Dear Friends in Christ,
Here are a few updates from our parish for the week of October 31, 2021.
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1) A Little Background on Halloween |
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Fr. Jack Collins, CSP, from Busted Halo, hits the streets of New York City’s scary Greenwich Village, asking young adults what they know about the origins of Halloween — how it began, why people wear costumes, and the two Catholic holidays surrounding All Hallow’s Eve. |
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2) All Saints Day Podcast by Edward Sri |
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As the Catholic Church gets ready to celebrate All Saints Day, Dr. Sri reminds us that this great solemnity is not just about remembering those great canonized saints, it’s also about recognizing all those unknown holy men and women who faithfully followed Jesus throughout the ages. Dr. Sri invites to reflect how God may be calling us to be saints and to love extraordinarily in our ordinary circumstances. To listen to the show, click on the button below.
Snippet from the Show
On All Saints Day, we remember all the holy women and men, both canonized and unknown, who loved God and others extraordinarily in their ordinary circumstances.
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3) All Saints' Day Masses at SJA:
Our mass schedule for Monday, the Solemnity of All Saints is as follows:
7 AM
12 PM
7 PM
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4) Respect Life Reflection |
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Bridges of Mercy for Healing After Abortion:
There are many ways individuals can help be a bridge of mercy for those healing from abortion. This flyer from the USCCB offers several ways you can help someone heal and thus become a bridge of mercy.
To download the two-page flyer, click on the image below.
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5) Coordinator OPENING - Center for Exceptional Needs |
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The mission of the Center for Exceptional Needs at St. Joan of Arc is to enable persons with a variety of challenges to encounter Jesus Christ and develop a friendship with him in a supportive and caring environment. Through faith formation and Christian fellowship, students learn about the Word of God, our Catholic faith. They come together with loving cate to share faith, friendship, love for one another, and to appreciate all of God’s creation. This is a seasonal part-time position. (Oct-May.)
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6) SJA's CSA Update as of October 30, 2021 |
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I am grateful to those who have already contributed to CSA 2021. As of today, we have $180,799 in pledges and gifts toward our $217,002 goal ($168,172 has already been paid thus far toward our total pledged amount). This amount represents gifts from 553 families (we have 3,279 families registered). We have thus achieved 83% of our goal!
Here is a breakdown by gift range:
$2,500+ (6)
$1,000+ (35)
$500+ (46)
$250+ (104)
$100+ (210)
$75+ (15)
$50+ (70)
$25+ (39)
$10+ (24)
$0+ (3)
As stated above, the easiest way to give is electronically by clicking on the button above. If you wish to give by check, feel free to contact the Parish Center and we will mail out an envelope and related material.
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7) This Sunday's Readings - October 31, 2021 |
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8) Jeff Cavins: Encountering the Word - Reflections on the Sunday Readings |
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In this week’s Encountering the Word video, Jeff Cavins reflects on the readings for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.
First Reading: Deuteronomy 6:2-6
Responsorial Psalm: 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
Second Reading: Hebrews 7:23-28
Alleluia: John 14:23
Gospel: Mark 12:28b-34
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9) Grow+Go for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time |
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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 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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11) This Week's Edition of TALLer Tales |
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Watching a Little Too Much HGTV! I’ve shared with you in recent TALLer Tales that my mom is renovating her condo. My parents have lived in the condo for about 30 years. Up until now, there haven’t been any significant changes or renovations to it. It’s a fabulous condo and functions well, but it was time to freshen it up a bit.
Not too long ago, my mom and I were out shopping for marble and tile. I was amazed by how much my mom knew about all of this stuff. She knew all the lingo and could compete with any general contractor in dealing with the salespeople as we were shopping. When we finally sat down for lunch that day, I was exhausted because of all the choices and things you have to consider with a major renovation. As we were waiting for lunch to arrive, I sent a text to my Uncle Glenn, one of my mom’s brothers who is an architect, and told him, “So, I’m out shopping with my mom. Your sister needs to stop watching HGTV!!! Every day is a change order … SMILE!” But, HGTV has given her some awesome ideas for making changes in the condo.
