March 6, 2005

Pastor’s Perspective 

*25th Anniversary Celebration

  Though I was a little under the weather, I greatly enjoyed our 25th Anniversary Mass.  The environment (weren’t those banners in procession and the touch of silver on the cross magnificent?), the music, the hospitality, the pictures, the programs and prayer cards, and most importantly the parishioners, truly exhibited the spirit and joy that a 25th celebration should engender.

  Together in Spirit, Joy and Prayer let us continue to make this a memorable anniversary year.  

*Sacrament of Reconciliation

  Over the centuries Lent has taken on various characteristics.  One of the most ancient and strongest is as a season of repentance and reconciliation.  Along with the “elect” (those not baptized who are preparing for full initiation at Easter) the baptized faithful were asked to acknowledge their sinfulness and need for conversion.  Those who had committed serious sins were asked to take Lent as a time of fasting, prayer and acts of charity so that they might come back into full communion with the Church, with hearts and minds renewed. 

  There are many ways to live out this spirit of repentance and reconciliation, but certainly the occasional celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance) is one of them.  It is a sacrament of conversion, especially for those times in our life when we have strayed too far from the Lord and his Church.  It then becomes a gateway to re-connect to the Church community and its life and leads us back to the Eucharistic celebration.  But it is also a sacrament of renewal, a chance to occasionally take stock of our lives, even when we have not strayed far from the Lord.  At such times, the Sacrament of Reconciliation becomes part of our identity as Catholics, allowing us to witness to the real presence of the risen Jesus’ forgiving love in our midst.  

  Like all sacraments, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not just about the individual person and God.  There are many ways that God can reconcile individuals—when we forgive another truly and certainly; when we come to the Eucharist with full and open hearts; when we do selfless acts of charity and mercy, and so on.  Rather, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a way to connect all of that to the core of the Church community.  Unless we as a Church celebrate the forgiveness and healing of the Sacrament, we will not be the Church that Jesus Christ calls us to be.  

  In a communal celebration with individual confession of sins and absolution, we combine the community-centered nature of the sacrament with our own personal journey of faith.  The parish will have two such celebrations: Monday March 14 at 7 p.m. and Saturday March 19th at 3 p.m.  We will share in a communal prayer, examination of conscience and penance and then have a chance to go to one of the priests for an acknowledgement of our sinfulness and absolution.  This form of the sacrament is especially designed for that occasional, ongoing celebration of Penance.  It is not as well-suited to a more intense review of life, especially if we are dealing with some serious areas of sinfulness.  For that, I encourage you to think about one of the individual times of confession: Saturday, March 12 from 3-3:30 p.m. or Wednesday, March 23 from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

  In the communal celebration the confession of sins takes place face-to-face with one of the priests.  In the individual time, one can go face-to-face or behind a screen.  Please note that for the individual time we do have the Reconciliation Room next to the sacristy. 

*Fridays of Lent

  Please continue your Friday focus for prayer and penance so that we keep ourselves in tune with the spirit of the Lenten season.  This Friday (March 11) we will have Taize style prayer at 6 p.m. followed by our soup and bread meal.  After that I will be speaking on “Where is God in the midst of suffering?” 

*“The Essential Catholic”: Tuesday at 4:45 and 6:30 p.m.

  The snow nailed us last Tuesday for the first of three parts on what it means to be Catholic.  I will try to combine the first two this coming Tuesday by looking at our Catholic faith as a living Tradition.  What is central to that Tradition and why?  What is still vibrant and alive, what seems to be dying or losing its meaning?  What are our core beliefs about God, Jesus, the human person, the Church, life and death?  What questions do you have about being Catholic?  Come and join in one of the two Tuesday sessions. 

*National Federation of Priests’ Councils

  I have been asked to be on a committee to study the effectiveness of Priests’ Councils (a group of priests in each diocese that offers advice to the bishop) throughout the country.  The NFPC, based in Chicago, received a grant to do some studies.  Currently I am the chair of the Detroit archdiocese’s presbyteral council.  We actually have a fairly unwieldy model—over thirty members—though it does allow for a lot of participation.  I will be curious to see what other models are operating around the country.  The time commitment for this committee is a few meetings in Chicago over the next couple of years. 

