At our weekend Masses, we pray the prayer for Priestly Vocations after the prayers of the faithful. I thought I would share in my Sunday email, some vocation stories that recently appeared in Detroit Catholic.

Whether ordained at 25 or 70, priests say Jesus can come calling at any point in a man's life — and he ought to be ready

DEARBORN — At 28 years old, Fr. David Pellican carries the distinction of being the youngest priest in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

He was very young when he first thought about the priesthood — 10 years old, in fact — and while the archdiocese wouldn’t accept a vocation that young, he began his studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary four days after his 18th birthday.

“I was very young when I first thought about the priesthood,” Fr. Pellican, of Divine Child Parish in Dearborn, told Detroit Catholic. “Our family knew some priests that we had over for dinner and stuff. I didn’t know all that being a priest would entail. I think I told my parents when I was 10, but they didn’t think much of it, because I was a kid; who knows what I’d say the next week?”

On the other end of the spectrum, Fr. Joe Lang, 87, of the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak, is among the most senior priests serving in the archdiocese.

DETROIT — Transitional Deacons Richard Dorsch, Jeremy Schupbach, and Andrew Smith are preparing to be ordained priests in just a few months.

Hear how God spoke to them individually and particularly to call them to their vocation to the priesthood. They share what they have learned throughout their discernment journey, their prayers for these final months, and their hopes for what kind of priests they will be.

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 Third Sunday of Easter:

First Reading: Acts 2:14, 22-33

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-21

Alleluia: Luke 24:32

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35

Friends, we come to this Third Sunday of Easter, and our Gospel is Luke’s account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. This masterpiece is a summation of the spiritual life, and it starts with two disciples of Jesus walking the wrong way.

Getting Old: Besides all the aches and pains that accompany getting older (more on that next weekend), I’ve noticed that my immediate reaction to problems and issues has changed a bit. Until recently, I would jump in and try to deal with an issue or problem. Last weekend, I did a “double take” on my own reaction to a plumbing problem on campus. It was a sure sign I was getting older!

As I mentioned, years ago I would jump right in and deal with a problem, any problem. When you’re the pastor or lead priest at a parish with aging buildings, you learn quickly what is needed to fix just about anything temporarily. You become a “jack of all trades but a master of none.” I have my bag of tools and other things (Gorilla Tape, Flex Tape, Super Glu, WD40) that have helped me temporarily fix just about anything. If an issue happens, I love dropping everything to go and deal with whatever issue is confronting me.

I remember a few years ago when Father John Bettin and I were finishing up being in the office on a Friday evening when he heard the sound of gushing water in the Parish Center. It was one of those frigid days, and a pipe burst in the Parish Center kitchen that sent a ton of water into that half of the Parish Center and throughout the basement. I remember he and I grabbing some boots and a few tools, and while waiting for help to arrive, we just got down to business to fix the issue. We went down to the basement, and while standing in the water trying to assess the damage, we saw the water literately gushing through the electrical panels. Father John and I looked at each other simultaneously and said, “We probably shouldn’t be down here standing in the water with that sight!”

Then you might remember last Christmas Eve when a pipe burst in the back of the Church. Father Andrew left the altar in vestments to help the team of people deal with the gushing water flowing into the Church. It took everything I had to stay up at the altar and focused rather than get involved. My curiosity got the best of me, so I texted Father Andrew during the readings to find out how bad it was back there. I choked when I saw the answer: “HUNDREDS of gallons.”

Well, the other day I had to use the Parish Center bathroom. This is the larger bathroom near the kitchen. For anyone who has ever used that bathroom, you know that it used to sound like a dangerous whitewater rapid every time you flushed the toilet. We often joke that you had better stand back a few feet when you flushed that toilet; otherwise, you could be taken captive by the gravitational pull of the water going down that toilet.

Well, I flushed the toilet, and it just bubbled and gurgled. “That was weird,” I thought to myself. So, I flushed it again, and it bubbled and gurgled again. It was like watching a volcano waiting to erupt. I was already late going over to confessions, so I took some mental notes about what I might need later in the afternoon to fix the problem. Then I saw the water had gone down significantly, so I thought I would try flushing it again. Much to my amazement, it bubbled up even more. I decided I would deal with it later, so I grabbed my coat and started to walk out the back Parish Center door near Father Andrew’s house. As I got close to the door, I heard the sound of gushing water in the basement. “Uh-oh.” I thought to myself. “Houston, we have a problem.” As I descended the steps, I saw water all over the floor. When I turned the corner, I could see the sewer pipe had busted, and water was flowing out of it and onto the floor. “I don’t have time to deal with this,” I thought to myself. So, I did what any OLD priest would do: I rolled my eyes, waved it off, walked back upstairs, and called Dina and Pete and told them we needed a “Clean Up in Aisle 5!” Yikes, I’m one of those OLD priests now!