One of our stops last Friday was to Floor & Décor on Hall Road in Shelby Township (next to Costco). That was my first time in that store. I. Was. Overwhelmed. I couldn’t believe all the different options for tile, marble, and flooring. When I first walked in, I had a flashback to when I was a kid and visited (and this will undoubtedly date myself) the Christmas Toy Shop at Hudson’s downtown for the first time. I immediately decided I would need to return to Floor & Décor one day just to walk around. But, given that my mom was on a mission and knew everything she had to do, I needed to stay focused and help her rather than wander the aisles (which I love to do at DYI stores).
When we finally met up with the in-store consultant and designer, she walked around with us to change the original quote my mom created a few days earlier. We started by looking at tile and grout. My mom was well versed with the types and colors of grout. I thought grout was either white or beige. Was I wrong! Then my mom asked the designer to see some kinds of Schulters that were available. “Schulters? What in the world is a Schulter,” I thought to myself. We walked over to this aisle of “Schulters,” and my mom made her pick. I was trying not to look totally ignorant and was quickly seeing if the labels on the shelves could help me figure out what in the world a Schulter was. I finally got the courage to interrupt the designer and the “general contractor,” … aka my mom … as they were conversing away in what was like a foreign language to me. I learned a Schulter is a brand name but is a commonly used term for any kind of tile edging and trim (like we would call a copy room a Xerox room). Then my mom wanted to see some “subway tiles” for the basement bathroom. Subway tiles? What in the world is a subway tile? I was totally out of my league. At that moment, I realized I needed to watch a bunch more HGTV to get caught up to speed with my mom! Holy Smokes. It was fun watching my mom toss these terms around and get so involved as if she’s been a general contractor and doing renovations all her life. I was totally amazed!
As we were getting ready to walk out of Floor & Décor and move on to our next venue, my mom turned to me and said with a great smile, “And here Dad thought my watching QVC was dangerous and expensive!”
The Solemnity of All Saints: While there are many beautiful feasts and solemnities in the church’s calendar, the celebration of all the saints is one of my favorites. Even though it is not a holy day of obligation this year because it falls on a Monday, many people like to celebrate this Solemnity. As such, our mass schedule for the day is 7 AM, Noon, and 7 PM.
The Solemnity of All Saints celebrates all the saints, the known and unknown ones now in heaven. They, like us, were often ordinary people who answered God’s call to serve in some capacity. They had struggles. They had ups and downs. They doubted. They had dark nights of the soul. But they persevered in their commitment to Christ. They were sinners, like you and me, who had fallen but then had the courage, with the grace of God, to stand back up.
A couple of years ago, I received an email from my favorite icon store, Monastery Icons. The email wasn’t your typical sales email but instead contained an article entitled “7 Reasons Why the Saints are Important.” I thought I would paraphrase the article here.
The article opened with these words: “In these challenging times, it’s wise to ‘get back to the basics’ and reflect on what a great gift we as Christians have been given in the examples and the living intercession of the saints. Let’s consider just seven of the many, many reasons why the saints are important in our lives.”