*Catholic Relief Services

  Our annual collection for Catholic Relief Services is this week and next.  I want to stress the importance of this particular collection. Catholic Relief Services have an unparalleled record of getting relief to the people needing it the most, without a lot of overhead or administrative costs.  When a disaster occurs, such as the recent earthquake and tsunami in the Indonesian area, you can be sure that Catholic Relief Services will be one of the first and most efficient aid organizations on site.  That is why I give more generously to this particular collection, as compared to some of the other monthly ones. Giving to this collection, in a sense, is a response to all the disasters that can occur in a given year. Please return the envelope next week. 

   May our Lenten practice of penance—prayer, fasting, almsgiving—train our minds and hearts to say ‘yes’ to God each day, without reserve or fear. 

  Fr. Buersmeyer 

“Food for Thought”

Fridays during Lent

6:00-8:00 p.m. 

March 11 

Taize prayer at 6:00 p.m. followed by

soup dinner at 6:30 p.m. and concluding with

Lenten speaker, Fr. David Buersmeyer   

If you would like to donate soup, bread or help set up or clean up, please sign up on the poster in the hallway to the Parish Center. Thank you! 

Catholic Book Store...

...will be here next weekend after all the masses.

Taize prayer 

•  Wednesday, March 9, 7:00 p.m.

•  Friday, March 11, 6:00 p.m.

•  Wednesday, March 16, 7:00 p.m.

•  Thursday, March 17, 6:30 p.m.

• Monday, March 21, 11:00 a.m

WHAT DOES MEAN TO BE CATHOLIC?

Catholic Beliefs  —  March 8

about God? Jesus? The Bible?

Creation and Evolution?

Death and Resurrection? 

Catholics Making Social, Ethical,

and Personal Decisions — March 15

What Approach Does Our Faith Take?

What Questions Do We Ask? 

THE ESSENTIALS OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH

Time

4:45-6:00 p.m. and

repeated again at 6:30-7:45 p.m. 

Presented by Fr. David Buersmeyer in the Church for anyone interested in a Catholic update, those preparing for a sacrament for oneself or a child, or for anyone with questions to ask. 

Music box

A celebration of thanks

Well, we promised a celebration, and we delivered! I’d like to thank the musicians and liturgical ministers for helping to make last Sunday’s Anniversary Mass a memorable and uplifting experience. Wonderful job! The Adult Choir (minus ten singers on spring break), Contemporary Ensemble, Handbell Ensemble, and extra musicians and singers (including my sisters Christine and Dolores) all pulled together to help make us sing, dance (yes, there was dancing going on!), clap, smile, and praise God for these 25 years as a parish. (Sorry, no video). 

A chorus of praise

I’d also like to thank our children’s choir who performed at St. Isidore Church a few weeks ago in a concert at which they performed two songs. The children did such a good job. I’m proud of them, especially soloist Kendall Pennington, and choreographer Kelsey Kallhoff who did a little extra to make it special! 

  Carl Reyes 

CHRISTIAN FAITH FORMATION

2004-2005

Religious Formation

Program 

Early Childhood — Sunday

(ages 3-4-5 years)

During 9:30 a.m. Mass

Sessions:  March 13, 20

No Session: March 27

Sessions: April 3, 10, 17  

Grades 1-6 — Tuesday

4:45-6:00 p.m. & 6:30-7:45 p.m.

Sessions:  March  8, 15, 22

No Session: March 29

Sessions: April 5, 12  

Grades 7-8 — Sunday

6:30-8:30 p.m.

Sessions:  March 6, 13, 20 

Parents! Update

While You Wait… 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CATHOLIC? 

Tuesdays—March  8 & 15  

4:45-6:00 PM 

Repeated at 6:30-7:45 PM 

THIS WEEK: 

Catholic Beliefs about …

God?

Jesus?           

The Bible?

Creation and Evolution?

Death and Resurrection? 