The Annual Raffle, A Kick-Off to Summer Event, CSA, and other Parish Events: For the last few months, the Parish Leadership Team and I have been working with our School and Athletic Leadership Teams and other Pastoral Staff Members to determine a new path going forward for some of our annual events. We were mindful that we needed to bring back or create some new parish-wide social events. We have been brainstorming what could be done that would align with our core values and mission. As a band of disciples on mission with Christ, our missionary nature must be reflected in all our activities, from the way we celebrate the liturgy to how we engage all our parishioners, young and old, new and long-standing, in every ministry or event we undertake. Because our task as a parish is to lead all souls to heaven, we have decided that all of our ministries, outreach, and events need to be transformative, radically hospitable, and each needs to boldly make disciples.

First, we have decided to change up the events of what used to be the old festival weekend. We decided we would have instead a “Kick-Off to Summer” event for the whole parish that will take place on Sunday, June 11th, after the 12-noon mass. The day will be family focused. Doing anything on the old festival weekend often put us at odds with the weather. Moving the date to early June gives us a better chance for warmer and sunnier weather. We’ll have food trucks that day and all sorts of family-focused activities. This will also be the date for the annual raffle. More details about this day will be forthcoming. The annual raffle tickets will be mailed in early May.

We’ve already restarted the 85+ senior dinners (by the time you’ve read this article, we will have already had all three planned gatherings). In addition, we have an Alumni Social scheduled in August. A Marriage Date Night has been set for mid-August, a Parish Breakfast in September, the annual School Gala on October 21st, a “Fall Fest” in late October, a Family Game night in November, and a Marches de Noel and Nativity Story Gathering in early December.

When we mail out the annual raffle ticket packets, we will include a full calendar of events with all the details. I just wanted to give a “bird’s eye view” of our plans.

Regarding the annual Catholic Services Appeal (the CSA), we will hold off on that initiative until late June.

As you will see, we have some great events planned for the remainder of the calendar year. I’m grateful for the hard work of our Leadership Teams and staff who have helped put all of this together to benefit our incredible parish community.

Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers.

In Christ,

IX out of X for Effort; Zero for Execution: Last week I mentioned that I was planning to plant some vegetables and I promised an update on progress. I didn’t expect it to be yet, but make hay while the sun shines.

Last week I decided it was a good time to start my project. I was planning to build a raised planter. Frankly, the way the cost of lumber has sky-rocketed recently, I was open to buying a pre-made box too, so I headed-off to Home Depot scope it all out. On the way there, I was talking by phone to a friend who is always working on some project or another. I asked, out of interest, “So when you’re working on something, do you like to plan it on paper, or just go to the store and figure it out as you go?” We both agreed that just going to the store and “winging-it” was more fun, but that sometimes it’s more complicated and you have to figure out how many pieces you can get out of each piece of lumber to avoid wasting any. “This one is a simple project, though,” I said.

So I got to the store and found a reasonably-priced planter box, though it was not raised off the ground. So I decided I could easily enough make legs for it, color them and attach the box. I went over to the lumber section and picked-up the wood. The planter was made of cedar wood, so I went to the paint and stain department, found some exterior stain for the legs in a small can. I found the color-swatch and what I thought was a good match for the box and I took the stain to be mixed. It was all going so well. Then I pick-up some soil bags and headed home to set to work.

I measured the width of the planter and framed-up one set of legs in an “X” shape, wider at the bottom for stability. I measured the top of the legs so that the top width matched the bottom of the planter. Then I squared them off level so the planter would sit horizontally on top. With one set of legs framed-up, I lay it down on the garage floor to model it for the second set. I went to grab the rest of the lumber and had to kind of do a double-take. “Tell me I didn’t do that…Tell me I didn’t… I did, didn’t I?!”

Remember how I said this was a simple project that I could plan as I went along? Guess what I’d done….. My expertise in math is lacking….I’d only allowed for 3 legs!

IX out of X for effort; zero for execution. In carpentry terms, this is known by the same term as it is known in any other endeavor: “a fail.” But, undeterred, I am ever-resourceful. Some would return to the store… “But have you seen the price of lumber these days?!” I’m not one to return to the store to try again, unless I have to. So I decided I could find another way to make my tripoded-planter a go. And I did! Buuuut…. Not without further math issues. I measured the third leg up against the set I’d already made, taking into account the horizontal header on top that was for attaching the planter. And I cut the leg to size to match that. With the off-cuts, I made a header for the third leg and screwed that on top. Then I screwed the other off-cut onto the bottom to make a foot. So now I had a nice “I” shaped leg and I rested it up against the first set of legs….. And I hung my head…. “How did that happen?!” The third leg was 1.5 inches taller! Of course, it was easy to see… the first set of legs was an “X” shape so it didn’t need a foot. The third leg had a header AND a foot! Head in hands…. A simple project, right?!

