Join us for the Rescue Project beginning February 14th.

We'll begin this 9-week experience from 6:30-8:15 on Tuesday, February 14th. Each week will start with dinner and fellowship in the Sr. Carol Center. (Dinner service will start at 6 pm.)

For those who cannot join in person, there will also be a Zoom option. Stay tuned for registration information.

Come and join our new children's liturgical choir Grace Notes for students from our parish and school in grades 1 - 5.

Weekly practices are on Wednesdays from 6:15 - 7:00 PM in the Church Music Room (off the parking lot between the church and school).

For details and to register go to sjascs.org/childrens-choir.

Contact Catherine Trudell with questions at cthomas@sjascs.org or at the Parish Center at 586-777-3670.

With the many changes to the tax laws, itemizing deductions will not benefit as many people as in the past. As a result, many people will not need or benefit from the usual end-of-the-year tax statements normally generated this time of year. Please consult with your tax preparer to determine if you still need a contribution statement from us.

If you need a contribution statement for your 2022 income taxes, please click on the button below to fill out a form. We will then generate a statement for you. Please note that contribution statements were already mailed to all those who contributed $1,500 or more last year!

Statements for the CSA will be generated by the Archdiocese of Detroit. Statements for any School Gala contributions were mailed earlier this year.

Thank you for your generosity!

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!

Our CSA goal this year is $211,447. Anything raised above the goal will return to the parish, while any shortfalls must be covered by the parish. Thus, your support is greatly needed and appreciated.

You can also easily give by visiting: sja.aodcsa.org or by clicking on the button below.

I am grateful to those who have already contributed to CSA 2022. As of today, we have $210,156 in pledges and gifts toward our $211,447 goal ($210,156 has been paid thus far toward our total pledged amount). This amount represents gifts from 628 families (we have 3,340 families registered). We have thus achieved 99% of our goal!

Jeff Cavins reflects on the readings for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Sunday Readings are:

First Reading: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Alleluia: Matthew 5:12A

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12A

Friends, our Gospel for this Sunday is one of the great passages of the New Testament—namely, the Beatitudes from the fifth chapter of Matthew. “Beatitudo” just means happiness, and the one thing we all want is to be happy. Well, here is the Son of God telling us how—so let’s pay close attention!

The Common Denominator: ‘Twas the Night before Christmas, when all through the Church, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” WAIT a minute. Do you mean there’s more to the Christmas Eve mess? Not really. Well, at least let me qualify that statement. This isn’t about what happened on Christmas Eve, but it was another bad technology day, and the Gremlins were busy!

Last Saturday was a busy day around SJA. Besides all the usual Saturday stuff, we had a wedding. The bride is part of my extended family … a Finn. The bride and groom lost their spouses to cancer and met at St. Lawrence’s Grief Counseling Support Group. Mary Lou and Ernie, both in their early 70s, were just the cutest couple.

The big wedding day was last Saturday at SJA! The plan was to have mass at noon, and then the couple would have a sit-down lunch/dinner in our Emmaus Hall to celebrate the day.

Part of my preparation work for the day involved getting the couple’s picture and a congratulatory message up on our electronic signs, getting the Emmaus Hall set up for using an iPad so they could play some music during lunch, and finally getting all the screens and streaming equipment ready for the liturgy. Even though I should have known better because of my typical “Clark Griswold” type experiences at SJA, I waited until Saturday morning to accomplish all of this. What was I thinking? One day I’ll learn … probably not!

It all started with me trying to get Mary Lou and Ernie’s picture and a congratulatory message on the Church electronic sign. I designed the message and was ready to “push” it out to the sign. Unfortunately, the computer had issues connecting with the sign when I hit the update option. I tried a few times, and it just wasn’t working. So, I decided to walk over to the Church and cut the power to the sign for a few minutes, hoping to reset it. Finally, after the power cycle trick, the sign connected, and I got their picture and congratulatory message up and running. At this point, I lost an hour, and time was running short. I still had so much more to do.

Next, I needed to get an iPad ready to play music in Emmaus Hall. We tried connecting it on the day of the wedding rehearsal, but it didn’t work. My response was, “Don’t worry; we have the equipment to make it work!” Silly me! Of course, I waited until Saturday morning to tinker with it. I tried a few things, and NOTHING was working. I then went to modify some of the connections on the back of the receiver, and you would have thought I set off a bunch of fireworks inside Emmaus Hall with all the noise I created. I turned it back on, and it continued to do the same thing. I could only roll my eyes. I quickly powered the receiver down again and scrambled to come up with an alternative. We had another Bluetooth receiver in the Gym, and I asked Charlie Kaiser to retrieve it. Thankfully, I got that set up and working. Phew. Two tasks down. One to go.

