Week of October 1, 2023

1) Bishop Jeff Monforton appointed Detroit's 32nd Auxiliary Bishop

From Detroit Catholic: DETROIT — A native son of the Archdiocese of Detroit, Steubenville Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton will return home to serve as Detroit’s 32nd auxiliary bishop, the Vatican announced.

Pope Francis’ appointment of Bishop Monforton, who since 2012 has served as the bishop of Steubenville, Ohio, was made public early Sept. 28.

Bishop Monforton, 60, will assist Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron in the pastoral care of the approximately 907,000 Catholics in the Archdiocese of Detroit, where he served for 18 years as a priest from 1994 to 2012.

“On behalf of the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Archdiocese, I offer a heartfelt ‘welcome home’ to Bishop Monforton,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “This is the local Church in which his priestly vocation was nurtured, and we are blessed to have him be with us once again to help lead our efforts to unleash the Gospel.”

“I was pleased to learn of my appointment by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, as auxiliary bishop of Detroit,” Bishop Monforton said. “This appointment is bittersweet for me: My hometown is Detroit, and I look forward to ‘going home’ and serving the faithful of Detroit under the leadership of Archbishop Vigneron.

Bishop Monforton’s ministry in Detroit will begin Nov. 7, during a 2 p.m. Liturgy of Welcome and Inauguration of Ministry at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.

Read more about Bishop Monforton from the Detroit Catholic by clicking HERE.

2) Major relic of St. Jude, the 'apostle of the impossible,' to visit Detroit Oct. 13-17

Five-day stop is part of nationwide tour of major relic — a large arm bone — of first-century saint who walked with Jesus Christ

From Detroit Catholic: DETROIT — A major relic of one of Jesus’ twelve apostles will stop in the Archdiocese of Detroit for five days of public veneration next month.

The relic of St. Jude Thaddeus — a large piece of an arm bone believed to be the apostle’s — will be available for Catholics to visit, pray with and venerate Oct. 13-17, hosted by five different southeast Michigan parishes, one per day over that span.

The relic is visiting the United States for the first time ever as part of a nationwide pilgrimage sponsored by Treasures of the Church, an apostolate that brings relics to parishes and dioceses all over the world. The nine-month tour, which is scheduled into 2024, will visit dioceses in Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, with further stops to be announced.

Treasures of the Church is run by Fr. Carlos Martins, a Companions of the Cross priest based in Detroit.

During the Michigan visit, the relic will be available for veneration at the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak (Oct. 13), Immaculate Conception Parish in Lapeer (Oct. 14), St. Andrew Parish in Rochester (Oct. 15), the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit (Oct. 16), and Divine Child Parish in Dearborn (Oct. 17).

Each parish will host veneration and a special Mass. More details are available here.

In a video announcing the pilgrimage, Fr. Martins said the Holy See asked the apostolate to sponsor the relic, which has been venerated in Rome “since ancient times,” Fr. Martins said.

St. Jude has been known for centuries as the “patron of hopeless causes,” a powerful intercessor whose favors are well documented. One notable example is the favor granted to Danny Thomas, a down-on-his-luck actor who founded St. Jude Children’s Hospital in thanksgiving after praying before a relic of St. Jude in Detroit.

The relic Thomas venerated is now believed to be housed at Immaculate Conception Parish in Lapeer, one of the host sites for the Michigan pilgrimage.

“St. Jude is one of the Church’s most beloved saints,” Fr. Martins said. “His intercessory power with God and his uncanny ability to come through with a happy resolution to the petitions presented to him has earned him the nickname ‘the apostle of the impossible.’ More than any other saint, St. Jude is the saint to whom people turn when they are hopeless and have tried everything else to obtain a heavenly favor. St. Jude is one to whom people turn for hope.”

St. Jude Thaddeus is one of the original twelve apostles of Christ, and some Catholic tradition identifies him as a cousin of Jesus (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3). After Jesus’ ascension, traditions holds that St. Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya, suffering martyrdom in 65 A.D. while preaching near modern-day Beirut, Lebanon. He is often depicted in art with another apostle, St. Simon the Zealot, with whom he is believed to have been killed.

The Church’s tradition of venerating relics goes back to ancient times, when the early Christians would gather the bones of apostles and martyrs, many of whom were known in life to perform miracles and heal the sick through God’s power (Acts 5:15).

