1) Faith Formation Registration is OPEN |
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2) Faith Formation Help Needed |
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3) SJA School Gala SAVE THE DATE Info |
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4) Want to become Catholic? Are you an Adult who Wants to be Baptized? A New RCIA Group is forming soon! |
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How Do I Become Catholic? Watch the Video Below!
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5) St. Basil the Great's Annual Rummage Sale |
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Dear Friends in Christ,
This year’s Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) theme comes from the First Letter of Peter: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Peter 4:10). It’s a call for hospitality and service, and to “let love for one another be intense.”
The Catholic Services Appeal is an opportunity to celebrate the ways our Church in Detroit responds to the material and spiritual needs of individuals and families. Our parish alone could not meet these many needs. It is through the sharing of our gifts and our service that we, together, can be the Church Christ wants us to be.
Would you consider making a gift to this year’s CSA?
Your generosity makes it possible for more than 170 ministries, services, and programs to love intensely and to bring the indescribable joy found in Christ to our communities.
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 may have already received a mailing from the Archdiocese of Detroit. If you did so, please make a contribution to the CSA as indicated in that mailing.
You can also easily give by visiting: sja.aodcsa.org or by clicking on the button below.
Also available at the Church exists, in the bins outside the Sr. Carol Center, and at the Parish Center are general CSA brochures and envelopes that can be used to make a contribution to the CSA.
Assuring you of my prayers, I remain,
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Msgr. Mike
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7) CSA Update as of August 7, 2022 |
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I am grateful to those who have already contributed to CSA 2022. As of today, we have $160,180 in pledges and gifts toward our $211,447 goal ($130,111 has been paid thus far toward our total pledged amount). This amount represents gifts from 520 families (we have 3,318 families registered). We have thus achieved 76% of our goal!
Here is a breakdown by gift range:
$2,500+ (7)
$1,000+ (29)
$500+ (40)
$250+ (90)
$100+ (194)
$75+ (8)
$50+ (75)
$25+ (54)
$10+ (20)
$0+ (3)
As stated above, the easiest way to give is electronically by clicking on the button above. If you wish to give by check, feel free to contact the Parish Center and we will mail out an envelope and related material.
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We have officially transitioned to our Family of Parishes structure. Our family consists of St. Joan of Arc, Our Lady Star of the Sea, St. Basil the Great, St. Lucy, and St. Veronica Parishes.
To learn more about Families of Parishes please watch the two short videos below or click on the link below to check out a FAQ site the Archdiocese of Detroit has developed to answer questions about Families of Parishes.
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How Will Families of Parishes Work? |
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Introducing Families of Parishes |
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Click on the image below to visit the FAQ Site about Families of Parishes |
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10) 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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11) This Sunday's Readings - August 7, 2022, The Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time |
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12) Sunday Reflections by Jeff Cavins |
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In this week’s Encountering the Word video, Jeff Cavins discusses what it really means to have faith. The Sunday Readings are:
First Reading: Wisdom 18:6-9
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22
Second Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 or 8-12
Gospel: Luke 12:32-48
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13) Bishop Barron's Reflection for the Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time |
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Friends, Joseph Campbell and, more recently, Jordan Peterson are very interested in the Jungian archetype of the hero's journey. We see it all over the literature of the world and popular culture, from "The Lord of the Rings" to “Star Wars." But it is also on display very strongly in the Bible. In our remarkable second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, the author reflects on faith as a sense of trust in God and a willingness to follow him on adventure—in short, as accepting the invitation to a hero’s journey. |
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14) Grow+Go for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time |
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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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15) 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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16) This Week's Edition of TALLer Tales |
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A Clark Griswold Moment with the RV: Do you remember the scene from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation when Cousin Eddie empties his RV’s toilet remnants into the sewer in front of Clark and Ellen’s house? All I can say from experience is that the dumping of the “black water,” as it’s called, is one messy job!
As I mentioned in last week’s column, my mom and I made a trek up to the Upper Peninsula. She had several bucket list items she wanted to fulfill this summer, and traveling to see Lake Superior, the Soo Locks, Pictured Rocks, Tahquamenon Falls, and several sites dedicated to Bishop Frederic Baraga were on the list.