For anyone interest in a Catholic update, preparing for a sacrament,

or with questions to ask. 

Presenter: 

Fr. Dave Buersmeyer

 in the Church  

All Are Welcome! 

The Gift of Sight

  Jn. 9:1-41  

      In our Gospel story, Jesus gives the gift of sight to a blind man.  Since we are not blind we might think that this story has no relevance for us, but it has because we can see.  The question is:  how well do we see?  

      The blind man saw more than the religious leaders in the sense that he had more faith in Jesus than they had.  The Pharisees had perfect eyesight, yet they had no faith in Jesus. 

      To see well, good eyesight is not enough.  There are many forms of blindness just as crippling:  

selfishness blinds us to the needs of others

insensitivity blinds us to the hurt we’re causing to others

snobbery blinds us to the equal dignity of others

pride blinds us to our own faults

 prejudice blinds us to the truth

hurry blinds us to the beauty of the world around us

materialism blinds us to spiritual values

superficiality blinds us to a person’s true worth

 and causes us to judge by appearances. 

     We not only see with the eyes, but also with our mind, our heart and our imagination.  A narrow mind, a small heart, an impoverished imagination all lead to the loss of vision, darken our lives and shrink our world. 

      The greatest tragedy is not to be born blind, but to have eyes and fail to really see.  Even worse...to have eyes and refuse to see.  The latter was true of the Pharisees. 

     The most important eyes are the eyes of faith.  The smallest child with faith sees more than the smartest scientist who has no faith.  Our story today is a faith story—the story of a man who came to faith in Jesus.   He makes a profession of faith:  ‘Lord, I believe!’  While the blind man became more open to the light of faith, the Pharisees became more spiritually blind by the refusal to see.  

      The man’s journey from blindness to sight symbolizes the journey from unbelief to faith, from darkness to light. Physical sight is a wonderful gift that we should never take for granted.  Faith is a deeper and more wonderful kind of seeing.  Paul says to the Ephesians, ‘Once you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.’  Without faith we are in deep night and do not know where we are going. 

      Those who have been enlightened by Christ can never again see themselves and their lives in the same light as before.  Everything is lit up with an inner radiance.  Faith helps us to find our way through the chaos, confusion and darkness of the world. 

      The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.   

What is it today that keeps us from seeing with the eyes of faith? 

Macomb County Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers 

   The SS. John & Paul community will soon be implementing a liaison program with Macomb County Interfaith Caregivers.  This non profit organization networks with individual congregations to help them reach out to the older and disabled members of their own communities by providing a uniquely tailored model that works within the congregation.  

Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers works with congregations, first to build an internal ministry, and then to link congregations together in a caregiving network.  The IVC also works together as an interfaith community to share common resources, and provides a link to the many service agencies in the community that can provide additional help to our neighbors in need.  Please watch the bulletin in the coming weeks for more information about volunteer opportunities and services provided.  

St. Clement of Rome

Men’s retreat—March 11-13 

  Come and  experience the ministry of the Capuchin Franciscans at the Capuchin Retreat House. A weekend retreat program has been designed to support you in a time of reflection and prayer, a time of relaxation and quiet listening to God’s call in your life. 

  The theme for this weekend is Prayer, Our Relationship with God. We will look at prayer, its components, and what shapes it and the different forms it takes. 

  The Retreat House is located on 95 beautiful acres just north of 28 Mile Road on Mt. Vernon Road in Washington, MI. So come and experience uplifting conferences, delicious meals, and a comfortable living area with private bedrooms and bath. You won’t regret it! For information and reservations, please call Patrick Miller at 586.752.5765. 

Samaritan House Food Drive Thanks 

 Dear Friends,

  Please accept our sincerest thanks for your generous donation of food.  Good Samaritans like you help us help those in need in our community. 

 Samaritan House 

March Pantry Needs 

   The Samaritan House has announced its pantry needs for the month of March.  They are as follows:  cooking oil, pancake mix, peanut butter, jelly, juice, laundry soap, dry milk, syrup, cereal and paper towels.  Please see the “Community” bulletin board about Easter basket and Easter dinner needs. 