The visit of St. Jude’s arm to the Archdiocese of Detroit is an extraordinary opportunity to receive grace through the intercession of a man who literally walked with Jesus, said Fr. Mario Amore, director of the archdiocese’s Department of Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship.

“We are grateful for Fr. Martins’ initiative to bring the extraordinary pilgrimage of the major relic of St. Jude to the Archdiocese of Detroit. It is a wonderful opportunity for the faithful to encounter the ‘Apostle of the Impossible,’” Fr. Amore said. “While this relic physically puts us in contact with the person of St. Jude, one of the Twelve, the Church venerates relics to connect us to the person of Christ, whose companion Jude was in every sense of the word.”

Read More ...

Tour of the Relics of St. Jude the Apostle

Friday, Oct. 13

National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica

2100 W. 12 Mile Road, Royal Oak

Veneration begins at 1 p.m.

Mass in honor of St. Jude at 7 p.m.

Veneration continues after Mass until 10 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 14

Immaculate Conception Parish

814 West Nepessing St., Lapeer

Mass in honor of St. Jude at 11 a.m.

Veneration following Mass until 10 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 15

St. Andrew Parish

1400 Inglewood Ave., Rochester

Veneration begins at 2 p.m.

Mass in honor of St. Jude at 5 p.m.

Veneration continues after Mass until 10 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 16

Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament

9844 Woodward Ave., Detroit

Veneration begins at 1 p.m.

Mass in honor of St. Jude at 6 p.m.

Veneration continues after Mass until 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 17

Church of the Divine Child

1055 North Silvery Lane, Dearborn

Veneration begins at 2 p.m.

Mass in honor of St. Jude at 7 p.m.

Veneration continues after Mass until 10 p.m.

Watch the Video Announcement of the Tour by Clicking the Image Below

3) St. Vincent De Paul Clothing Drive - October 7 & 8

4) Blessing of Pets Next Saturday

5) Medicare Presentations

6) Feast Day of St. Faustina Celebration

7) Center for Exceptional Children

8) Caregiver Survival Presentation

9) Gala 2023: Save the Date - October 21, 2023

10) Interested in becoming Catholic? Do you need to complete your sacraments of initiation? Join the next OCIA class!

11) Wednesday Evening Confessions and Mass

12) Holy Hours on Thursdays

13) Ascension's Bible and Catechism App

14) This Sunday's Readings: October 1, 2023, 2023 - The Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

15) Sunday Reflections by Jeff Cavins

“The Mark of a True Believer” + The Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

In this week’s Encountering the Word video for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jeff Cavins discusses how we can determine if we really believe in Christ. The readings are:

First Reading: Ezekiel 18:25-28

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14

Second Reading: Philemon 2:1-11

Alleluia: John 10:27

Gospel: Matthew 21:28-32

16) Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

Classic Sunday Sermon: Becoming a Brick Wall of Integrity

Friends, our own wickedness and virtue belong to oneself. Though our communities and background stories affect our mind and will, nevertheless, the individual stands alone in the presence of God. We show God and the world who we are by the integrity of our moral acts. What we do defines who we are, and therefore we must cultivate the moral dimension of our life to avoid ethical calamity.

17) Grow+Go

18) 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.

19) This Week's Edition of TALLER Tales

Cruisin’ with Mom (Part TEN): For the last several weeks, I have been sharing about my trip with my mom on board the Viking Octantis for a Great Lakes Cruise. Our journey began in Toronto, and from there, we traversed the Welland Canal Locks and made stops in Port Colborne, Point Pelee, Detroit, Alpena, Mackinac Island, and finally, Milwaukee.

Early in the morning of July 26, our ship, the Viking Octantis, pulled into its soon-to-be anchored position near Mackinac Island. It was a cloudy and somewhat foggy day, so seeing even the Grand Hotel from our place was rather difficult. But one item could clearly be seen: the Octantis’ identical sister ship, the Viking Polaris, was already anchored not too far from us. Both ships were visiting Mackinac Island that day. While I was admiring the beauty of the other ship, as if looking in a mirror because it was the Octantis’ identical sister ship, that also meant one small problem: the ships, in total, would be bringing close to 800 people to Mackinac Island at the same time! 

Throughout the morning, the staff made a big deal that we had to remember we were on the Octantis because the tenders for both boats would be unloading and loading at the same location. Given these are identical sister ships, all the staff wear the same uniform, and all the tenders look alike (except for one thing, which I will explain later), it would be easy to get on the wrong tender and board the wrong ship if you weren’t paying attention. If you did get on the wrong ship, you wouldn’t get too far because your Stateroom keycard would essentially prevent you from being able to board the other ship. To help distinguish between the tenders, they put a Norwegian Flag on the tender going to the Polaris!

