Week of January 7, 2024

1) Celebrating the Epiphany: Chalking the Door

To download a PDF copy of the Chalking the Door flyer, click on the image below.

2) Upcoming Retrouvaille Weekend in January

What is Retrouvaille?

• The Retrouvaille Program is for Married Couples Facing Difficult Challenges in their Relationship

• A Marriage program that helps couples restore their marriage and rebuild a loving relationship.

• A Christian marriage program, Catholic in origin, where couples of all faiths or no faith background are encouraged to attend.

• Primarily a practical program to improve communication, build stronger marriages, and help couples reconnect.

• Presenters are not trained marriage counselors, but rather couples sharing their personal stories of marital struggles and the tools they used to rediscover their love.

3) Presence: The Mystery of the Eucharist - After ALL Masses through January 21

Although the Eucharist appears to be simple bread and wine, it is actually the "source and summit" of the Christian life. Presence: The Mystery of the Eucharist explores the truth and beauty of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist, from its origins in Sacred Scripture to its profound role in the life of the Church and her members. it is the crescendo of the entire story of salvation.

Learn about the truth and beauty of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist, from its origins in Sacred Scripture to its profound role in the life of the Church and her members.

We will show one episode of the series each week after all the masses through January 20/21. The remaining schedule:

January 13/14: Episode TWO

January 20/21: Episode THREE

If you missed Episode ONE, you may watch it by clicking the link below.

4) Walking with Purpose Women's Bible Studies

Join women of our parish in the Sr. Carol Center for a coffee and to learn about the fruits of these beautiful weekly Catholic Bible studies written especially for women. All women are welcome and invited to bring a friend. Each group is doing a different study. Feel free to drop in on the first session. There's always an open seat.

Beginning January 8th, the 7 pm evening group will start a 22-week program: Discovering our Dignity. Women of the Old and New Testaments were as flawed and broken as we can be, yet the power of God worked in their lives. Discovering Our Dignity will allow you to learn from their experiences and uncover ways to deal with unwanted circumstances and deferred hopes.

On January 22nd, the 10 am morning group is starting an 11-week look at Fearless and Free, a Bible study based on the book of Ephesians. This study is ideal for those who long for wholeness of heart and are in need of freedom from past wounds. So many of us are wrestling with the reality that life isn’t easy, even when we are doing the right thing.

No previous experience is needed.

5) New Men's Fellowship Bible Study

6) Rescue Project Returns in late January

7) Ascension's Bible and Catechism App

8) Holy Hour on Thursdays

9) This Sunday's Readings: January 7, 2024 - Feast of the Epiphany

10) Sunday Reflections by Jeff Cavins

In this week’s Encountering the Word video for the Feast of the Epiphany, Jeff Cavins explains how—just as the Magi were drawn to Christ—people from around the world are drawn to the gospel when we live it authentically.

The Sunday readings are:

First Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13

Second Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3A, 5-6

Alleluia: Matthew 2:2

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

11) Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon

The King of All the World



Friends, we come to the wonderful Feast of the Epiphany and the great account in the Gospel of Matthew of the journey of the three magi. This marvelous, puzzling story, which has so beguiled the poets, artists, and preachers over the centuries, bears a very profound theological truth, and it has to do with the relationship of the national and the transnational.

12) Grow+Go

13) 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.

14) This Week's Edition of TALLER Tales

CHRISTMAS THANK YOUS: I wish to extend my appreciation and thanks to all who helped with the Christmas liturgies and environment this year. The Church and the Sr. Carol Center looked AWESOME!

Many people helped, but I would like to single out a few individuals who went above and beyond to make it all so memorable for all of us!

First, I would like to give a massive shout-out to Fr. Rich for all his work designing and creating all the most spectacular Advent and Christmas decorations that decorated our sanctuary. I don’t know what we would do without him!

Second, I would like to give another massive shout-out to the Markielewicz family, who take it on as a family mission every year to get the Christmas trees and wreaths up in the Church and the Sr. Carol Center. Pat, Sandy, Abbie, and Zach spend countless hours together to get everything done for us! Pat “roped” Roger Pattie into helping hang all the wreaths in all those high places in the Church. In addition, Letitia Kaiser and Joanne Kaiser assisted with some of the “fluffing” that needed to occur.

I’m grateful to Fr. Rich, Dina Ciaffone, Fr. Adam, the Markielewicz Family, Pete Ciaravino, Anne Melise, and her adorable mother, Ilona Higgins, for all their work organizing and placing the poinsettias that decorated the Church and Sr. Carol Center. And then to Anne and Ilona, who painstakingly tend to all our plants and flowers in Church year-round.

