This is an oldie but a goodie! The message is simple: If you're having a bad lent, then just start over!

During the season of Lent, we have scheduled the following confession opportunities:

Mondays: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Wednesdays: 5:00 PM - 5:50 PM

Saturdays: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

The Sacrament is celebrated in the Sr. Carol Center; signs are posted in the Gathering Place with further directions.

There will also be two communal penance services in the SERF Vicariate. These are communal penance services with individual confession. These have been scheduled for:

Monday, March 27, 2023, at St. Joan of Arc at 7:00 PM

Monday, April 3, 2023, at St. Margaret of Scotland at 1:00 PM

As we have mentioned at the weekend masses, don't worry if you've forgotten the prayers or how to go to confession because we will guide you through it. And, it doesn't matter how long it has been since you've last gone to confession. Just come and experience the Lord's awesome gift of mercy!

From Ascension Presents: Confession is a place of never-ending mercy and forgiveness, and is one of the most beautiful parts of our Catholic faith. But for many, it can also be a very daunting experience, especially if it’s been a long time since your last confession. Whether it’s the first time you’ve gone in a year, or it’s the first time you’ve gone in your life, God is ready and willing to forgive your sins. All we have to do is let him into our hearts.

In the following video, Fr. Mike Schmitz explains how to approach going to confession for the first time in a long time.

In an online article by Caroline Harvey entitled, "Stations of the Cross: A Lenten Tradition of Love," she writes, "There are certain Lenten practices that are so customary or traditional that without them Lent would not be Lent. This is the same for most holidays and celebrations—what is Christmas without a Christmas tree or Nativity scene, or a birthday with a cake, candles and singing? With Lent, Catholics are used to the announcements after Mass about Friday fish fries, reconciliation services, and the praying of the Stations of the Cross.

Traditions can become so commonplace, so normal, that we may not even know why we are doing them. Why do we have a Christmas tree? Why do we use candles to show how old someone is on their birthday? Or, why do we watch the priest or deacon walk around the church as we kneel and stand during the Stations of the Cross? There is nothing wrong with upholding traditions for the sake of tradition; there is something dignified about respecting the actions and words that have been handed down to the current generations from generations past. However, with every tradition, there comes a moment when the person partaking in it recognizes the importance of the actions and the words, more than just for the sake of ancient repetition. This “coming of age”, so to speak, allows the person to enter into the mystery of the tradition and participate in it in a way that transcends time and space."

Fr. Mark Toups offers a reflection for the Fourth Week of Lent, focusing on the fatigue we may have as we get through these last few weeks, more than halfway but not done yet—not there yet. God still wants more of you.

Reminding us of the woman at the well and the man born blind, Fr. Toups shows us how God is intensely interested in our hearts. What’s in your heart? How can you more fully give it to God this Lent?

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 Fourth Sunday of Lent.

First Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1B, 6-7, 10-13A

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 23: 1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6

Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14

Verse Before the Gospel: John 8:12

Gospel: John 9:1-41 or John 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38

Friends, on this fourth Sunday of Lent, our Gospel is one of the most magnificent stories in the Gospel of John: the healing of the man born blind. John is a theological master, of course, but also a literary master, and this story is beautifully crafted as a sort of icon of the spiritual life. This is not only a story about something that Jesus did; at a deeper level, this is a story about all of us.

Memory. Memory. Memory. Okay, I admit it: I don’t remember a ton of stuff from the first two decades of my life. There might be a few things I remember, but by and far, my memory recall from my early days is pretty bad. And, oh boy, do I hear about it often. When my dad was alive and he would hear me get chewed out for not remembering things, he would laugh and say, “At least it’s not me this time!”

My mom will occasionally ask, “What DO YOU remember.” Hmmm, well here are a few moments. When my sister Jackie and I were little ones, we lived in an upper flat of a house on Seymour Street (6 Mile and Gratiot area) owned by Mina and Foster Need (okay, I just had to call my mom to get those details). We just called them Auntie and Uncle Need. They were the most delightful couple, and we would visit them often as we grew up and moved around until the time they went home to eternal life. What I remember most about this house is that Jackie and I would “talk” to each other through the air vents in the house. The air vents in this house seemed, at the time, to be as big as us. They had to be eight inches or so square. They were huge compared to today’s standards. I would go downstairs to Auntie and Uncle’s living room and then talk to Jackie, who was upstairs.

