Fourth Sunday of Easter - May 8, 2022 |
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1) Mother's Day: We give thanks and praise to God for all moms and grandmas, for the love they have shown us, and for the many ways they have nurtured us over the years.
Every year on Mother's Day we read Father Rich's Beatitudes of a Mother that he wrote many years ago in honor of his own mom. If you are interested in downloading a copy of his Beatitude of a Mother, please click on the button below.
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2) VBS 2022: Built for God - Registration Now Open |
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3) Festival RAFFLE Tickets |
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Thanks for your generosity with the selling and purchasing of raffle tickets thus far. As of this writing, we have already recorded the return of 8,140 raffle tickets (thus $81,400 dollars worth). AMEN! Keep the returns coming!
Our main drawing will take place on Sunday, May 22 at 5:00 PM. The event will be livestreamed at livestrea.stjoan.church.
I hope and pray you will consider buying or selling $100 worth of tickets! Your generosity will go a long way to help our amazing Parish to continue doing everything it does. PLUS, you might be lucky enough to win one of the raffle prizes!
Last year, we netted $145,000 from the raffle and proceeds from the food trucks. I am grateful for your amazing generosity in what you did to make “Festival” 2021 a fantastic success!
- If you are under 65, for every $100 worth of tickets you return, you earn ONE chance at the “Festival” 100% Drawings. If you are 65 or older, you earn ONE chance for every $50 worth of tickets you return. Thus, if you are under 65 and return $100 worth of raffle tickets, you can turn in 1 - 100% tickets. If you are 65 or older, turning in $100 worth of raffle tickets allows you to turn in 2 – 100% tickets. The 100% tickets are PRE-PRINTED on the enclosed YELLOW sheet.
- You can continue to turn in your raffle and applicable 100% tickets until the drawing on May 22, 2022. At that time, we will draw five (5) of the 100% tickets from the entire pool of tickets, and each will win $500.
I also wanted to explain that the senior designation is based on the date of birth we have in our database for the oldest member of your household. So, if the oldest person in your home is 65 or older, you qualify for the senior designation, and the word “SENIOR” will be printed at the top of each sheet of raffle tickets sent to you.
Raffle tickets can be dropped off at the Parish Center (through the mail slot in the door), in the Sunday collection boxes, or mailed to us.
Regarding the business reply envelope, I highly recommend that it no longer be used as we cannot guarantee that your tickets will arrive on time for the drawing. Instead, do everything you can to drop your envelopes off in person or use first-class mail after today.
Also, please read through the enclosed checklist to help make sure your tickets can be processed quickly and accurately. Please contact the Parish Center (586.777.3670) or visit tickets.stjoan.church if you need additional tickets.
Please know of my gratitude for your generosity! Let’s make “Festival” 2022 even more successful than “Festival” 2021.
Msgr. Mike
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4) Regarding the Festival |
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As I wrote in my letter that accompanied the annual raffle tickets that were mailed to every registered parishioner and many friends of SJA, this year’s “festival” will again be a food truck and raffle event only. We did give serious thought to expanding a bit to an entertainment tent for two of the nights, but I gasped when I saw the costs to rent the needed tents, white picket fencing, porta-pots, tables, chairs, etc. Then add the costs for security, setting up the electrical and networking, added liability insurance, and the needed repairs to the parking lot. In all, we were approaching $70,000 in costs. As much as we would have liked the community atmosphere and getting back to some sense of “normal” after the pandemic, it didn’t make any business sense to move forward with such a plan. We were doing great with just the food trucks and raffle tickets.
There is NO DOUBT we need some family and community events, but we can begin to plan these out so they take place throughout the year. In addition, we are working on bringing back what was once called the Parish Life Committee. If you have any interest in helping, send me an email!
We also know that Festival Weekend has to be redefined to fit our mission and vision as a parish. And this work still needs much discussion; we just didn’t have enough time this year to “redefine” things after seeing the staggering costs we would have incurred by adding the entertainment tents.
Some have asked about the future of the rides. With sadness, I report that the days of the big rides are now a thing of the past. Every year brought more challenges and more liability with the rides and the crowds. We tried the approach with the perimeter fence, but that only had limited success. As I said when we put up the perimeter fence, I repeat again, we will not be deterred by all the issues! Festival Weekend just has to be redefined and redefined to fit our mission and vision as a parish. It took until now to see clearly the road ahead. Now that we know the path, we can start redefining and building the future of SJA’s Festival Weekends.