Now, parenthetically, on the way home, my mom announces to me that she has two other bucket list items she wants to accomplish soon: 1) going on a zip line tour; and 2) sky diving! You can only imagine what I was thinking; I’m glad we were stopped in traffic when she announced this to me. Way to go, mom. I may help her with one of those (guess which one), but I’ll arm-twist some of the grandkids to help grandma too! Some of this is WAY above my pay grade.
The RV we rented through Outdoorsy.com was a beautiful Class B Thor Sanctuary! It was great for several reasons. It was small. I’ve driven a 35-foot RV, and those are a bit much to handle when you don’t drive an RV regularly. The Thor Sanctuary was 19 feet. It was perfect because it could pull into a typical parking spot too! It was just perfect for the two of us. One of the drawbacks of a smaller RV is that everything is so compact that there isn’t much storage available onboard. We had just enough room for the two of us, our snacks, my office stuff, and our luggage (see the order of importance).
All of the RVs we’ve rented up until this point had the typical sewer connection and hose, so you could go to a camp sight or dump station and, well, dump the waste from the RV. Most people carry gloves with them and know what they are doing. But I’m such a novice that I almost need a full hazmat suit for the job. Clark Griswold here (that is, me) has created a story EVERY time he has performed this task. As I’m typing this, I’m laughing because I thought that just for kicks one time, I should show up at a dump station and put on one of those full hazmat suits to get the reaction from all the real RVers out there as I perform the worst part of Rv’ing!
But this particular RV had something I’ve never seen before. The black water waste dumped into a sealed cassette. I was REALLY intrigued with this option because I was now confident I could not … and would not … create a story taking care of business! You could then unlock the cassette and simply take care of dumping the black water waste either at a dump station OR a regular toilet. The cassette was small and had a handle to make everything super easy. What could go wrong?
As my mom and I traveled around, we stopped at a rest area so that I could stretch my legs. I was amazed at how long you could travel in the UP in some remote areas up there without running into a town or a gas station. You could easily go for an hour and a half to two hours without running into much of anything. So those rest area stops to stretch your legs become essential. And many of those rest areas are scenic lookouts; and the scenery is absolutely spectacular. We had the time, so we often pulled over to take a peek at what the scenic turnouts had to offer!
Well, I decided it was time to take care of my black water issue at this one rest area. I told my mom I would be but a few minutes and that she could relax in the RV. So, I dutifully found the right key to unlock the outer door that hid the black water cassette tank. I unlocked the small cassette tank, pulled out the handle, and headed to the bathroom.
Once inside, I got everything set up as if I was performing some operation. I twisted the cap on the outlet, swiveled it around, tilted the cassette, and started dumping away. I was so intrigued by how easy this was going that I bent over a bit to marvel at the simplicity of the process! Well, that was a royal mistake! I suddenly felt a splash on my face. YES, some of it splashed on me! “You have got to be kidding,” I yelled at myself! I was grossed out because I messed up probably even the most straightforward adventures of dumping the black water waste with this new high-tech cassette. UGH! Leave it to Clark!
I returned to the RV, reinstalled the cassette, put in the necessary chemicals, locked it into place, and locked the little trap door. But now, I was on the hunt for paper towels and things to sanitize my hands AND face.
After sanitizing my hands, I looked for some wipes to wipe down my face. Unfortunately, all I could find were some Clorox wipes we had on board. Not thinking, I pulled out a few Clorox wipes and started scrubbing my face! “WAIT, you did what,” you ask? Yes, I began to scrub my face with the Clorox wipes. Another great Clark move. Within seconds, my face started to burn and was now red! “Good heavens,” I thought, “can I make it any more complicated?” Yes, I managed to mess it up even with a simple cassette that was to make the whole process easy.
I then returned to the driver’s seat, and my mom asked, “So, how did it go with that cassette?” “You don’t want to know,” I said. “You’ll read about it in the bulletin.”
As I think about it, there ought to be a complete certification program for people like me who are novices at RVing to teach them how to deal with the messiest part of the experience! But then again, I’d probably mess that up too! Yes, Monsignor, you must now successfully perform the black water dump experience on the following ten RVs to pass your exam. YUK! Maybe I should just stick to my hazmat suit idea! I should be safe going that route! Way to go, Clark!
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Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers.
In Christ,
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17) Tire Tracks in the d’Arc |
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Why do we praise God?: The question came-up in an email I received from someone who had read my bulletin article two weeks ago on persistence in prayer. The answer is relatively simple, but the reason behind our praise is actually quite beautiful, the more we understand it. So I thought this would be an opportune moment to address it here.
