1) Easter Greetings from Msgr. Mike | |
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This is the night of which it is written:
The night shall be as bright as day, dazzling is the night for me, and full of gladness.
The sanctifying power of this night dispels wickedness, washes faults away,
restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners,
drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty.
(The Exsultet – The Solemn Proclamation of Easter)
Dear Friends in Christ,
The above lines, taken from the Solemn Proclamation of Easter, known as the Exultet, remind us of the incredible power of Christ’s resurrection. With all the distractions that fill our every waking moment, the sacred liturgies we celebrated this past week provided a much-needed pause to remind us that we must keep our hearts and minds focused on Christ and the power of His resurrection. Staying focused on Christ can be challenging, whether we are just going about our daily activities, dealing with personal or family tragedies, or we find ourselves worried and discouraged as we watch the news. Yet, through it all, we need to trust that Jesus is walking with us and that He will use the power of His resurrection to bring light into the darkness around us.
Remember that Jesus promised He would never leave us orphaned or abandoned. Stay close to Him! Bring Jesus into your hearts and homes, unlike any other time. And reflect on the ultimate message of these days, namely that every Good Friday, every cross we bear, brings about an Easter Sunday. We may not know when that Easter experience will shine forth, but we need to trust that Christ will see it through because of His great love for us!
May we be like the early disciples of Jesus, who used the power and grace of the resurrection to transform lives. In Christ’s name, may we go forth to bring peace to our family and friends, may we go out and bring mourners joy, and most importantly, may we go out and help dispel all kinds of darkness and evil so that the Kingdom of Christ may continue to grow in our midst. There is, indeed, great power in the resurrection of Christ. It’s up to us to use the great power that Christ has given us!
Happy Easter!
With best wishes and prayers for you and your family, I remain,
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2) Running to the Risen Jesus | |
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The disciples ran to the empty tomb when they heard about the risen Jesus on the first Easter. Even Peter, who ran away from him and then denied him three times, ran to Jesus.
Do we have that kind of excitement when it comes to embracing our risen Lord? We are not citizens of this world. We are made for heaven, and in this Easter Octave the joy in acknowledging that fact resonates throughout the Church. In our baptism, we became a new creation in Christ. With his resurrection he ushers in a new beginning.
Jesus is alive! With the Ascension, he took his rightful place at the right hand of the Father, but he is still among us in the Eucharist, in his Word, and in you and I.
So take heart and have hope in the resurrection, no matter what you may be going through.
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3) Northeast Regional Eucharistic Congress - Saturday, April 6th | |
4) Ascension's Bible and Catechism App | |
It's Here: The Bible & Catechism App!
The word of God and the complete teachings of the Catholic Church. Answers and commentary by Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, and other experts. Video, audio, and textual commentary. Right on your phone.
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The Ascension App Includes:
The full text of the Great Adventure Catholic Bible with color coding interwoven throughout so you can immediately recognize where you are in the story of salvation history.
The full text of the Catechism of the Catholic Church with The Foundations of Faith color-coding built in.
Every episode of Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz for easy access and cross-referencing with your reading plan and Scripture.
Every released episode of the Catechism in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz so you can easily stay on top of your daily readings.
Summaries, the exact wording of Fr. Mike’s daily prayers, and extra content for every single episode of Bible in a Year.
Over 1,000 commonly asked questions about the Bible with answers right in the text from experts like Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, and others.
An interactive reading plan for both podcasts that tracks your progress.
Notes and bookmarks so you can quickly pick up where you left off and write down your reflections and prayers along the way.
…And we're just getting started. More to be announced soon!