I’m grateful to those who contributed to the flower collection. People always ask where we get our poinsettias, plants, and flowers throughout the year. We get them from Canton Floral Gardens in Canon.

I’m grateful to Fr. Adam for organizing the many people responsible for putting up the outdoor lights this year. He was assisted by Roger Pattie, who handled the lift and all the high places. I’m grateful to the Markielewicz, Pattie, and the other school families who gave of their time to put up all the outdoor Christmas lights.

I’m grateful to Charlie Kaiser and Pete Ciaravino, who helped decorate the Athletic Field with lights. The light display on the field is always spectacular.

I’m grateful to Catherine Thomas Trudell, our Director of Music Ministries, and to Kristine Hass, Eleonore Ellero-Groth, the Children’s Choir, the Adult Choir, and all the musicians and accompanists who assisted with all the music during the Christmas season. The music was phenomenal and truly enhanced our Christmas liturgies!

I’m grateful to Kristine Hass, Mary Garofalo, Catherine Thomas Trudell, the parents, and, most especially, the little angels who participated in our O Holy Night children’s program and the Children’s choir on Christmas Eve. Watching the little ones sing or take part in retelling the story of Christ’s birth brings great warmth to any heart!

I’m grateful to Amy Pattie, Charlie Kaiser, our teachers, and administrators for all they did to help our school children keep focused on Christ as the reason for the season. In addition, I’m grateful to Lisa Mangan, who led our school Christmas Music Program, Ron Malabed, who coordinated the Advanced Band Christmas Program, and all the students who participated in these great annual traditions at SJA School.

I’m grateful to Maria and Larry Krzesowski, Debbie Bigham, Jeanne VanEgmond, Michelle Messina, and Pete Ciaravino for all their work in making the annual Memorial Tree a reality. Maria, Debbie, and Michelle spend countless hours machine embroidering the ornaments that decorate the annual memorial tree to honor those who have gone home to the Lord over the past year. Rachel Gerard and Jeanne VanEgmond ensure all the names and dates are super accurate before and after the ornaments are made.

I’m grateful to Kristine Hass, Steve Hysick, Ed Raybaud, Dina Ciaffone, Fr. Adam, and Jim and Marsha Jenkins for all their work handling the cameras for our streaming. I’m grateful to Kristine Hass, Catherine Thomas Trudell, Fr. Adam, Kathy Kalich, Mary Pat Brennan, Ida Abdelnour, Brian Wotta, and Barb Hendrick for handling the technical and practical aspects of the slides in Church that display our songs and responses.

I’m grateful to Dina Ciaffone, Vern Dave, John Benoit, and Pete Ciaravino for their extraordinary work in getting the outdoor Nativity set into place and for ensuring the Church and Sr. Carol Center are spotless for all of our Christmas liturgies. John and Pete also go out of their way on Christmas Eve and Day to show up between our Masses to ensure everything is spotless for the next liturgy. And then God bless Vern for opening up and getting the lights on in Church and School as early as 4:30 or 5:00 each morning.

Speaking of the outdoor Nativity set, I continue to be grateful to the Art and Mary Ann Van Elslander family for gifting us the beautiful Nativity set that once decorated their front lawn on Lakeshore! That precious gift now enhances our front lawn for all to see.

I’m grateful to Mary Garofalo and her team, who helped in the Kitchen and ensured all our Advent and Christmas receptions and gatherings were extra special. They do extraordinary work!

I’m grateful to Dina Ciaffone, Rachel Gerard, Jackie Bugarin-Scheuer, Kathy Kalich, and Mary Pat Brennan for their hard work and efforts in taking care of the flurry of requests that came through the Parish Center during Advent and especially during the days leading up to Christmas. It’s hard to keep track of the comings and goings of people (and boxes) and all the requests, but they do a phenomenal job and always do it with warm hearts and great smiles.  

I’m grateful to all those who participated in the Giving Tree Project or helped sponsor a family for Christmas. Because of your generosity, we raised around $15,000 that was then used to purchase gifts or gift cards for Father Murray Nursing Center, Nativity of the Lord Church, St. Raymond Church, the Orchards of Harper Woods Senior Living Facility, and Munger Elementary School in Detroit. We also were able to provide, in partnership with our St. Vincent DePaul Team, Christmas for 16 families with 32 Children.

I’m grateful to my team of family members who, shortly after our Christmas Eve dinner, helped place all 2,200 tea lights outside during the 6 PM mass. We’ve done this now for four years in a row.