Msgr. Mike
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5) Rachel's Vineyard Retreat Weekend: May 13-15, 2022 |
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6) SJA's Men's Fellowship Group Invites you to THE PROPHETS 10-Part Bible Study |
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7) 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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8) This Sunday's Readings - May 8, 2022, The Fourth Sunday of Easter |
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9) Sunday Reflections by Jeff Cavins |
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Jeff Cavins reflects on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter:
First Reading: Acts 13:14, 43-52
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 100:1-2, 3, 5
Second Reading: Revelation 7:9, 14B-17
Gospel: John 10:27-30
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10) Bishop Barron's Reflection for the 4th Sunday of Easter |
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Friends, during this Easter season we’re reading from the book of Revelation, that marvelous, final book of the Bible. In today’s reading, John sees mystically, across space and time, across the Christian centuries, all those people from all over the world who would give their lives for Christ. This army of martyrs compels a choice: Which army do we fight with? The army of the world, or the army of the Lamb, standing as though slain? |
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11) Grow+Go for the 4th Sunday of Easter |
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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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12) 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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13) This Week's Edition of TALLer Tales |
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Tracking Mom: I’m sure it will not surprise you that I have enough technology to “check-up” on Mom … okay, maybe track Mom. Obviously, we do all of this to make sure she is okay and safe! With her move back into the condo, this is the first time in her entire life that she will be living alone. When my dad was alive or when she was living with my sister, there were people around in the event something happened. You could only imagine the number of stories I hear from our elderly parishioners who have fallen or had something happen to them, and they could not reach a phone or otherwise call for help. I’ve heard too many stories of people lying on the ground for hours until someone figured something was wrong. As such, I’m a BIG advocate for using all the technology you can to allow our seniors to live at home while helping to protect them in the event of an emergency.
Now, my mom has a medical alert button! But where it resides most days is another story. I get that it’s a bit big; but sitting in the car or on the charger doesn’t always help our cause! She’s had one of these medical alert buttons for many years. When she first got one with GPS, some of the family traveled to Chicago, and she was wearing her new button. My dad enjoyed calling me at different points of the trip to see if I could tell where they were at dinner or walking around. So I would go on the app, which tracked the button, and within seconds I could pinpoint even the restaurant at which they were eating.
My sister and her kids decided to create a backup plan for Grandma while she was living with them. Given that it’s a busy household, telling each other what was going on each day proves to be a challenge. And, given they live out in Allenton, any journey to run errands takes several hours because of the distance to get to most of the major stores. So they installed the Life360 app on my mom’s and a few of their phones. This way, they would know if mom got to her destination safely without calling her frequently. The Life360 app indeed tells a lot. For example, at one of our Sunday meals, one of the grandkids called grandma out for how fast she was flying down Capac Road once! I find it all fascinating. I even enjoy looking back on my Google timeline, which tracks my whereabouts; it’s fascinating to watch my journeys on a particular day. But then I have to recall why I went to Troy Beaumont or why I traveled through Utica, for example.
One day, not too long ago, mom “disappeared” off all the tracking devices, and she wasn’t answering her phone! This sent a sense of panic across the family. Sound familiar? “Where’s mom? Have you talked to her lately?” “When was the last time you talked to her.” “I saw on the Ring camera she left the house at 10:30. But we haven’t heard from her since.” Texts were flying. Calls were being made. “You call Mom,” I was told, “she’ll answer your call right away.” It wouldn’t bother many of us years ago if a call went unanswered for hours, but the same cannot be said about our lived experience today. In the days of instant access, we worry if calls aren’t acknowledged or answered in a very short timeframe.
Eventually, mom was found. I remember seeing the text and only laughed. The text said: “Mom’s shopping. She’s okay.” Of course, she was out shopping. She was probably at one of her newfound stores like Floor & Décor, Shelby Design Center, or she was roaming the aisles of Home Depot or Lowes putting things together for her condo. If she was out shopping, she was definitely okay!
I remember the zoom call that night. It was pretty funny. “Come on,” my mom started, “I was out shopping, and my phone was in my purse. I don’t stare at my phone all the time like you guys do.” Then there was a pause, and she continued, “Forget about the Velcro parent idea. I’ve got a bunch of Velcro kids! I’m not sure what’s worse!” It’s only because we love you, Mom! Wait till she sees what we got her for Mother’s Day!!!
TALLer Tales Milestone: This is somewhat of a milestone weekend for TALLer Tales. When I give it a file name, each of my TALLer Tales columns is sequentially numbered too. This edition of TALLer Tales is number 900! I find it hard to believe that this is the 900th edition of TALLer Tales. As I go back and review previous editions of TALLer Tales, I realize how this column has become somewhat of a mega journal not only of the life, antics, and escapades of my family but also of our amazing parish since I became pastor in 2004!
When I first started including funny stories about my family and/or our parish life in TALLer Tales, I quickly learned from your comments how important it was to keep it going. I enjoy hearing people sitting in Church before Mass with a bulletin in hand, just laughing away. And, yes, the stories are all true!