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5) Holy Hour on Thursdays | |
6) This Sunday's Readings: March 31, 2024 - Easter Sunday | |
7) Sunday Reflections by Jeff Cavins | |
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How Jesus’ Resurrection Changed the Church
In this week’s Encountering the Word video for Easter—the Resurrection of the Lord—Jeff Cavins tells us that since Jesus is risen from the dead, our hearts and our lives ought to change to reflect that reality. The readings are:
First Reading: Acts 10:34A, 37-43
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4 or I Cor 5:6B-8
Alleluia: cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7B-8A
Gospel: John 20:1-9
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8) Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon | |
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Evidence of the Resurrection
Friends, a very happy and blessed Easter! We come to the climax of the Church’s year, the feast of feasts, the very reason for being of Christianity. Everything in Christian life centers around the Resurrection. And the Church gives us, every year, the account of Easter morning from the Gospel of John. I want to bring out just one feature that John especially draws attention to—namely, the burial cloths left behind in the tomb. These strange and wonderful cloths that opened the door to faith long ago could perhaps do the same thing today.
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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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10) 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.
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11) Along the Way with Father Adam | |
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Happy Easter!
Alleluia, Christ is Risen!
We began our Lenten journey with a recognition of our sinfulness on Ash Wednesday… “repent and believe in the Gospel.” We followed Jesus as we accepted His invitation to take up our cross through acts of prayer, penance and sacrifice, so that we might more wholeheartedly follow Him.
We were with Jesus as He triumphantly entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. We sat with Jesus on Holy Thursday when He bent low and washed our feet, so as to prepare us for reception of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. We stood next to Jesus on Good Friday when He endured the humiliation and passion of the Cross to provide for us a path towards salvation. Having sat at the table with Him and having stood at the cross with Him, we can now stand at the empty tomb and proclaim, with Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, Jesus is Risen! Death did not have the final word. Light has overcome darkness; new and everlasting life is offered to all people.
Today, as we celebrate and experience the Resurrection of Jesus anew, let us follow the example of Mary Magdalene, Peter and John; let us go and share with others this incredible, inexhaustible, unrepeatable, Good News; Jesus is risen, death has been defeated, light and goodness have triumphed. Jesus is truly risen, and alleluia is our eternal song! Happy Easter!
Be Fearless, Be Joyful,
Be Renewed:
Living the Spirit of Easter
The Easter season—beginning on Easter Sunday and continuing for 50 days—is an opportunity for us to cultivate a spirit that defines who we are as Christians. So, what does living the spirit of the Easter season mean in practical terms? Here are three concrete suggestions.
Live with Joy
Joy is a deep-down gladness that cannot be taken away, even in the midst of sorrow. The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus teach us that suffering is transformed through faith in the Risen Christ. With this faith, we are able to hold on to an enduring sense of joy even in the midst of the sadness we experience from the loss of a loved one, a failure to achieve an important goal, or a setback during recovery from an illness.
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Live without Fear
The Resurrection teaches us that God can overcome anything, even death. When the Risen Christ appears to the women at the tomb and later to his disciples, his first words are “Do not be afraid!” (Mt 28:5,10) These words speak to our hearts, helping us cope with the fear from the loss of a job, a serious illness, or a crumbling relationship. Our faith allows us to trust that God can overcome our most serious problems.
Live with New Eyes
Easter means to live with a sense of newness. Just as the return of spring lifts our spirits and makes us feel like the whole world is new, the Resurrection of Jesus makes “all things new.” (Rev. 21:5) The Easter spirit is a spirit of renewal that enables us to show up at work with a positive attitude, to renew relationships that have been taken for granted, and to express appreciation and affection to those closest to us. It means to see the world through new eyes—God's eyes.
We can use these 50 days to cultivate an Easter spirit that enables us to be truly Christian: embracing joy, living without fear, and seeing the world again—as if for the first time.
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12) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz | |
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Pray with Us:
The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
Today, Fr. Mike invites you to pray the Sorrow Mysteries of the Rosary with him.
“In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…”
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13) Words on the Word: March 31, 2024 - Ode to Joy | |
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It seems like there are some things in this world one cannot learn out of a book, but … well, here’s this:
According to a headline on an internet news portal, a new college class is proving that “You can learn to be happy.”