So I unscrewed the header and cut 1.5 inches off the leg and screwed the header back on. Finally, they matched…. Well, kind of…. height-wise at least.

By now, one of our office staff was watching out the window of the Parish Center kitchen, amused by what was going on. “Unique, at least,” he said. “That’s right!” I agreed, “Have you seen the price of lumber these days?!”

By now it was starting to rain, so I gathered-up my tools and moved inside the garage and stained the legs. “Four hours to fully dry” the can said…. “I need to get this done,” I said, “10 minutes is close to four hours!” So legs stained I fixed the box on top.

Okay, so it may not be pretty. But I had an objective here; I set out to grow vegetables, and life on the farm is not always pretty. No-one ever looked at their filet-mignon on the plate and asked what its cow-shed looked like before life went south!

Realizing I could use a bracket between the legs for stability, I considered borrowing one temporarily from the work-bench I built a few weeks ago, but I know how that goes…. it would never get replaced. At that moment, the friend I had been talking with on my way to Home Depot stopped by. He was about to build a sandbox for his young niece, who lives a couple of streets away from St. Joan. He was on his way to Home Depot and so he asked if I wanted him to pick-up some more wood for me. I said, “Sure, since you’re going anyway. An hour later he was back with my 2x4, which I measured and cut to size. Now I had to get the stain out again or else it would never get stained and would stand as a reminder of my incompetence for ever more.

By now it had been 3 hours since I stained the first stage of the project, “Three hours is almost four hours.” So I put the planter out in the backyard, minus the new leg-bracket. I filled it with soil and planted the seeds—cucumbers and carrots. Stay tuned!! The moral of this story?.... Urgh...answers on a postcard….

You are in my prayers this week.

adawson@sjascs.org 

In an increasingly digital age, we do more and more things virtually. And while we can use technology to help us listen to the Bible in a Year or connect with like-minded Catholics, why is it we must receive the sacraments in person?

Today, Fr. Mike reminds us that we are a body and that the Lord uses our physical humanity to do the work of healing and restoration like we receive in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

We live in tenuous economic times.

A number of things have conspired in the recent months to suggest, at the very least, that the period of economic expansion the United States has enjoyed for some time may be on the wane.

A recent story in the Wall Street Journal warned, perilously, of a coming “lost decade” economically, based on an analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based World Bank. It cited several factors in the projection, from Covid-19 to high inflation, from the war in Ukraine to an aging workforce, and from weakening investment to slowing productivity.

“Across the world, a structural growth slowdown is under way,” the bank is quoted in the story as saying. “At current trends, the global potential growth rate – the maximum rate at which an economy can grow without igniting inflation – is expected to fall to a three-decade low over the remainder of the 2020s.”

That’s a sobering forecast, to be sure.

But there’s more to be said.

First, the so-called experts have been wrong before, and things can change quickly, including in a positive way; optimism has a way of gaining momentum.

But even if that’s not the case, the good news is that our ultimate happiness is not tied to economic success, but to the victory of Christ which we celebrate this Easter season.

“If you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning,” we hear in today’s second reading from the First Letter of St. Peter. “Realizing,” he goes on to say, “that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb.”

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7:00 a.m., Simone Vandekerckhove

7:00 a.m., The deceased members of the Calisi Family who died in the month of April

7:00 a.m., Bayard Kurth

6:00 p.m., A Special Intention for Jason Gerard on his 50th Birthday

7:00 p.m., Norm Durfee

7:00 a.m., Hugo Calisi

4:00 p.m., Bonnie Batche, Michael DePetro and Special Intentions for the J. Champine Family, the Thomas Family, the Long Family, the Plath Family, the McManus Family, the Morton Family, for Alison Reslow, and for Alfred & Linda Fincham on their 50th Wedding Anniversary

6:00 p.m., Dr. Edmund Aubrey

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

10:00 a.m., A Special Intention for Matt & Ashley Forrest

12:00 p.m., Dennis Venuto, Richard & Virginia Robinette, Dominic R. Ortisi, Katherine A. Bush, the deceased members of the McMahon Family, Rosario Medina, Jeffrey Hardy, Daisy Marie Buenavista, Feliciana King, Alison Reslow

10:00 AM - Funeral for Suzanne Roland (Read Obituary HERE)

10:00 AM - Funeral for Diane Rochwalski (Read Obituary HERE)

10:00 AM - Funeral for Neil Murtha (Read Obituary HERE)

Thursday (April 27):

12:00 Noon - Funeral for Jaclyn Maul (Read Obituary HERE)

Friday (April 28):

7:00 AM - Mass

10:00 AM - Funeral for Catherine Francis (Read Obituary HERE)

12:30 PM- Baptism of Paityn R. Moran

1:30 PM- Baptism of Mila Rose Petrus

2:30 PM - Baptism of Jack Elliott Jarvi

4:00 PM - Mass

6:00 PM - Mass