Then, I got a text from Catherine Trudell that one of the projectors in the choir loft that provides the images for the left screen in Church was making a loud noise. UGH. “I don’t have time for this,” I thought. It was now 35 minutes before the wedding, and I was FAR from having everything set up; plus, I still had to get back to my house and help my mom over to Church as she was attending the wedding too. So I texted Kristine Hass and asked her to come over and help Catherine figure out what was happening. She confirmed the projector was pretty much dead. She took a video for Rob at RMW Productions, who handles all of our video equipment, and he confirmed we had issues. “I’ve never heard a noise like that coming from that type of professional projector,” he said. But, of course, it only happens at SJA! At this point, I thought the Christmas Eve Gremlins were still bored and had nothing else to do but mess with the Monsignor on another busy day at SJA.

It was now time for the wedding, and I breathed a little sigh hoping nothing else would happen. The wedding was beautiful. The couple would never have known all the behind the scene stuff that happened. When Kristine and I debriefed after the wedding, she laughed and said, “I’m just sayin’ I think YOU’RE the common denominator here. We ALWAYS have issues whenever it is something for you, your family, or is some major feast day around here.” Wait a minute, why is it always my fault? Well, on second thought, it USUALLY IS my fault! Way to go, Clark!

Catholic Schools Week: This week, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week throughout the United States. This weeklong celebration is an opportunity to highlight the great work and ministry being accomplished in our Catholic Schools.

Catholic Schools integrate faith and values into every part of the educational experience. Whether in the classroom, on the athletic field, or in Church, Catholic School students learn to think and act according to the mind and heart of Christ. Giving students the resources they need to accomplish the task of thinking and acting according to the mind and heart of Christ is so vital in our complex world.

SJA’s celebration of Catholic Schools Week begins bright and early on Monday morning, January 30th, with the celebration of mass at 8:30 a.m. I encourage you to join us or watch the liturgy online as we thank God for the many beautiful ways St. Joan of Arc School prepares students for the task of thinking and acting according to the mind and heart of Christ. The Catholic Schools Week celebration is also an opportunity to thank God for all the outstanding teachers, staff, volunteers, and parents who help make SJA School such a place of excellence.

I’d also like to call your attention to the fact that we’ve scheduled an Open House Winterfest on Thursday, February 2nd, from 6 – 8 p.m. The event will take place in the parking lot between the Church and School. The gathering will be an opportunity for attendees to meet our school teachers and administrators, enjoy some light refreshments, roast some marshmallows, make s’mores, and even light a candle in Church as our regular Holy Hour takes place at the same time. The Open House is an excellent opportunity to see firsthand the great things happening at our school. The Winterfest is also a perfect opportunity to invite a prospective SJA School family to visit the school and see the great family atmosphere in our school community. So, please mark your calendars and consider joining us on Thursday, February 2nd. Please see the flyer elsewhere in the bulletin for more details.

Want to know the secret to happiness? The answer is revealed in the Beatitudes that we hear in Matthew’s Gospel today. Want to be the best Catholic you can ever be? The Beatitudes tell you how. Want to make Jesus happy? Practice the teachings of the Beatitudes.

The Beatitudes are eight simply stated, yet profound guidelines Jesus revealed to His followers during His Sermon on the Mount. Jesus uses the words of the Beatitudes to paint a picture of what the true people of God look like—not physically, but morally and spiritually.

The word beatitude is defined as a state of utmost bliss. The eight Beatitudes are therefore, the roadmap Jesus gives to us to help us find the utmost bliss in this world and in the next. Those not familiar with the Beatitudes may be taken aback when they read them and discover that the secret to happiness is hungering, thirsting, and being persecuted for what is right, living meekly, mourning, and being merciful.

Is this right? Yes. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that the Beatitudes “are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulation.”

The Beatitudes are difficult for us to understand because they are the antithesis of everything that the world we live in wants us to believe; that in order to be happy, we have to be rich, own a huge home, be physically attractive, have an extensive wardrobe, etc. Take one look at the lives of the rich and famous and Hollywood elite and it’s easy to see that that is far from the whole story. The pursuit of things often leads to, or at best covers-up, great distress and pain.

Like any bad habit, we have to break away from this way of thinking and follow instead the blueprint of The Beatitudes. If we can do it, we’ll have the full blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven to look forward to.

​Let's Consider the Meaning of the Beatitudes​:

Humility is realizing that all our gifts and blessings are given to us by God. There is nothing arrogant or self-righteous about someone who is truly humble. Furthermore, when we are humble, we acquire an inner peace that allows us to do the will of God. To be poor in spirit means to be humble before God.