1: The Saints are REAL. The saints and their stories and words were not legends or some equivalent to super-heroes or two-dimensional historical figures, however inspiring. They lived on earth and still live in the heavenly world. 2: The saints struggled with the very problems we do … and much worse. As we deal with the pandemic and the shutdowns, it might be good to consider St. Catherine of Siena, who ministered to the sick in her town who were dying from the Black Plague. The saints had to deal with limitations on Christian worship and speech. As a result, the saints know what we are going through. They lived through similar circumstances and will respond to our calls for help. 3: The saints are our heavenly helpers. Throughout the church’s history, the faithful have called upon the saints to respond to our prayers, to bless, protect, heal, and sanctify us. As the saints themselves turned to saints to help them on their journey on earth, we should call upon the saints to help us on our earthly journey. 4: The message of the saints’ lives and teachings are timeless and timely. While we may never face a demanding emperor or torturer, the supernatural courage and heroic examples of the saints who had to face their own challenges should be an inspiration for us as we face the challenges and persecutions of our day. 5: The words and actions of the saints are a sure guide and authority on how we should live. With material on FORMED, YouTube, and other places on the web, it’s easy to learn about the saints, their challenges, and their heroic virtues. As such, search out this material, learn about the saints, and allow their words and examples to guide your earthly journey. 6: The saints are the best role models for sanctity. “If we make the remembrance of the saints our constant companion and study, we will find their example becoming the measure for our own behavior. You become what you contemplate….” 7: Make friends with the saints, and they will be with us and help us. “Christian tradition clearly shows us the way to open a window into heaven. If we place the icons and images of the saints in our home and church, honor and pray to them (especially on their feast days), and remember to always turn to them for guidance and help in every need, however great or small, we can experience for ourselves their blessed protection, healing, and intercession.”
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Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers!
In Christ,
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12) Tire Tracks in the d’Arc |
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To Be A Saint: It was a head-scratcher: “Father, I don’t want to be a saint, I just want to be a good person and get to heaven.”
“Hmmm…” I thought. The goal is good, for sure, but there something lost in translation here. Tomorrow, November 1st, is All Saints Day. It may not be a holy day of obligation this year, falling on a Monday, but it is certainly a holy day of opportunity. It’s a chance to pray for the intercession of all the saints, those holy men and women who have fought and succeeded in winning their battle and being rewarded with eternal life. They are the cheerleaders who “will” us on the way as we struggle to one day obtain this same reward. No, it may not be a holy day of obligation, but holiness as a way of life and engaging in this daily battle is absolutely an obligation; to become a saint, that’s the only purpose in this life—to become a saint and to make saints of others too. Simply put, a saint is someone found worthy of eternal life, someone who lives now and forever in heaven.
Many of the known saints lived extraordinary lives and overcame tremendous challenges. We know many of their stories. We have devotions to many and we list many at mass and in our private prayer. We invoke their names and ask for their prayers for particular favors, often related to their patronage. Many more lived very “ordinary” lives. Maybe they had to struggle with ordinary life, ordinary temptations, ordinary sinful habits, ordinary challenges. They may be family members or friends, but their prayers are no less powerful and should equally be invoked in our prayer. There is sometimes a tendency to automatically canonize those who die. As Catholics, we are certainly called to be a people of hope in God’s mercy, but we’re also called to be a people of prayer. That’s why we invoke the prayers of the saints on All Saints’ Day, but immediately follow that up with All Souls’ Day on November 2nd. We pray for God’s mercy for ourselves and for all those who have gone before us, but we never presume upon His mercy. If we presume a soul to have gone to God, there’s a danger that we can ignore the work of mercy we are called to in praying for the dead. And if we do not pray for the dead, we will be denying them the prayers they may still need to advance to God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is very clear about this. Purgatory is defined as “the state of final purification after death and before entrance into heaven for those who died in God’s friendship, but were only imperfectly purified; a final cleansing of human imperfection before one is able to enter the joy of heaven.”
That definition is cause for comfort and for hope. God is not expecting our perfection in this world. We are broken, flawed individuals, who God calls into His presence, and knowing that, it makes sense that there would be a process through which we would be required to undergo a purification before being fit for God. Who wants to go to heaven and find that it’s full of the same struggle and desire for things that are not of God as we were trying to overcome in this life? Purgatory is an opportunity to be perfected, the struggle we try and ultimately fail to complete here in this life. But the other source of hope for those who are going through that purification is that they are already considered to have “died in God’s friendship” that is, that they died in a state of grace, and they are simply in need of our prayers to complete the final step in their conversion.