Thanks for being such faithful readers and for all of your great comments and encouragement! I enjoy writing TALLer Tales!
Happy Mother’s Day: As we celebrate this special day dedicated to moms, we take a moment to thank and pray for our mother, who gave us life and showed us love. We pray for mothers who lost a child through death that they may continually turn to their faith to find hope and assurance their child is in the loving arms of the eternal Father. We also pray for women who care for the children they encounter daily, even though they have no children of their own.
While looking for some reflections on Mother’s Day, I found this reflection from blogger Christy Wilkens: “Motherhood is a path for mothers to sanctify their families, and for mothers, in turn, to be sanctified by and through their families. And moms, in order to do this, God gives you the family that you need. I want to reemphasize that. He gives you the family that you need. He doesn’t give you your neighbor’s family, or your best friend’s, or your frenemy’s. He may not even give you the family you want, the family you hoped and prayed for, the family you dreamed of since you were a young girl. For many of us, it means a family bigger or smaller than we imagined. But He gives you the family that will sanctify you.”
Since so many call or email around Mother’s Day seeking to find a copy of Father Rich’s Beatitudes of a Mother, a PDF copy of it has been posted on the homepage of our parish website. Consider sharing and/or reading Father Rich’s Beatitudes of a Mother at your Mother’s Day gathering!
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Enjoy the week. Happy Mother's Day. Know of my prayers.
In Christ,
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14) Tire Tracks in the d’Arc |
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Day of the Triffid—Part II: If you read this column last Sunday, you will recall the woes of my coffee plant, which has been an unproductive collection of leaves in varying states of life, or lack thereof, for the past six years. It used to sit on my desk, but due to my own negligence, and Dina’s insistence that my little coffee plant “likes spending time with Auntie Dina,” it has been in the PC conference room for a while… after it outgrew Dina’s office.
Last week, I mentioned that Dina had been re-potting the plant into bigger and bigger tubs and that the plant had taken on a life of its own. Well, I can report an Easter Miracle! Clearly my little plant’s ears were burning and it knew it was being written about. Maybe it walked down the hallway and read the article on my laptop when I wasn't looking… it’s probably able to walk these days since it’s apparently no longer “root bound” (I quote a certain business manager). Either way, as last week’s bulletin was going to press, I heard a scream of delight from the hallway (that may be an exaggeration). The unthinkable had happened! After six years of just trying to survive my “care,” my little coffee plant had grown a flower!
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I’m stunned… and a little unsure of what to make of this new and suspiciously-timed development. There was some suspicion that my coffee plant had cross pollinated with the orchid it has been sitting next to for a while… both white flowers, but I looked all this up and sure enough, that's a coffee plant flower. Beans to follow?! Time will tell.
Of course, Dina has been telling me that all my little plant needed was to be shown a little love and it would thrive, so the flower has emboldened her. Maybe… but it’s been six years…. as advertised. I’d say it’s right on schedule!
But, I will give her this one. I have no green-fingers, so Dina deserves the coffee mug I got her.
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It may be a little premature to be warning-up the Keurig machine, but soon enough!
However, last week I mentioned my concern over this new responsibility I was taking on of a plant with a more active social life than me life, that no longer sits harmlessly on my desk, being ignored.
After this flowery development, on Monday morning I checked to see how my little plant was handling this change and I noticed that the soil was very dry. Dina said to use the pitcher she’d left beside the plant. And then my concerns were confirmed. It seems that the ever-increasing tub sizes have led to the plant taking-up so much real-estate that someone has had to take out a mortgage on it!
Easter Miracle—Part II: Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in the parish. I have to report that not only did I successfully remember UK Mother’s Day back in March (even if my mom received a “Happy Birthday Mother’s Day” card), but I also managed to remember to buy a Mother’s Day card for next year. Just remind me in early March, “It’s in the brown box, Father!”
Yes it’s all a dance, but it’s worth it. Because she’s worth it. My mom is worth it. You are all worth it, and so much more.
For all the moms in the parish, long-experienced, expectant, those with one child and those with 10, thank you! Thank you for being mom.
Thank you for all the sacrifices and the sleepless nights; for teaching us to stand on our own two feet in this world; for your loving words and embrace; for the wise advice that we didn’t appreciate until we grew-up; for years of sandwich-making to take to school; for all the home-baking; for tolerating our moods and band-aiding our scraped knees; and for getting dad to fix the broken windows (oops!).
Every year, some families are unable to say thank you to mom one more time. Many have had to say thank you and a sad goodbye sometime since we celebrated this day last year and they will be missing mom this year.