  Please bring your donations to Samaritan House by March 18.  Business hours are Tuesday and Wednesday 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM and Friday from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.  Samaritan House is located at 58944 Van Dyke at 27 Mile Rd. in the Alward’s Plaza.   If these days/times are inconvenient, items can be dropped off at SS. John & Paul, CLEARLY MARKED “SAMARITAN HOUSE”.

Samaritan House plans

10th anniversary 

  The Samaritan House will hold its 10th Anniversary Gala Celebration at the Capital Banquet Center, 12350 31 Mile Road, on Friday, April 22. Tickets, which are available in the parish office, are $75 each and include valet parking, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, dinner (prepared by Chef John), dessert and dancing to the music of Gateway Orchestra. “It Take Two” will provide music during cocktail hour and dinner. Tickets must be purchased by April 1. This event is black tie optional. 

Missions

  Mark your calendars if you would like an opportunity to attend a Mission at two parishes. The presenter is Vince Ambrosetti, a very talented musician and composer: 

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton — Troy

March 6  thru March 9 — 7 p.m.

Theme: Waking Our Hearts 

St. Thecla — Clinton Township

March 13 thru March 16 — 7 p.m.

Theme: Blessed Are We 

Operation Rice Bowl

The man born blind 

  How are we blind? Whom don’t we see or what don’t we notice happening around us? As we continue our journey with Operation Rice Bowl this week, we pray for sight to see the needs of our brothers and sisters around the world. We fast so that our hunger heightens our awareness of those in need of better health facilities and healthier living conditions. Our almsgiving is a way for us to show those looking for hope that there are others who care about their plight.

Fish Fry 

  The North Oakland Elks will be holding their weekly Friday night fish fry throughout the Fridays of Lent from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Come and enjoy a great fish dinner (baked or fried) and look over the fantastic silent auction baskets on display.  

  Then join us for a family fun night on March 25 from 5:30-11:00 p.m. as we raise funds to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Activities will include face painting for the kids, a sundae bar for dessert and a live band for entertainment. We will also have a silent auction-bidding finale with some great baskets to be taken home with their lucky winners! North Oakland Elks Lodge #2716 is located  

Highlights of Worship Commission meeting

February 14, 2005 

¨         The 25th anniversary mass was reviewed. Everything is in place. Banners are completed and the music has been selected. The program is ready for printing. There will be a rehearsal on Saturday, February 26, for greeters, lectors, communion ministers and all those in the procession.

¨         The bell ringers will be attending a workshop in April.

¨         Taize prayer will be held on Tuesday and Thursday during Lent. Linda, JoAnne, Father Dave, and Carl will conduct these services.

¨         The Children’s Choir sang at St. Isidore’s. There was a very nice turnout. 

Meijer community rewards

  Meijer’s is running a new promotion in March: for every new member that signs up for the Meijer Community Rewards program in March 2005, the parish will earn $3, in addition to our monthly earnings! Ten parishioners need to enroll and use their Community Rewards card by April 30 in order for us to earn this bonus. If you haven’t signed up yet for this free fundraising opportunity, please do so this month. There are two ways to register: 

¨         enroll online at Meijer.com/rewards, click “Join”, then “Meijer Guest Card”

¨         OR pick up an application at the parish office

¨         Our organization number is 617883 

  The rest is easy—just swipe your Rewards card before the last item is scanned. Meijer’s does the rest. There is no cost to you or the parish to join or use this program. Funds raised in 2004-05 are earmarked for the purchase of a new parish sign on 28 Mile Road. Thank you for supporting our parish. 

March prayer theme:

The Eucharist,

Our Passover 

  This month of March, our Lenten journey reaches its glorious culmination as we renew our sharing in the Paschal Mystery of Christ, celebrating the great events of our salvation — Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. 

  Along with those joining the Church, we will be renewing our covenant with the Lord Jesus begun in Baptism and experienced anew each day in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. We pray that just as the Jewish people became God’s own priestly, royal, and prophetic people through their Passover experience, the same will be true for us.  