Since my mom and I were “locals,” we had no interest in any excursions but wanted to explore the Island on our own. Two days before the visit, my mom convinced me that we should rent two scooters so we both could use them. At first, I was somewhat reluctant to the idea, but I finally conceded (I don’t know why everyone keeps saying I’m in denial about how I walk). Even with my knee surgery and foot issues, I thought I could walk alongside my mom on a scooter, but I finally accepted that I would never survive all that walking.

Given there were so many tender runs out to the Island, and we were not leaving for another hour or two, I decided to watch the whole tender operation from start to finish with much more diligence. And the beauty of it all was that I could watch it in great detail from my Stateroom window. With the window down, I could lean over the edge slightly and watch the operation from the deck below me. There were two 120-person tenders on either side of the ship. It was fascinating to watch these large hydraulic arms extend from the ship with the tender fully locked in place, and then, with a few loud noises, cables would gently lower the tender into the water. Then, with a few voice commands from the crew both on the ship and the tender, the cables would be unlocked, and the tender would begin its journey to the disembarking dock. Then, once full of passengers, these tenders would quickly journey to the Star Line Dock #2, our destination on the Island. Each ship had one tender in operation, continually going back and forth to the Island. I’ll post in my Sunday Email some of the videos of the tender operation. It was fascinating to watch.

Once we got on the Island, my mom and I immediately noted all the crowds. I’ve never been on the Island with such crowds, but considering the two ships alone dropped off close to 800 people, you could understand why it was so crowded. Our first stop was to find the scooter rental place. Two scooters were ready for our use once we handed over our licenses, and they swiped our credit card. My mom immediately noticed my scooter was a different color than the one she was using and others in the scooter lineup. I then had to explain I was over their weight limit for the smaller scooter! I was already feeling somewhat bummed because I succumbed to using a scooter because I couldn’t walk that much, but then I had to have the “big person” version because of my weight and size! So then I felt old AND fat. Once my mom and I got used to the controls, we sped off toward the Grand Hotel. Boy, could those scooters fly!

There was so much to navigate! First, I couldn’t remember what streets to take to get up to the Grand Hotel, so I was trying to read my map while steering the scooter, all while trying to keep an eye on my mom so I didn’t leave her in the dust! I was getting a headache, not only because of the crowds but also because I was trying to navigate the scooter around all the horse-drawn carriages and all the horse manure! The last thing I wanted to do was ride over some horse poop with my scooter!

We took some back roads but finally made our way up to the Grand Hotel. Once I got to the top, I realized there was no way in the world I would have made it to the Grand on foot; at this point, I was thankful for the scooter. But the journey was difficult because I kept having to dodge all these horses and all the stuff they left behind! They don’t pay those people who spend their day picking up all that stuff enough money. What a job!

We finally got to the top and were trying to figure out where to park our scooters so we could go inside and work our way to the front porch! I circled around a few times, but someone directed us to the front door of the Grand. We waited in line until all the horse-drawn carriages in front of us unloaded their passengers. When we finally reached the front door, the attendant told us to drive our scooters into the main lobby. I was rather puzzled. “You mean simply drive in the front door? Then where do we go,” I asked. She smiled and directed us to a little corner in the front lobby where we could back the scooters in and keep them there during our short stay! So we did as we were directed. I then got out and stood in line at the hotel’s front desk reception line to pay our “admission” fee so we could get access to the infamous front porch and sit for a while. After paying whatever I had to pay, I turned around, walked back 40 or more feet to our scooters, and stopped dead in my tracks. I looked on the carpet, and as clear as mud over the Grand Hotel emblem, you could see wheel marks from MY scooter … going in and backing up to where my scooter stopped, and it only happened with MY scooter! UGH! Was it road dirt or horse manure that I just dragged into the Grand Hotel lobby? How embarrassing! I was convinced it was horse manure at this point, but I wasn’t going to kneel on the carpet to figure it out. I figured I had a medical excuse anyway because I couldn’t kneel and did as I was told! What a GRAND way to enter the Grand Hotel! This could only happen to ME!

Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers!

In Christ,

20) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz

How to Be Excellent (NOT a Perfectionist)

They say that perfection is the enemy of the good. But what is true goodness in a pursuit? What does excellence actually look like and consist of?

