Week of March 17, 2024

1) Northeast Regional Eucharistic Congress - Saturday, April 6th

2) Confession Opportunities During Lent

During the season of Lent, we have scheduled the following confession opportunities:

Tuesdays: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Wednesdays: 4:30 PM - 5:50 PM

Saturdays: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

The Sacrament is celebrated in the Sr. Carol Center; signs are posted in the Gathering Place with further directions.

There will also be two communal penance services in the SERF Vicariate. These are communal penance services with individual confession. These have been scheduled for:

Wednesday, March 20 at 1 pm at Our Lady of Hope

Monday, March 25 at 7 pm at St. Joan of Arc

As we have mentioned at the weekend masses, don't worry if you've forgotten the prayers or how to go to confession because we will guide you through it. And, it doesn't matter how long it has been since you've last gone to confession. Just come and experience the Lord's awesome gift of mercy!

From Ascension Presents: Confession is a place of never-ending mercy and forgiveness, and is one of the most beautiful parts of our Catholic faith. But for many, it can also be a very daunting experience, especially if it’s been a long time since your last confession. Whether it’s the first time you’ve gone in a year, or it’s the first time you’ve gone in your life, God is ready and willing to forgive your sins. All we have to do is let him into our hearts.

In the following video, Fr. Mike Schmitz explains how to approach going to confession for the first time in a long time.

3) Bad Lent? Start Over!

This is an oldie but a goodie! The message is simple: If you're having a bad lent, then just start over!

4) A Walk Through Holy Week

Next weekend is already Palm Sunday and marks the beginning of Holy Week. As we prepare for Holy Week, it's good to look at the various liturgies that mark this most significant week of the Church's liturgical year. In the following video, I walk through each of the Holy Week liturgies and offer a brief explanation of each of them.

5) Holy Week and Triduum Schedule

Below is our schedule of liturgies and Masses for Holy Week, the Triduum, and Easter Sunday. Our liturgies and Masses will also be live-streamed at livestream.stjoan.church.

Monday (March 25):

7:00 AM - Mass

7:00 PM - SERF Reconciliation Service with Individual Confession

Tuesday (March 26):

7:00 AM - Mass

1:00 - 2:00 PM - Confessions

Wednesday (March 27):

7:00 AM - Mass

4:30 - 6:00 PM - Confessions

6:00 PM - Mass

Thursday (March 28):

7:00 PM - Mass of the Lord's Supper

Good Friday (March 29):

12:00 PM - Stations of the Cross

12:30 PM - Divine Mercy Chaplet

1:00 PM - Liturgy of the Lord's Passion

Holy Saturday (March 30):

11:00 AM - Confessions

12:00 PM - Blessing of Food

8:00 PM - Easter Vigil

Easter Sunday (March 31):

6:00 AM - Mass

8:00 AM - Mass

10:00 AM - Mass

12:00 PM - Mass

6) Ascension's Bible and Catechism App

7) Holy Hour on Thursdays

8) This Sunday's Readings: March 17, 2024 - The Fifth Sunday of Lent

Please Note: For the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent, we have the option of using the CYCLE A Readings at Mass because of the rituals for the OCIA Candidates. At SJA, we will use the Cycle A readings.

9) Sunday Reflections by Jeff Cavins

Jeff Cavins reflects on the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent:

First Reading: Ezekiel 37:12-14

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Second Reading: Romans 8:8-11

Gospel: John 11:1-45

10) Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

Is Death the End?



Friends, on this Fifth Sunday of Lent, our Gospel is John’s story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Let’s face it: we are all haunted by death. No matter what we accomplish in this life, we know that it will all be swallowed up in the end. The fear of death broods over the whole of life. But does death have the final say?

11) Grow+Go

12) 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.

13) This Week's Edition of TALLER Tales

An Unusual Problem; An Unusual Solution: Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up even if I tried! And when it involves my sister Jackie, all bets are off for how creative she can unknowingly be with the unique problems she gets herself into. She often provides entertainment at lunchtime simply because her stories are hilarious; hearing her tell them is equally hilarious!

It was a Wednesday night. I just finished a Leadership Team meeting, and my mom and I decided that I would come and pick her up as she and I were going to spend that Thursday and Friday at Stoney Pointe (that trip alone will be a subject for a future TALLer Tales).

