only, a faith that picks and chooses what to believe, a faith that we’re not willing to testify to.
Jesus didn’t keep His Father to Himself. His disciples didn’t either. Why would we be any different, other than fear or apathy? And neither of these is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Come, Holy Spirit! Make us bold disciples of Christ, that we may unleash the gospel of your love.
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You are in my prayers this week.
Fr. Andrew
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14) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz |
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The One Reason You are Not Yet a Saint
Are there things in my life that are incompatible with holiness?
We all wish to be saints—God’s people with him forever in heaven. But do we will it? Do we choose it?
Fr. Mike wants you to know that today is the day. This is the moment. There’s only one reason you’re not a saint yet.
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15) Words on the Word: June 5, 2022 - Wing and a Prayer
One need not be a business owner or a human resources executive to see the labor market is in a state of turmoil.
Businesses of all kinds are finding it more difficult than ever to hire and keep good employees. Retirement, normal attrition, competitive counter-offers, and overall employee mobility options are just a few of the many factors contributing to the situation. Now add airlines to the list of industries being impacted.
Media reported a few weeks ago on the acute shortage of commercial pilots, and the problems that is causing for airlines and their passengers. For example, one industry expert told Fox 2 News that the impact is being felt in more flight cancellations and higher prices, all at a time in which demand for air travel is increasing.
The problem here, as with so many other industries and job descriptions, is that people don’t suddenly become qualified to fly commercial aircraft. Whether through military or flight school training, the skill is one that takes years to develop and practice.
And, that, to be sure, leaves a lot of things – from business plans to vacation plans – up in the air.
It’s a keen reminder that much of our world, our jobs, and our roles, are highly specialized. But that also can be a good thing, as well.
Think of it in a spiritual sense.
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same spirit,” we hear in today’s second reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. “There are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.”
While there’s bound to be some turbulence, alas, we can all support each other in flight.
© 2022, Words on the Word
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16) 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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17) 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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19) Mass Intentions for the Week: |
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Monday, June 6, 2022, The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
7:00 a.m., Sam & Grace Valenti and the deceased members of the Calisi Family who died in the month of June
Tuesday, June 7, 2022, Weekday
7:00 a.m., Ron Titus, Mary Margaret Paige, and a Special Intention for Greg Paige
Wednesday, June 8, 2022, Weekday
7:00 a.m., Thomas Lucchese and Jeffrey Johnson
Thursday, June 9, 2022, Weekday, Saint Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor
7:00 a.m., Special Intention for Bob & Pam Haisenleder on their 43rd Wedding Anniversary
Friday, June 10, 2022, Weekday
7:00 a.m., John Henness and Anna Fazi
Saturday, June 11, 2022, Vigil of Trinity Sunday
4:00 p.m., Antoinette Barone, Bonnie Batche, Dee Allor, Dorene Oster, the deceased members of the Kopacko Family, Mary Margaret Paige and Special Intentions for the J. Champine Family, for the Thomas Family and for Sara Curcuru and Family
6:00 p.m., Joseph Paluzzi Jr.
Sunday, June 12, 2022, The Most Holy Trinity
8:00 a.m., For the Intentions of Saint Joan of Arc Parishioners
10:00 a.m., Al Schaller
12:00 p.m., Richard O’Brien, Sylvia Lipski, Beverly Light, Angie Villeneuve, Carol White, Rosemarie Wing, Tony D’Aleo, Susan Wright and Special Intentions for the Rogier and Dettloff Families
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20) This Week on St. Joan of Arc LIVE: |
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This week's LIVE Stream
Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:
Monday (June 6):
7:00 AM - Mass
Tuesday (June 7):
7:00 AM - Mass
Wednesday (June 8):
7:00 AM - Mass
8:30 AM - All School Mass
Thursday (June 9):
7:00 AM - Mass
7:00 PM - Holy Hour
Friday (June 10):
7:00 AM - Mass
Saturday (June 11):
10:00 AM - Funeral for Neil Colella
12:30 PM - Baptism of Greyson J. Madajczyk
1:30 PM - Baptism of Peter James Rheaume and Evelyn Ann Zeigler
4:00 PM - Mass
6:00 PM - Mass
Sunday (June 12):
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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21) SJA's Bulletin for Sunday, June 5, 2022 |
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Click on the image below
to download a copy of the bulletin
for May June 5, 2022
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22) 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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