I’m grateful to Kristine Hass and Dina Ciaffone for all their hard work in creating and editing the special Christmas edition of the bulletin. The Christmas edition of the bulletin is created to be a tool for outreach and evangelization for all our visitors and guests, besides having the usual weekly information everyone is accustomed to seeing in the bulletin.

I’m grateful to Fr. Adam for his research on selecting the Christmas book giveaway this year, The Words of Eternal Life: True Happiness and Where to Find It by Jimmy Akin. I’m grateful to Kristine Hass for creating the insert and the team of people who stuffed all 4,000 books.

Speaking of stuffers, I’m grateful to those who give their time to prepare the bulletin to be mailed weekly to 1,000 families. That list includes Rachel Gerard, Pete Ciaravino, Ida Abdelnour, Barb Hendrick, Mary Pat Brennan, Kathy Kalich, Sue Mulrenin, Tony Latarski, Patty Kesner, Judy Deneweth, Laura Sorget, Debbie Bigham, Thelma Socia, and my mom Chris Bugarin.

I’m grateful to the lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, and our team of God’s Door Keepers for their dedication and extraordinary ministry to all who came to SJA over the Christmas holidays.

And, last but not least, thank you to Fr. Adam, Fr. Rich, Deacon Dominick, and Deacon Tom for their extraordinary ministry around the altar of the Lord with the marathon of liturgies we had this year! We are so grateful for the team we have at SJA!

Our liturgies were prayerful and beautiful and led us to a deeper relationship with the Lord. It took a lot of people working together to make it all happen. It was another magnificent Christmas at SJA! THANK YOU! Blessed be God in all his designs!

Now, of course, and because we are SJA, there were plenty of behind-the-scenes funny moments, blunders, and issues. Just wait. I have content for a few weeks!

Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers! Happy Epiphany!

In Christ,

15) Along the Way with Father Adam

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thank you all so much for the many cards, gifts, and Christmas greetings that you sent. They are very much appreciated it! Know of my prayers for you for a blessed 2024! I hope you enjoyed a little bit of a break after Christmas and before things get too crazy again.

I was really looking forward to a little down time, but I didn’t expect to be in isolation. After three years, I finally got struck with the dreaded c*v!d. Although my symptoms were mild – I’m starting to get my taste and smell back already – there were several events that, unfortunately, I had to miss. I was not able to celebrate the funeral Mass for a dear friend from a former parish. Nor was I able to baptize the grandchild of another friend from a previous parish.

But God knew that I must have needed the rest. I think this is especially true seeing as next week I’ll be with the Regina High School seniors for their Kairos Retreat. “Kairos” is an ancient Greek word meaning “the right moment” or, in the Christian view, it means “God’s time.” This is opposed to “chronos” from where we get the word “chronology”, which means “a measurable time” or “exact time.

I was thinking about this specially at the beginning of the New Year and while I was stuck in quarantine. It’s about God’s time. As impatient as I am, that is a hard truth for me to grasp. 

Yet, we see over and over again in Scripture how God’s timing is perfect. In examining the birth narrative in Luke’s Gospel, something that we have just reflected upon for Advent and Christmas, we can see this to be true.

Elizabeth, barren and well beyond childbearing, waited and wept for years. We can only imagine the heartache of her infertility before the miraculous conception of John the Baptist—at God’s perfect timing. Perfect timing for John, as an adult, to prepare the way of the Lord, to announce salvation at hand, and to baptize Jesus in the Jordan.

The Angel of the Lord appears to Mary, a virgin, who freely consents to God’s invitation to bear our Savior. The Spirit overshadows her at the perfect time. Perfect timing for Mary to travel to the hill country to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. There, Elizabeth, “too old,” affirms Mary, “too young," of the Holy Spirit’s actions in Mary’s life: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:43).

The Annunciation occurred according to God’s perfect timing. Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem for a census at just the right time. There, the stars aligned perfectly, the wise men’s calculations were precise, and God’s timing was impeccable for the birth of our Savior. Like pinpricks of light, God’s timing shines through each word in Scripture, pointing to Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecies.

The Spirit worked through the most unlikely people, under the strangest circumstances, to bring Jesus into the world—at just the right time. God desires to work through each of us to fulfill His mission of bringing Christ into the world. The Spirit will move mountains for us to live according to His word. Some of that timing includes waiting in faith, at other times responding in the moment.

The key is to listen to the Spirit and pray with Mary, “May it be done according to your will.” And then trust that whatever routes we take or however long we wait, God’s timing is perfect for His purposes! With God, all things are possible. Nothing is wasted. Nothing is lost.