As you know, I have my mom’s house totally rigged; it’s one massive Smart Home. I was on a tight schedule and wanted simply to “scoop up” my mom and begin the drive back to SJA. I didn’t get to my mom’s house until 9:15 p.m. Within seconds of landing in the driveway, my sister Jackie called me. “What’s wrong with mom?” I was baffled. “What do you mean, what’s wrong with mom? Do you know something I don’t know?” My sister responded, “NO, our Ring app just sounded, and Lonnie thought it was the front door and a notification that yet ANOTHER package landed on the doorsteps from Amazon; I was already getting THE LECTURE. I was trying to figure out what I ordered but then he caught that the motion was from Mom’s condo and that you were in the driveway.” I settled that issue quickly and assured her I was getting Mom a day early so I didn’t have to drive to Shelby Township on Thursday.

Once I got my mom’s stuff all in the van, we began the journey back to SJA. On the way, my mom made a call to Jackie. At this point, Jackie was seated on her couch. When she went to pick up the phone to answer the call, her phone dropped in the crack between the end of the sofa and the armrest. She ended up answering the call from her watch. As she grabbed the phone, her arm got stuck in the couch! She tried to wiggle it free with some coaching from us, but it wasn’t budging. She couldn’t recline that seat in the couch nor wiggle her arm free. My brother-in-law had already gone to bed. Jackie tried calling for him, but he didn’t answer. She called even louder, but there was no response. So, I decided to think about ways to use all of her house’s electronics to get his attention. Knowing this would take some skill, we stopped at a gas station at North and 23 Mile Road so I could focus and figure this problem out.

My first thought was to use the “drop-in” feature on her Alexa devices. With this feature, you can “drop-in” to any allowed device, hear that location, or converse with people where that other Alexa device is situated in the home. I often use this feature to listen to when my dryer is finished drying a load of clothes. I can be over at my office or in my bedroom and hear my dryer’s sound when it’s finished. But I wasn’t sure the Alexa devices would be loud enough to wake up Lonnie. “Hmmm,” I thought to myself. I know, I have the ultimate solution that would certainly wake him up: I would set off their Ring alarm. Jackie was sitting right next to the Ring Alarm box, so it would be deafening for her but loud enough to wake Lonnie up. “So, cover your ears,” I said. But that request was problematic because she only had one useable hand now! I then hit the appropriate button on the Ring app on my phone and set off the alarm for a few seconds. Lonnie came flying out of the bedroom, thinking something significant was wrong. We heard Jackie assure him everything was okay except that her hand was stuck in the couch! At one point, Lonnie asked if she let go of the phone. “OF COURSE, I’m not holding the phone. Just get my hand unstuck.” After about 5 minutes, Jackie was able to break free with only minor bruises on her wrist!

Yes, we’re a complicated bunch! It certainly was an unusual problem, and I’m glad I had an unusual solution! But my technology saved the day again! All we could say is that this could ONLY happen to Jackie!

The Spiritual Consequences of Living a Hurried, Busy Life (Part FIVE): This is a continuation of my reflection on and quoting from an article written by Frank Powell, a young adult minister, entitled, “7 Spiritual Consequences of Living a Hurried, Busy Life.” The full article can be found at http://bit.ly/SpiritualConsequences.

Last week, I reflected on the third of the seven spiritual consequences mentioned in the article: “A hurried life decreases your capacity to love others.” The fourth spiritual consequence is: “A hurried life increases the power of temptation.”

“Why did Jesus wait until he was 30 to begin his ministry? Why did he immediately go into the wilderness with the Spirit for 40 days after his baptism? Through my American lens, it seems like Jesus wasted most of his life doing nothing. He could have performed miracles long before 30, and his following might have been larger. Who knows, more people might know Jesus today if he started his ministry earlier. That’s a no-brainer, God. Why can’t you see what I see?

“The 30 years Jesus spent in relative obscurity weren’t wasted years. God was developing an important virtue in Jesus … patience. Through temptation, Satan tries to decrease the time between impulse and action. And, in our instant gratification culture, Satan has masterfully deceived people. So many of my mistakes … are the result of looking for instant gratification. Could it be that Jesus lived a perfect life largely because he started his ministry with a strong understanding of patience and waiting? These virtues take time to build. When you nurture patience, you trust God,” notes Frank Powell.

I like to remind people that Satan takes the most advantage of us when we are (and I like to use the acronym HALT) hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Unfortunately, being tired seems to be an essential ingredient of most people’s busy lives today. Yes, folks, Satan exists and will do whatever he can to make us trip and fall. So, we have to take care of ourselves. We must ensure we don’t grow hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. As Saint Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 5:8-9: “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith!”