I remember the time I told my mom and dad I wanted to “run away.” I was five years old at the time (I just had to call my mom again for that detail). My mom packed my bags. She put a coat on me and led me to the door. She opened the door, walked with me to the end of the porch, let go of my hand, turned around, went back inside, and shut the door behind her. I remember thinking, “I can’t believe mom just did that to me.” I remember being baffled; I stood there frozen in my little steps and started to cry. Little did I know that my mom had ushered me to the BACKYARD and the gates were all locked; I wasn’t going anywhere. We still laugh about that story to this day.

THEN, there was the infamous incident in Traverse City. I was 11 years old (I just had to call my mom for the THIRD time to ask her the details; she answered the phone by saying, “Are you having memory issues AGAIN?”). We were on a family vacation and we were staying at one of the biggest hotels in Traverse City. My parents had decided to watch some show in the hotel’s theater downstairs. That left me to babysit my three sisters. Well, some babysitter I was. My sister Jackie, who was maybe 9 ½ at the time, started telling spooky stories to the group soon after our parents left the room. I remember sitting on the floor of the hotel room in a circle with only one light on. Jackie kept “entertaining” us with one spooky story after another. I got so scared listening to the stories that I eventually picked up the hotel phone, dialed “0,” and asked the hotel operator to find our parents in the theater downstairs. My mom and dad recalled with great fondness how there was an usher going up and down the aisles looking for Mr. and Mrs. Bugarin. Imagine the surprise when they got back to the room and found out that their 9 ½ year old scared the 11 year old who then had nightmares that night.

Well, my mom and I were coming back from dinner last Saturday night and passed Harbor Lanes Bowling Center on Jefferson. Out of the blue, my mom asked me, “Do you remember when Aunt Pauline and I would take you, Jackie, and Donna and Tommy (our cousins) bowling on Saturday mornings?” “NOPE,” was my response. “You’re kidding. You don’t remember that.” “NOPE!” “You always looked forward to those Saturday morning outings.” “I don’t recall at all.” “We would go to a bowling alley in Hazel Park which was sort of halfway between both houses.” “Sorry, I don’t have a shred of memory of those outings.” There was a moment of silence and then my mom said to me, “There must be a shot to help your issue!” Needless to say, we laughed.

I then took the opportunity to bring up these bowling events on one of our family Zoom calls. Thankfully, Jackie didn’t remember anything about them either. As we were bantering back and forth about my memory and lack of recall from the past, I brought up how Mom said there had to be some shot to help me. One of the girls immediately piped up, “Yes, there’s medication for stuff like that, it’s called Prevagen.” Why do I get the feeling I’ll be getting some of this stuff for my birthday or for Christmas? Seriously, how can anyone remember all these minuscule details from 40 or 50 years ago? I’m lucky if I remember what I had for breakfast!

Halfway through Lent: Believe it or not, folks, but we’ve passed the halfway point of our Lenten Journey. If the realization that Lent is practically half over hasn’t jolted you, the thought that we’ve already started Daylight Savings Time should bring it home too.

As we mark this halfway point on our Lenten journey, we need to ask ourselves the question: How are we doing with our Lenten retreat? What about all of those Lenten resolutions? I am sure many of you have faithfully fulfilled those resolutions. Others may be in my camp where you have fallen a little (or a lot). No matter what side you’re on, this is the time to start anew if needed.

A simple resolution could be to spend more time in prayer. Prayer is such an essential aspect of the Christian’s life. Yet, the busy lives so many of us lead can often pull us away from the good intentions to be people of prayer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that “Prayer in the events of each day and each moment is one of the secrets of the kingdom…. It is right and good to pray so that the coming of the kingdom of justice and peace may influence the march of history, but it is just as important to bring the help of prayer into humble, everyday situations; all forms of prayer can be the leaven to which the Lord compares the kingdom (CCC, 2659-2660).”