Now that’s an interesting one. It’s based on a class being run at a university in the United Kingdom, a class that, by the way, involves no actual work and no tests.
Seems like a good way to make students happy. But, alas, according to the story, while learning about happiness demonstrated some short-term spikes in joy, the real key is that people who want to be happy must keep up habits like meditation, journaling, gratitude and exercise.
“It’s just like going to the gym,” a happiness expert was quoted as saying in the story. “We can’t expect to do one class and be fit forever. Just as with our physical health, we have to continuously work on our mental health, otherwise the improvements are temporary.”
Perhaps all of this can be filed in the category of, “Well, duh!”
And yet, the good news is that there is a better way to find and keep happiness and joy. And it’s the news of Jesus’ resurrection we celebrate today.
“On entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed,” we hear in today’s gospel from St. Mark.
“He said to them, ‘Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’’”
He is risen! He is alive!
Amen! Alleluia!
© 2024 Words on the Word
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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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15) 52 Stories: Good News from Spirit Juice Studios | |
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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!
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Janessa's Story
At the age of 19, Janessa unexpectedly became pregnant. In this personal testimony, she recounts her journey to motherhood and the emotional, practical, and spiritual support she received from Aid for Women.
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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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17) SJA's Garden Angels are looking for Volunteers | |
19) Mass Intentions for the Week: | |
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Monday, April 1, 2024, Monday within the Octave of Easter (White)
7:00 am, Joseph Rademacher,
Tuesday, April 2, 2024, Tuesday within the Octave of Easter (White )
7:00 am, Special Intention for the Family of Tina Calisi
Wednesday, April 3, 2024, Wednesday within the Octave of Easter (White)
7:00 am, Robert Ziolkowski
6:00 pm, Charlotte McQuillan
Thursday, April 4, 2024, Thursday within the Octave of Easter (White)
7:00 am, Jerome Rogier
Friday, April 5, 2024, Friday within the Octave of Easter (White)
7:00 am, Antonio Calisi
Saturday, April 6, 2024, Vigil for Divine Mercy Sunday (White)
4:00 pm, Grace & Sam Valenti, Joseph Drouin, Bonnie Batche, Anna Maria Dombrowski, Charles Semany, and Special Intentions for Alfred Sandoval, the J. Champine Family, the Thomas Family, for Alison Reslow, Pam Haisenleder, Lorraine Jonas, and Linda Frank and Prayerful appreciation for the work of the Priests and Staff of St. Joan of Arc
6:00 pm, James Forrester
Sunday, April 7, 2024, Divine Mercy Sunday (White)
8:00 am, For the Intentions for St. Joan of Arc Parishioners
10:00 am, The deceased members of the Mara Family
12:00 pm, Daniel Drop, the living and deceased members of the Rogier and Dettloff Families, Ignatius Shaheen, Gary Mecurio, Anna Maria Dombrowski and Special Intentions for Alison Reslow, Pam Haisenleder, Lorraine Jonas, Linda Frank and Denise Tujaka on her Birthday.
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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 (April 1)
7:00 AM - Mass
Tuesday (April 2):
7:00 AM - Mass
Wednesday (April 3):
7:00 AM - Mass
12:00 PM - Funeral for Margaret Segodnia
6:00 PM - Mass
Thursday (April 4):
7:00 AM- Mass
7:00 PM - Holy Hour
Friday (April 5):
7:00 AM - Mass
10:00 AM - Funeral for Gary Waszak
Saturday (April 6):
11:00 AM - Mass and Baptism of Hunter Tobin and Ethan Vandelinder / Reception into the Church of Dr. Kristopher Kuhl
4:00 PM - Mass
6:00 PM - Mass
Sunday (April 7):
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.
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21) SJA's Latest Parish Bulletin | |
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Click on the image below
to download a copy of the bulletin
for March 31, 2024
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22) Weekly Bulletin Mailing List | |
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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