May we do all that we can NOT to live a hurried, busy life so that we will have the strength and stamina to resist Satan, all of his works, and all of his empty show!

Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers!

In Christ,

14) Along the Way with Father Adam

Preparing for Easter: Receiving God’s Healing and Strength

God gave us the Ten Commandments – His Laws of Love – so that we would know how to remain close to Him through placing the Lord first in our lives, and loving ourselves and our neighbor as He loves us. Sin is a departure from this call to receive God’s love and give God’s love. Guilt, shame and sadness may be felt in breaking God’s Laws of Love because when we sin, we harm others as well as ourselves, and thereby we offend God, who loves us unconditionally.

Sometimes we sin deliberately; sometimes we do not intend to do so, but we find ourselves treating another person in a way that is hurtful. We can see how greatly we are impacted by the effects of Original Sin as there is an inclination or “pull” toward sin in all areas of our lives. We continually face temptation because of this reality. Temptation is an attraction, either from outside oneself or from within, to act contrary to right reason and the Commandments of God.

There are three sources of temptation: 1) the world – referring to everything about human life and society that is in any way opposed to God; 2) what Scripture calls “the flesh” – referring to our fallen human nature; and 3) the devil – a “liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44) who is a fallen angel and is the leader of the fallen angels who rejected God and became evil. The fallen angels lure and entice us to give in to evil and disobey God. 

All human beings are faced with temptations to think, say or do things that are wrong. As long as we refuse to give into the deceptive suggestions, or temptations, there is no sin. It is only when we say “yes” and follow through with the temptation, that we actually commit a sin. It is essential to remember that God allows temptation, but He is never the Author of it. 

The steps of how we go from being tempted to actually committing sin can be listed as follows: 

• A temptation arises from the world, the flesh, or the devil. 

• We entertain the thought and then “toy” with it instead of immediately rejecting it. 

• We begin to delight in the suggestion and yield to its attraction. 

• We decide to move in this direction and actually choose to sin in thought, word or deed. 

God gives us every help needed to be victorious over temptations, and to break sinful habits. These helps include daily prayer, reading the Word of God to fill our minds with the Truth, Christian fellowship, and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion every Sunday. These strengthen us to do the opposite of what the temptation proposes and to think ahead and avoid the near occasion of sin. We can choose to stay away from those thoughts, words or places/situations in which we find ourselves vulnerable to make a bad choice. Examples: A person addicted to sweets should stay away from the candy aisle. A person being a poor steward of their time by spending an inordinate amount of time with technology should acknowledge it and set boundaries. A person that gets pulled into gossip should change the subject when the topic of conversation is anything that is not positive or helpful. 

When we do commit sin, the Lord has given us the Sacrament of Reconciliation. By this Sacrament we are forgiven and receive the power of God’s grace to help us overcome the confessed sins. There is nothing that we can do that is so terrible that God won’t forgive us if we are sorry. It shows God that we really love Him when we tell Him we are sorry for having offended Him and want to be forgiven. He desires to forgive us, strengthen our friendship with Him and restore our peace and serenity of conscience. We will want to frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation as it provides great hope for overcoming sinful habits. 

Don’t deny yourself this amazing grace, as we approach Easter. Jesus has obtained this grace for you, and me, not only to resist temptation, but the grace to receive His forgiveness when we fall. This amazing gift to us has been purchased for us at the price of Christ’s Blood, shed in His Passion and Death and made available to us through His Resurrection!

Blessings!

Fr. Adam

anowak@sjascs.org

15) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz

When a Miracle Doesn’t Happen

Fr. Mike Schmitz delves deeply into the profound significance of the leper’s words to Jesus:

‘If you will it, you can make me clean.’

This verse from Matthew’s Gospel embodies the very essence of faith. Fr. Mike explains how this statement captures the heart of faith in two ways: the trust inherent in believing that Christ can purify us and the trust involved in believing in him even if he chooses not to. Fr. Mike says this is the faith you are made for. It is the kind of faith that can change the world.

16) Words on the Word: March 17, 2024 - Wake-Up Call

A quick glance at the calendar indicates we are now just under a month away from that most dreaded of springtime traditions, Tax Day. For those who haven’t already gotten things wrapped up, or at least in motion, it’s a wakeup call.

Taxes, of course, are one of the two inevitable things everyone must deal with. Death is the other.

There is not a single person who doesn’t eventually face death. Lent is a good reminder for us of this inevitability, prompting as it should a reflection on what is most important in the big picture.