Lord, in surrendering myself to You and entrusting myself to You as an instrument for Your glory, I pray that I may act only when and how You direct me to act. Help me to always know that You are perfect in Your wisdom and timing, and orchestrate all things in a harmoniously beautiful way. I trust in Your Will and choose it over my own will, today and always. Jesus, I trust in you. Amen.

Blessings!

Fr. Adam

anowak@sjascs.org

16) Ascension Presents: Father Mike Schmitz

The Raw Reality of Your Favorite Bible Heroes

Some of your favorite Bible characters were… terrible sometimes.

Abraham lied and said Sarah wasn’t his wife. Jacob tricked his father into giving him the birthright instead of his brother. And there are plenty of stories that aren’t even appropriate enough to make it into a YouTube description.

But what is the Bible? A collection of inspiring fables? Or the real story of humanity and God?

For Fr. Mike, this is good news (and it should be for you too). Our favorite saints were just like us. And we can yes to God in all of our brokenness just like they did.

17) Words on the Word: January 7, 2024 - Let There Be Light!

We have finally – finally – passed the winter solstice, which means the days are thankfully starting to get longer again.

It’ll be several weeks before it becomes noticeable, of course, but we can take solace in knowing that more daylight is on its way again.

It’s no coincidence, to be sure, that the Christmas season comes during this darkest time of year precisely as a reminder for us that the birth of the Christ child is an event that brought – and continues to bring – light to our world in the truest sense of the word.

The Detroit Free Press a few weeks ago – during the weeks leading up to Christmas – ran a story celebrating the spirit and festivity of holiday lights all over the area. This particular story featured homes in Garden City and Birmingham, and a park in downtown Detroit. But the lights certainly were prominent throughout the area.

Packaged with the story was an interactive map listing many of the more prominent displays in the area, including, among others, the Ford House, a particular street in Warren, and the Detroit Zoo.

All of it serves as a very tangible reminder for us of the beauty and majesty of the Christmas season, which concludes today with the Epiphany of the Lord.

“Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you,” we hear in today’s first reading from the Prophet Isaiah. “See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory. 

“Nations shall walk by your light, and kinds by your shining radiance. Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.”

© 2023, Words on the Word

18) This WEEK on FORMED:

19) Hallow App:

20) Mass Intentions for the Week:

Monday, January 8, 2024, Baptism of the Lord (White) 

7:00 am, Fr. Edward Mitchell

Tuesday, January 9, 2024, Weekday (First Week in Ordinary Time) (Green)

7:00 am, Special Intentions for the Family of Tina Calisi

Wednesday, January 10, 2024, Weekday (Green)

7:00 am, Anna Fazi

6:00 pm, A Special Intention for Joe Schotthoefer

Thursday, January 11, 2024, Weekday (Green)

7:00 am, Kenneth A. Smith

Friday, January 12, 2024, Weekday (Green)

7:00 am Joseph Allemon

Saturday, January 13, 2024, Vigil for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)

4:00 pm, Frances Folgado, Bonnie Batche, Sophie Rupinski, George J. Bugarin, Shirley Curcuru and Special Intentions for the J. Champine Family, for Alison Reslow, Pam Haisenleder, Lorraine Jonas, and Linda Frank.

6:00 pm, Special Intention for Alison & Alexis

Sunday, January 14, 2024, The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Green)

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

10:00 am Robert Boesiger

12:00 pm, Karyn Stellino, Frank Doetsch and Special Intentions for Alison Reslow, Pam Haisenleder, Lorraine Jonas, and Linda Frank.

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

This week's LIVE Stream

Schedule at St. Joan of Arc:

Monday (January 8)

7:00 AM - Mass

Tuesday (January 9):

7:00 AM - Mass

8:30 AM - Mass

Wednesday (January 10):

7:00 AM - Mass

6:00 PM - Mass

Thursday (January 11):

7:00 AM - Mass

7:00 PM - Holy Hour

Friday (January 12):

7:00 AM - Mass

10:00 AM - Funeral for Carol DePetro (Read Obituary HERE)

Saturday (January 13):

10:00 AM - Funeral for Marie Maison (Read Obituary HERE)

12:30 PM - Baptism of Annelise A. Apone

4:00 PM - Mass

6:00 PM - Mass

Sunday (January 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.

22) SJA's Latest Parish Bulletin

Click on the image below

to download a copy of the bulletin

for January 7, 2024

23) Weekly Bulletin Mailing List

24) Detroit Catholic