This is not primarily related to those mourning the loss of a loved one. We are to mourn not only the violence, hatred, and injustices present in this world, but also our sins and the sins of others. When we mourn, we open our heavy hearts to the Lord, and in turn He comforts us.

To be meek means to be have a spirit of gentleness and self-control. The meek aren’t violent, vengeful, or willing to exploit others.

Jesus doesn’t mean literally going without food or drink; rather He’s referring to our passion and drive to do God’s will and to seek a just society.

Like the phrase in the Our Father, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…” those who are merciful to others (treat them with kindness and forgiveness) will be shown mercy. But we cannot presume upon God’s mercy for ourselves while not being willing to show mercy to others.

St. Augustine explains, “A simple heart is a heart that is pure; and, just as the light which surrounds us cannot be seen except through eyes that are clear, so neither is God seen unless that through which He can be seen is pure.” A pure heart is one that shows acts of love and mercy, and that longs for righteousness and justice. There is no hatred or jealousy in a pure heart.

God is the source of peace and He empowers us to be bearers of peace. We show ourselves to be children of God when we actively work to reconcile with others, bring together adversaries, and work in harmony with one another. “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” (1 Corinthians 14:33). We must consider the state of our relationships and work toward peace.

Ouch! Maybe this is the toughest of all to hear—to accept persecution for the sake of God and His Kingdom. A prime example of those who are persecuted for the sake of what is right are the saints and the martyrs. All of us are called to be saints. And like the saints, when we suffer for Christ and others, the Kingdom of Heaven is our reward.

The message of The Beatitudes takes on a whole new level of meaning when we realize that they’re a mini-biography of Jesus’ life. He is the ultimate peacemaker, He has the purest heart, He is merciful, and most importantly, He was persecuted—for us! We should ponder that today.

The road to happiness may not be easy, but Jesus gave us the blueprint. All we have to do is follow it.

adawson@sjascs.org 

Why does the Catholic Church baptize babies rather than wait until they are older and capable of choosing this sacrament for themselves?

Salvation requires faith, and it can be challenging to understand how an infant accepts the truths of the Catholic Faith at the moment of Baptism.

Today Fr. Mike uses an example from Mark’s Gospel to help us understand how the profession of faith by our parents at the moment of our Baptism prepares us to receive the gift of salvation later in our lives.

It doesn’t take a football rules analyst to know that, when it comes to prayer in the world of professional sports, all kinds of penalties are called these days.

We’ve seen repeatedly for example, that high school coaches who wish to circle up their team for a pre- or post-game prayer come under fire. It’s often a similar scenario for players who individually wish to wear their faith on their figurative sleeve.

It was somewhat refreshing then, when the football world collectively came together in prayer a few weeks ago for an NFL player who collapsed on the field during a nationally televised game.

It’s extremely unfortunate that it took such a dramatic and life-threatening event for this to happen, of course. And at the time of this writing, thank God the player has continued to recover from the heart-related incident.

But there it was, on a national stage and under the lights – football players and the entire crowd in attendance, broadcast commentators and viewers at home, people all across social media, even the National Football League itself –everyone united in prayer.

For all the talk in our combative day-to-day world of “prayer being confined to church” and “separation of church and state,” it was the natural instinct for folks to pray for a man in a life-threatening situation.

The fragility of our human condition, after all, creates a certain sense of humility.

“Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law,” we hear in today’s first reading from the book of Zephaniah. “Seek justice, seek humility; perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.

“But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord: the remnant of Israel.”

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.

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.

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.

7:00 a.m., Elmer Gorde

7:00 a.m., Marie Durfee

7:00 a.m., Deacon Eugene DiCresce

7:00 a.m., Michael Ciaramitaro and Brandon Hacias

7:00 a.m., A Special Intention for the Family of Tina Calisi

4:00 p.m., Bonnie Batche, Anthony Aiello, Mark DeKoekkoek, William Dinan, Kathleen Kennedy-Rieth, Rob Finn, Robbie Battani, Evan Battani, the deceased members of the Huvaere & Kerby Families, John & Colleen Melisko, and Special Intentions for the J. Champine Family, for Peg Shaughnessy, and for the Thomas Family. Prayerful appreciation for the work of the Priests and Staff of SJA.

6:00 p.m., A Special Intention for Pauline Ciaffone on her 90th Birthday

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

10:00 a.m., John Spath

12:00 p.m., Raymond VanBecelaere, Salvatore & Josephine Ciaravino, Rose DiNoto

Wednesday (February 1):

Thursday (February 2):

Friday (February 3):

Saturday (February 4):

8:30 AM - Mass with Confirmation Candidates + Sponsors

12:30 PM - Baptism of Gabrielle S. Folino

1:30 PM - Baptism of Patrick David Hennigan