For some people death comes in more trying circumstances than usual. Media reported a few weeks ago on an execution in Afghanistan that took place in a sports stadium in front of thousands of people. According to a story reported by the Associated Press, this instance involved a man that had been convicted of murder. It was “the third such … sentence to be carried out in five days,” and the fifth in the last few years, according to the story.

The terrible and unfortunate circumstances involved in that situation are noteworthy, to be sure, and illustrate the reality of our fragile condition more explicitly than many others. And yet, we know death remains a reality.

The good news, of course, is that Jesus’ conquering of death – and the benefit we are privileged to receive as a result – is even more real.

“If Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness,” we hear in St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, one of the options for today’s second reading.

“If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.”

© 2024 Words on the Word

17) This WEEK on FORMED:

18) 52 Stories: Good News from Spirit Juice Studios

Prepare to be Inspired

Spirit Juice Studios is blessed to work with countless Catholic organizations, dioceses, parishes, and schools. We get to help them tell their powerful stories about all the good stuff that is happening within the Church. Sign up for 52 Stories so we can share them with you! You’ll meet the unsung heroes of the Catholic Church, discover the stories of holy women and men around the world, and witness miraculous moments of God’s grace in everyday life.

In a world full of bad news, these stories will give you 52 reasons to believe that God is working through the Catholic faith to transform lives through His love and mercy. Sign up today!

Cathedral Towers

Consecrated in 1889, the Diocese of Providence’s Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul is a magnificent expression of the faith of the immigrant families who helped build it and of the continued witness of the Church in Rhode Island today. This video, created as part of an appeal for the Cathedral’s restoration after structural integrity issues were discovered in 2019, highlights the Cathedral’s beauty and spiritual heritage.

19) Hallow App:

20) SJA's Garden Angels are looking for Volunteers

21) St Basil the Great Parish St. Patrick / St. Joseph Celebration Dinner

22) Mass Intentions for the Week:

Monday, March 18, 2024, Lenten Weekday, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Purple) 

7:00 am, Joseph Snyder

Tuesday, March 19, 2024, Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Purple)

7:00 am, Gerald Valeck

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, Lenten Weekday (Purple)

7:00 am, The deceased members of the Calisi Family who died in the month of March, 

6:00 pm, George J. Bugarin

Thursday, March 21, 2024, Lenten Weekday (Purple)

7:00 am, Lowell Leininger 

Friday, March 22, 2024, Lenten Weekday (Purple)

7:00 am, Howard & Lola LeFevre

Saturday, March 23, 2024, Vigil for Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Red)

4:00 pm, Teresa Marzolino, Irene Catalano, Hugo Calisi, Bonnie Batche, Helen Mastay, Joe Basirico, Rosemary Mieras, Joan Weber, Dr. Lori Karol, Mary Derolf, Christine Zynel, Anthony & Anne Zynel, Rose DiCicco, Sharon Seneski and Special Intentions for the J. Champine Family, the Thomas Family, for Alison Reslow, Pam Haisenleder, Lorraine Jonas, and Linda Frank

6:00 pm, A Special Intention for Donald Ketelhut

Sunday, March 24, 2024, Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Red)

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

10:00 am, Ben & Joanne Pattenaude

12:00 pm, Al Rogier, Geraldine Rogier, Joseph Paluzzi Jr., Lewis & charlotte McQuillan, Pierre Zaranek, Jane Morningside, Robert L. Hindelang, Stephen and Josephine Murawski and Special Intentions for Joe Schotthoefer, Alison Reslow, Pam Haisenleder, Lorraine Jonas, and Linda Frank.

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

This week's LIVE Stream

Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:

Monday (March 18)

7:00 AM - Mass

Tuesday (March 19):

7:00 AM - Mass

8:30 AM - School Mass with Bishop Fisher

12:00 PM - Funeral for Linda Bergeron (Read Obituary HERE)

Wednesday (March 20):

7:00 AM - Mass

6:00 PM - Mass

Thursday (March 21):

7:00 AM - Mass

7:00 PM - Holy Hour

Friday (March 22):

7:00 AM - Mass

7:00 PM - Stations of the Cross

Saturday (March 23):

12:30 PM - Baptism of Anthony Bellestri & Gianna Bellestri

4:00 PM - Mass

6:00 PM - Mass

Sunday (March 24):

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.

24) SJA's Latest Parish Bulletin

Click on the image below

to download a copy of the bulletin

for March 17, 2024

25) Weekly Bulletin Mailing List

26) Detroit Catholic