We need to follow the example of the Lord, who often went off to a deserted place to pray not only before significant decisions in his earthly life but also in the midst of his busy day. If you have 15 minutes, then give those 15 minutes to prayer. If you only have 5 minutes, then give those 5 minutes to prayer. If you have an hour, then, by all means, spend that time in prayer. Your day will be greatly blessed because of your commitment to prayer. Don’t let the activities of the day become an excuse for not spending SOME time … even 10 minutes … with the Lord!

Your prayer could be silent and just sitting in the presence of the Lord. Your prayer could be time spent reflecting on the readings of the day. Your prayer could be listening to sacred music. Your prayer could be listening to something on Hallow or Formed. Prayer ultimately can take on many forms. It doesn’t have to be the same form each time you pray either. It’s just important that you pray!

Pasta Disaster: It’s no secret around the office that I’m no cook. I guess it goes without saying—I’m British. But every now and then, when the whim strikes, I think about cooking something. Yorkshire Puddings a while ago. “Toad in the Hole” a Yorkshire staple that you can google if you feel so inclined.

Dina is kind enough to make lunch every day in the Parish Center, but last Friday she was not working, and since it was snowing steadily, others had already gone home by lunch-time and there were just a couple of us there. Since it was a Friday in Lent, I went to the kitchen to look for the meat-free options and pickings were slim. Since the office was closed, I was making some headway on some work that had been sitting on my desk awaiting my attention, and awaiting a block of solid time. So I didn’t want to lose this opportunity and decided lunch should be a grab n’ go affair. That was kind of lining-up well with the limited options, anyway, so I resorted to an old favorite standby…. The banana dog!

It’s a thing of beauty, isn’t it? A strawberry jelly and banana wrap. Just wait, you’ll be seeing these at the Tigers games before you know it.

But I digress, this wasn't really a cooking whim. But last week, for some reason, I decided lasagna sounded good. But it had to be dairy-free, so there’s no cheese in my lasagna. 

Cheese usually seems pretty much an essential ingredient to lasagna, I will admit, so usually I never eat lasagna. But my mom used to make it for me without cheese. I guess the smart solution would have been to ask her how, but I’m inventive, I thought I could figure this out. Anyway, the whim hit when I was already at the grocery store, so I had to think fast. Minced meat, check. Something not cheese to bind it together….hmmm… I know! Pasta sauce! Check. Chopped tomatoes? Check. Oooh… I could sauté some onions! Chopped onions. Check. Okay, might need some lasagna sheets. Found them. And then my mistake….

I am my father’s son. Ever-frugal, a steward of the dollar. I had the box of pasta in my hand. It said “oven-ready” on it. That sounded good…. And I confirmed it was good after I googled what oven ready meant! And then I saw the store brand next to it, cheaper of course. So I picked that up, again with oven-ready emblazoned across the box. Excellent, save a dollar…. How different can two pastas be?! And then I caught sight of the store economy brand…. Even better! How different can three pastas be?

So I got home and decided to wait a few days before creating my lasagna-to-end-all-lasagnas. Tomorrow was Friday and I had other things in the fridge to finish first anyway. 

A few days later, I cooked my 2lbs of minced turkey (that might not have been the best choice, but I like that it’s healthier than some). I stirred in the chopped tomatoes and the sautéed onions. I added them, with some Italian seasoning and herbs. I then randomly decided an egg would help bind it all together too, so mixed that in. Then I added the pasta sauce. 

I poured some of the meat into the foil tray and layered it with the pasta sheets. Then another layer of meat, which surprisingly was now all gone. So I guess this was going to be a two-layer lasagna only. I put the second layer of lasagna on top and figured I would pour a few drips of the remaining egg on top…. to brown it???..... I don’t know…. I didn’t claim to know what I was doing.