The email included a link to an article asking if God had an ego that needed us to approve of Him. In the sense of “ego” meaning having a pridefully high-opinion of ourselves—the way the word is generally used–that we need affirmation to feel good about ourselves, no, that would not apply to God. The ego actually is more about having a sense of ourselves. In this sense, God has a greater ego – a greater sense of awareness of His true self—than any of us. But His ego is not one that needs affirming, no. He is absolutely not prideful and doesn’t need our praise. But he does want it. Here’s why….
The Lord has done many praiseworthy things, but he hasn’t done them for the goal of being praised. He doesn’t actually need anything since he’s God. God is perfect, lacking nothing. God needs nothing from us. However, he has given us a way to praise him that does justice to him and is beneficial to us.
If you listen closely to the prayers during mass, there is sometimes the perfect answer to this question. It’s found in Common Preface prayer IV:
“It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, Always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord holy Father, almighty and eternal God.
For, although you have no need of our praise, yet our thanksgiving is itself your gift, since our praises add nothing to your greatness but profits us for salvation, through Christ our Lord….”
Anyone attending mass only on a Sunday will never hear this prayer, but it’s my favorite of the Preface prayers used at daily mass.
When we praise anyone for something they’ve done it makes him or her feel appreciated and acknowledged, but it also shows us to be appreciative. Like any virtue, we need opportunities to exercise it and show it, and a habit of praise is a virtue that like many, has to be grown and nurtured throughout our spiritual life.
Have you ever bought a Mother’s Day card (anyone reading this column regularly will know that I have tried!) or a Father’s Day card? We do that because we want to show our appreciation and gratitude to our parents, not for anything specific they have done, but for being who they are, for being our parent.
Paragraph 2639 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses praise of God:
Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of heart who love God in faith before seeing him in glory. By praise, the Spirit is joined to our spirits to bear witness that we are children of God, testifying to the only Son in whom we are adopted and by whom we glorify the Father. Praise embraces the other forms of prayer and carries them toward him who is its source and goal: the "one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist." (CCC2639)
As I tell people often in confession, gratitude is kind of an antidote for our sinfulness. Our sins are rooted in pride – they are about me, my will, my wants, with me at the center. Gratitude is focused on someone else, and in the case of praising God, focused on gratitude to God, with Him at the center. Gratitude and appreciation get us outside of ourselves and prevent us from being prideful and narcissistic…. Hence, our praise “profits us for salvation.”
When we praise God for who He is, we come to a greater understanding of God relative to ourselves and our weaknesses, and our need for His grace. That develops humility in us – that we praise Him rather than seek praise for ourselves. That we recognize that all good things we have come from Him. Praise of God, then, cultivates and grows in us that sense of humility, and only the humble will have a chance of Heaven. Therefore that humility “profits us for salvation.”
When it comes to the Lord we have something even more special. He has given us a way to praise God that not only does justice to God, but sanctifies us: the Eucharist. Every celebration of the Eucharist, no matter the occasion, consists of praise, worship, and thanksgiving/ appreciation. On the natural level, it makes us considerate, religious, and grateful. On the supernatural level it makes us grow in communion with the object of our praise -God, and all those who praise Him as well.
Our Lord doesn’t need our praise or our gratitude; He doesn’t need anything. But that shouldn’t make us feel it’s futile to thank Him or to praise Him for all He has done.
God has also established justice, which is the obligation to give each their due. We expect justice from each other; we expect justice from a just God; therefore, we must offer what is just, what God is deserving of, which is our praise. He deserves our praise and gratitude and in his goodness has made those virtues means for our growth and sanctification… they “profit us for salvation.”
So does God have a prideful ego, needing our affirmation? No, the ultimate purpose of God demanding praise is our good. It’s another way in which God shows Himself to be focused on us. Rather than the demand for world praise being self-focused as it would be if we were the ones asking for it, in God’s case it actually shows God to be focused on us. We are the center of God’s world, and we are the object of His love. Our response to that love in offering Him praise will only “profit us for salvation.”