There are also moms who have lost a child in the last year and who have had to entrust the Lord with the care of the soul of the child He allowed them to nurture in this life. There is always a particular concern for these moms at the funeral of their children, no matter the age of their child.
For all of us, let us be consoled to know that one thing never changes from year to year: it’s May, the month of Mary, our Blessed Mother. She still has us under her maternal care. She is still watching over us, caring, loving, nurturing, guiding and interceding for us. Let all of us, her children, offer a prayer of gratitude today to the mother of our Lord and our Blessed Mother, Mary. Thank you and we love you, Mom!
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You are in my prayers this week.
Fr. Andrew
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15) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz |
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Does God Have a Love Language?
Most of us are familiar with the 5 Love Languages; gift-giving acts of service, physical touch, words of affirmation, and quality time. But which of these is how God gives and receives love?
Today Fr. Mike shares with us how God often loves us not in the way we might expect or prefer but in the way that most draws us into union with him.
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16) Words on the Word: May 8, 2022 - Together Again!
We’ve seen plenty of coverage of ways in which Covid has changed everything from our working habits to our entertainment habits to, alas, our worship habits.
At the beginning of the pandemic, when many houses of worship either were mandated to close to public worship, or chose on their own to do so, there was a fair amount of scrambling that took place.
Some churches simply rode out the storm, as it were, waiting for the all-clear to re-open doors. Many others either began using, or enhanced their already-begun usage, of livestreaming services, helping to maintain some sense of normalcy.
In the earliest days and weeks of pandemic, many will recall, religious leaders continued to offer mass or conduct their services for “virtual” congregations, while the buildings themselves were empty.
A recent article in the Detroit Free Press reported on one such case, a Baptist church on Detroit’s North End, where services were held for more than a year with only three people in attendance. The story noted this year’s Easter celebration was the first since 2019 in which the full congregation was able to gather in person, enabling them “to celebrate their faith and spiritual sense of place.”
It’s the type of story – and the type of celebration – so familiar to so many people of goodwill. And it’s one for which we can thank God for the ability not only to have continued worshiping during the worst of the pandemic, but for the ability to come back together in person now.
“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me,” Jesus says in today’s gospel passage from St. John. “No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.”
© 2022, Words on the Word
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17) 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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18) 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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20) Mass Intentions for the Week: |
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Monday, May 9, 2022, Easter Weekday
7:00 a.m., Angela Maria DiBerardino
Tuesday, May 10, 2022, Easter Weekday, Saint Damien de Veuster
7:00 a.m., The deceased members of the Calisi Family who died in the month of May
Wednesday, May 11, 2022, Easter Weekday
7:00 a.m., A Special Intention for Jack Shaughnessy
Thursday, May 12, 2022, Easter Weekday, Saints Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs, Saint Pancras, Martyr
7:00 a.m., Daniel Grady
Friday, May 13, 2022, Easter Weekday, Our Lady of Fatima
7:00 a.m., Raymond Brazier and a Special Intention for Jack & Peg Shaughnessy
Saturday, May 14, 2022, Vigil for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
4:00 p.m., Michael Reynolds, the deceased members of the Walsh Family, Bonnie Batche, Richard M. Barno, Raymond Johnson, Ricky Banasinski, Foyad Arraj, Lynne Doyal, and Special Intentions for the Hollern Family, the J. Champine Family, the Thomas Family and for Mary Margaret Paige
6:00 p.m., Lori Karol
Sunday, May 15, 2022, the Fifth Sunday of Easter
8:00 a.m., For the Intentions of Saint Joan of Arc Parishioners
10:00 a.m., Dorothy Shuder
12:00 p.m., Betty Kane, James LeFevre, Thomas Blondell, Frank Bradley, Lorraine Wolanski, Nicodemus Krawczyk, Joseph Paluzzi Jr., Raymond Johnson, Sylvia Thomas, Ralph Gasperoni, and Bill Morelli
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21) This Week on St. Joan of Arc LIVE: |
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This week's LIVE Stream
Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:
Monday (May 9):
7:00 AM - Mass
Tuesday (May 10):
7:00 AM - Mass
8:30 AM - School Mass (Grades 5-7)
Wednesday (May 11):
7:00 AM - Mass
8:30 AM - School Mass (Grades 1-4)
Thursday (May 12):
7:00 AM - Mass
7:00 PM - Holy Hour
Friday (May 13):
7:00 AM - Mass
Saturday (May 14):
12:30 PM - Baptism of Luca David Rugginello
1:30 PM - Baptism of Wyatt A. Antosiek
4:00 PM - Mass
6:00 PM - Mass
Sunday (May 15):
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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22) SJA's Bulletin for Sunday, May 8, 2022 |
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Click on the image below
to download a copy of the bulletin
for April May 8, 2022
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23) 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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