Today, Fr. Mike urges us to practice two qualities that lie at the heart of excellence: promptness and preparedness.

21) Words on the Word: October 1, 2023 - On Guard

When someone does something selfish that impacts us, it can hurt. When someone we are supposed to trust does something selfish that impacts us, it can hurt even more.

And when someone that we have no choice but to trust does something selfish that impacts us, it can cut extremely deep.

And so it was dismaying a few weeks ago to read media accounts of airline passengers in Miami becoming victims of theft by, of all people, the TSA agents who are supposed to be safeguarding our journeys. After all, it’s not as if anyone can opt not to have their bags checked by these agents while we are preoccupied with walking through the (also mandatory) detection devices.

But there it was in the media, actual footage of agents working together to rifle through bags and steal cash from unsuspecting passengers.

The agents in question were arrested in July, according to the story, and the cases are working their way through the legal system. Media coverage included the shocking revelation that one of the agents “confessed to ‘numerous thefts’ from travelers, admitting to stealing an average of $1,000 a day while working together.”

For those agents – and for anyone who might consider violating the trust of others – perhaps today’s words from St. Paul to the Philippians in today’s second reading might cause second thoughts:

“Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,” St. Paul writes, “each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.”

And for those who might fall victim to such deception, the reading concludes with equally poignant – if difficult – words of advice:

“Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus.”

Namely, forgiveness.

“’These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat,’” Jesus indicates they told their employer.

The boss’ response: “My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go.

“’Thus the last will be first, and the first will be last.’”

The bottom line is clear. Sometimes there is a true lack of fairness in the workplace and sometimes it may only be perceived. The same is true for life overall.

But keep the faith that, when it comes to the things that really matter, God is the boss. And he is always fair.

© 2023, Words on the Word

22) This WEEK on FORMED:

23) Hallow App:

24) Mass Intentions for the Week:

Monday, October 2, 2023, The Holy Guardian Angels (White) 

7:00 a.m., Katherine Sustrick 

Tuesday, October 3, 2023, Weekday (Green)

7:00 a.m., William Dobrzechowski

Wednesday, October 4, 2023, Saint Francis of Assisi (White)

7:00 a.m., Agnes & Jack Hubbard

6:00 p.m., George J. Bugarin

Thursday, October 5, 2023, Weekday, Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin; Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Priest (Green/White/White)

7:00 a.m., The deceased members of the Farley Family

Friday, October 6, 2023, Weekday; Saint Bruno, Priest, Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, Virgin (Green/White/White)

7:00 a.m., George J. Bugarin and a Special Intention for Christine Bugarin

Saturday, October 7, 2023, Vigil of the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)

4:00 p.m., Teresa Marzolino, Bonnie Batche, Virginia Burdsinski, Sally Cabot, George VanBecelaere, and special intentions for the Thomas Family, the J. Champine Family, for Alison Reslow, Pam Haisenleder and prayerful appreciation for the work of the priest and staff of SJA.

6:00 p.m., Debbie Albrecht

Sunday, October 8, 2023, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)

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

10:00 a.m., Kevin O’Connor

12:00 p.m., Mary J. Rademacher, Joan Hardy, Feliciana King, Grace & Sam Valenti, Mikie T. Artley, William Boyke and a Special Intention for the living and deceased members of the Lawrence VanOverbeke Family and Special Intentions for Alison Reslow and Pam Haisenleder

25) This Week on St. Joan of Arc LIVE:

This week's LIVE Stream

Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:

Monday (October 2)

7:00 AM - Mass

Tuesday (October 3):

7:00 AM - Mass

8:30 AM - School Mass

10:00 AM - Funeral for Angeline Calus (Read Obituary HERE)

Wednesday (October 4):

7:00 AM - Mass

11:00 AM - Medicare Presentation

6:00 PM - Mass

Thursday (October 5):

7:00 AM- Mass

7:00 PM - Holy Hour

Friday (October 6):

7:00 AM - Mass

Saturday (October 7):

10:00 AM - Exceptional Needs Faith Formation Opening Mass

12:30 PM - Baptism of Thomas John Trost

4:00 PM - Mass

6:00 PM - Mass

Sunday (October 8):

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.

26) SJA's Latest Parish Bulletin

Click on the image below

to download a copy of the bulletin

for October 1, 2023

27) Weekly Bulletin Mailing List

28) Detroit Catholic