So there it was. And having turned to Google again to figure-out how to cook and how long, I covered it with foil and put it in the oven. I left and came back to look at it and remove the foil after about 30 minutes and returned it to the oven.I started to clean-up, and it was then that my error revealed itself. Nowhere on the third box of pasta, the economy box, the one I actually chose…. after rejecting two perfectly good boxes of pasta that I had held in my hand before that…. nowhere was the word “oven-ready.” I wasn't sure of the exact implications of this…. other than it WASN’T READY!! Google then informed me that I was supposed to have cooked the pasta before putting it into the oven. So I peered through the window and sure enough, it looked like no lasagna I had seen before. The pasta sheets were not happily absorbing lasagna juiciness. No, they were looked like warped floorboards, arching high above the rest of this creation, dried and curled. Crunchy, in fact, I would later discover.

I stuck a fork in and it seemed like the lower layer was mostly soft, so I hit upon a quick solution: throw away the top layer and boil-up some more and layer that on top! 

It was the perfect solution, other than negating the dollar savings on the next-best pasta box. So there it was, my first lasagna. Not only cheese-free, dairy-free, but also pretty taste-free. I obviously made it a good British lasagna, but not a good Italian lasagna. 

After dinner that night, I put the rest in the fridge, and by the next morning, the top layer was curling and drying out. What did I learn from this experience? I’m not Italian. I’m not a cook. I’m not going to do that again and I’m not saving a dollar. But I am the creator of the wonderful strawberry banana dog!

adawson@sjascs.org 

“Is God calling me somewhere else?”

Sometimes in our discernment—especially over major life choices, like our vocations—we start second-guessing our decisions. Sometimes, we make hasty decisions because we thought we “messed up” our discernment. But most of the time… the best decision is to “stay the course”.

As the Scriptures says, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.” Today Fr. Mike continues his series on vocational discernment and offers some helpful guidance on how and when to make life-altering choices.

18) Words on the Word: March 19, 2023 - Light in Darkness

Several weeks have passed, but the emotions surrounding the horrible shooting tragedy at Michigan State University are, as one might expect, still quite raw. Over the course of just a few hours, we witnessed, to be sure, just how difficult, and just how dark, the path can be for us on this side of heaven.

The events of that evening are quite well known, not only to members of the MSU community, and to their families and neighbors, but to all of us, throughout the state and well beyond. Grief still abounds.

And yet, there is good news amongst all the pain, as well.

Countless acts of support were – and continue to be – demonstrated. Acts by the university itself. Acts by the churches and communities impacted. And acts by others, as well.

Consider the well-documented support shown by the University of Michigan later that same week when the schools’ basketball teams took to the floor for their biannual regular season contest. The game, which took place in Ann Arbor, became an opportunity for the U-M community to show its support. There was a large banner recognizing the courage and spirit of the Spartan community, special supportive warmup shirts, a musical salute to MSU by Michigan’s pep band and, perhaps most moving of all, special Spartan green lighting in the arena prior to the game.

How fitting that it should be light that played such an important role in the process of reaching out to the suffering.

“Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord,” St. Paul writes in today’s second reading to the Ephesians. “Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”

Love and empathy, both on and off the court. A slam dunk of support.

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., The deceased members of the Calisi Family who died in the month of March and a Special Intention for Noreen Bidigare

7:00 a.m., Mary & Frank Fleming

7:00 a.m., Leona Mecha 

6:00 p.m., A Special Intention for Ilona Higgins on her 97th Birthday 

7:00 a.m., Al Rogier

7:00 a.m., Loraine Wolanski

4:00 p.m., Bonnie Batche, Teresa Marzolina, the deceased members of the Huvaere & Kerby Families, Helen Blind, Art & Rose Keyes, and a Special Intention for the J. Champine Family, for the Thomas Family, and for the Muer & Thurber Families

6:00 p.m., Ed Marroso, and a Special Intention for Autumn Delzeit

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

10:00 a.m., Sylvia Thomas

12:00 p.m., Joseph Paluzzi Jr., Geraldine Rogier, Jose Silva, Pedro Silva and a Special Intention for Donald Ketelhut

Thursday (March 23):

10:00 AM - Funeral for Robert Swalec (Read Obituary HERE)

Friday (March 24):