As the Catechism says, praise embraces other forms of prayer. Praising Him through our formal, liturgical worship is essential. When we pray sincerely, we are giving God the reverence, the respect and the attention He deserves. We are doing our duty as Christians. And doing our duty before God is in itself a form of praising the Lord. Therefore all aspects of our lives are opportunities to give praise to God, not only formal and communal prayer. In a commentary on the Psalms, St. Augustine wrote: “I will suggest a means whereby you can praise God all day long. Whatever you do, do it well, and you have praised God…. Do no wrong and you have praised God… In the innocence of your works prepare yourself to praise God all the day long.”
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You are in my prayers this week.
Fr. Andrew
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18) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz |
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Saying Goodbye, Starting Over, and Transitioning
Change is always hard. Transitions in life are difficult. Goodbyes are never easy. Endings are rarely joyful. But today, Fr. Mike suggests that beginnings are even more crucial. He encourages us to take 3 steps whenever we start over, and to let each one of ourselves “be a beginner.”
Be patient with yourself.
Don’t freak out.
And be willing to ask for help.
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19) Words on the Word: August 7, 2022 - Defending the Door
Most folks would agree – would anyone at all disagree? – that it makes sense for people to take an active role in the things that will keep themselves and their families safe.
Where the line gets a little blurrier, perhaps, is when personal protection gives way to potential government intrusion.
Headlines were recently made in San Francisco when law enforcement officials floated the idea of leveraging not only public and commercial cameras and surveillance devices – but also private devices such as residential doorbell cameras – to assist with public safety concerns and investigations.
There is enough vague language in all of that to make it almost impossible to determine if this would, indeed, help keep people safe, or if it would potentially result in an overstep of civil authorities. Or perhaps both, depending on the circumstances.
Those are the types of debates that sometimes rage on for years without a clear answer, and are best left to policy-makers to hash out.
What is much clearer, however, is that we are called to be ready for the threats of this world and the next, and to act accordingly.
“Gird your loins and light your lamps,” Jesus says in today’s gospel passage from St. Luke, “and be like servants … whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.”
Those are the servants, after all, who stand ready to defend a home against intruders, and who likewise are ready to open the door for the master.
We must be alert to intruders in our physical and our spiritual space. And, just as importantly, we must be ready whenever the call comes to open the door enthusiastically when Jesus comes knocking.
“You also must be prepared,” Jesus says, “for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
© 2022, Words on the Word
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20) 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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21) 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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23) Mass Intentions for the Week: |
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Monday, August 8, 2022, Saint Dominic, Priest (White)
7:00 a.m., Phyllis DeMars
Tuesday, August 9, 2022, Weekday, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr (Green/Red)
7:00 a.m., Agnes and Jack Hubbard
Wednesday, August 10, 2022, Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Red)
7:00 a.m., Leonard Czarnecki and Jesse F. Champine
Thursday, August 11, 2022, Saint Clare, Virgin (White)
7:00 a.m., Sam Ciaramitaro
Friday, August 12, 2022, Weekday, Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (Green/White)
7:00 a.m., Robert Emmett Gainer and John G. Champine
Saturday, August 13, 2022, Vigil of the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)
4:00 p.m., Gaetano & Lucia Cottone, Bonnie Batche, Diane Bezy, Dee Misuraca, Dean Hardin, Thomas Pillar, Charles Weidenbach, and Special Intentions for the J. Champine Family and for the Thomas Family
6:00 p.m., Jack Vandenboom
Sunday, August 14, 2022, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)
8:00 a.m., For the Intentions of Saint Joan of Arc Parishioners
10:00 a.m., Joseph Paluzzi Jr.
12:00 p.m., Marie Champine, Jack Ventimiglia, Barbara Marco Voorheis, Ricky D. Baron, Mikie Petrella and a Special Intention for Mike Petrella.
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24) This Week on St. Joan of Arc LIVE: |
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This week's LIVE Stream
Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:
Monday (August 8):
7:00 AM - Mass
Tuesday (August 9):
7:00 AM - Mass
Wednesday (August 10):
7:00 AM - Mass
Thursday (August 11):
7:00 AM - Mass
7:00 PM - Holy Hour
Friday (August 12):
7:00 AM - Mass
Saturday (August 13):
12:30 PM - Baptism of Rosemary F. Malek and Henry F. Salman
4:00 PM - Mass
6:00 PM - Mass
Sunday (August 14):
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.
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25) SJA's Bulletin for Sunday, August 7, 2022 |
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Click on the image below
to download a copy of the bulletin
for August 7, 2022
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26) 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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