Of course, that also should be a motivator for us, to do all we can not to presume upon God’s mercy for ourselves, but to use the means God has given us to actually be aware of where we are in our struggle—to be aware of our sins by listening to, and examining, our consciences, and where necessary, in bringing those sins to the Sacrament of confession. Our conscience and the sacrament itself are the means God gives us to remain, or return to, a state of grace and to re-unite our souls with Him when our sins have severed that relationship. Our minor, venial sins are forgiven by the act of contrition at the beginning of mass, but our serious, mortal sins require individual confession and it’s important that we make sure we therefore understand the difference. Again, the Catechism can be a helpful place to begin. (Paragraphs 1854-1876). Let us never presume upon God’s mercy, without asking for it.
It is not a cliché to say that pride is the root of all sin. To some degree, it is always present in our thinking-process when temptation is overcome by reason. What the saints had was the ability to recognize their sin, the humility to admit it and the desire to change.
The Litany of Humility is not an easy prayer to mean sincerely, but it’s one we could probably all use at times:
Lord Jesus. Meek and humble of heart,
Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That final petition: “That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,” gives me hope, as I hope it does for you.
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You are in my prayers this week.
Fr. Andrew
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13) Words on the Word: October 31, 2021 - No Greater Commandment
With the flip of the calendar page, we are already midway through another professional football season. And what would a professional football season be without some controversy?
Headlines were made around the NFL – and across the country – a few weeks ago when a well-known head coach was found to have written some hateful, racist, misogynistic email messages in the past. The coach was summarily dismissed, and debate ensued.
Commentators were quick to point out just how terrible the emails were; teams and individuals scrambled to erase their previous winning associations with the coach.
At the time of this writing, it was unclear if the matter would ultimately grow into a larger, league-wide imbroglio or come to an end.
It was noteworthy, though, that one player from the coach’s until-recently current team took a different approach: “I love the man, and you hate the sin,” the player told reporters. “Like for anybody, no one is perfect. But long story short … you feel sorry for everybody involved, but I will always be someone, no matter who does what, I’m going to love you. And if that’s wrong, then I’m okay being wrong.”
What a refreshing, counter-cultural way to assess the situation, an approach clearly in keeping with Jesus’ approach to shepherding his people.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength,” Jesus says in today’s gospel passage from St. Mark, continuing, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”
As with everything Jesus says, the lesson applies across the board.
It’s applicable to the coach, to be sure, and it’s applicable to those he hurt and to everyone who offers their commentary.
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14) Ascension Presents with Father Mike Schmitz: |
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Do I Have to Go to Mass?
Sunday Obligation Explained
Why do we go to Mass every Sunday? Is it because of what we “get out of it”? Is it the way it makes us feel? Is it out of love for God? Or something even deeper and more profound?
Today, Fr. Mike explains the Church’s teaching on Sunday Mass obligation, and why this is the way that God has asked us to worship him.
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15) 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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17) This Week on St. Joan of Arc LIVE: |
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This week's LIVE Stream
Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:
Monday (November 1 - Solemnity of All Saints):
7:00 AM - Mass
12:00 PM - Mass
7:00 PM - Mass
Tuesday (November 2):
7:00 AM - Mass
Wednesday (November 3):
7:00 AM - Mass
Thursday (November 4):
7:00 AM - Mass
12:00 PM - Funeral for Frank Mozek
7:00 PM - Holy Hour (Praise and Worship Music)
Friday (November 5):
7:00 AM - Mass
5:30 PM - Baptism of Emree L. Naumann
Saturday (November 6):
12:30 PM - Baptism of Gianna M. Capek
1:30 PM - Baptism of Gianna Peterson
2:30 PM - Baptism of Joseph Simon
4:00 PM - Mass
6:00 PM - Mass
Sunday (November 7):
8:00 AM - Mass
10:00 AM - Mass and Family Faith Formation
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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18) SJA's Bulletin for October 31, 2021 |
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Click on the image below
to download a copy of our
Bulletin for October 31, 2021
The 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Weekly bulletin: 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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