  As we unite our joys and sorrows to Christ’s one perfect sacrifice of love, may we experience His mercy and be drawn together in unity, growing in love for Him and one another. May this year’s Passover experience truly change our lives! 

In Sympathy

The faith community of SS. John & Paul extends sympathy and prayers to the family and friends of James Dushane whose funeral was held at our parish on March 3, 2005.  

         Teen News

A very special thanks goes out to...

Mrs. Mary Adkins, Mrs. Kerri Simonetti, and Mr. Dan Delmastro who gave up their time to drive the teens down to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit.  Our group was greeted by Mr. Roy Hoelscher, who runs the Connor facility.  Mr. Hoelscher proceeded to show us a film that explained how many people their organization helps.  We then split the group into three different parts, where some of the teens sorted and hung clothing, others helped the clients when they came in, and the rest boxed food for the homeless.   After working for three hours, Mr. Hoelscher lead the way as we drove over to the other homeless shelter where the teens ate lunch with the homeless.  After lunch we toured the Fr. Solanus Center, and had another enriching experience.  

  Our teens that gave up a day of their “Winter Break” to help others were:  Audrey Becker, Abby Franks, Peter Klozik, Alex Simonetti, Ryan Compeau, Chris Simonetti, Jeff Pyke, Jon Kretchman, Danielle Peters, Dayna Peters, Devon Compeau, Katie Adkins, Jeff Adkins, Beth Raffa, Emily Tabenske, and Emily Simonetti.  It was a wonderful day for us all.

¨         Teen lock-in (Grade 9-12)

  Friday, March 11, at 8:00 p.m. until Saturday, March 12, at 7:00 a.m. Please call Mrs. Peters at 781-9488 if you plan to attend. 

¨         Meeting Sunday, March 13

6:30-8:30 p.m. with “special” reconciliation service for teens. 

¨         Meeting Sunday, March 20

6:30-8:30 p.m. Teens doing last hour of the session with 8th grade. 

¨         Tuesday, March 22

  Teens doing Stations of the Cross for grades 1-6. Please take the time to join us. 

¨         Good Friday, March 25:

  Teens doing Stations of the Cross 

Knights of Columbus

  Knights of Columbus Council #7018 volunteered over 14,832 hours of service and gave $14,267 to a wide array of programs and activities to benefit the Catholic Church, the community, families and youth during 2004. “We are proud of our achievements as we’ve worked hard to strengthen our Church and community and come to the aid of those less fortunate” said Anthony Broeren, Grand Knight of Council #7018. If you would like more information on how you can become a member, please call Steve Balsam 586.752.0336 or Anthony Broeren 586.336.0298. 

  Council #7018 has launched a major membership recruitment effort with the theme “Experience of a Lifetime”. Grand Knight Anthony Broeren said, “We are inviting every eligible Catholic man in the area to truly have the experience of a lifetime by joining the Knights of Columbus, and sharing the benefits of membership in the Order with his family”. On Sunday, March 13, there will be a membership drive after all the Masses. Council #7018 members will be available to answer questions and take applications for membership. 

Support the Catholic Relief Services Collection 

Who is Jesus in Disguise? 

·          One of the 43, 000 people who die of hunger and its consequences every day

·          One of the 4.4 billion people living in developing countries where

·          basic sanitation is often lacking

·          safe drinking water is scarce

·          adequate housing is a challenge

·          modern health services are almost non-existent

·          education beyond a fifth grade level is rarely available for

  the majority of people

·          One of the estimated 35 million refugees and displaced persons living in often dangerous and squalid conditions without the hope of returning home 

Please help by giving to the Catholic Relief Services Collection (formerly the American Bishops’ Overseas Appeal) on the weekend of March 5-6. Your support will go to the Catholic organizations working to bring relief and hope to our brothers and sisters in need.  

Almsgiving

  The third pillar of our Lenten journey 

   Jesus teaches us to look beyond ourselves and make the needs of others our own.  Through the Gospel, we are specifically called to take action on behalf of the most vulnerable members of society.  As a community of faith, we have the obligation to reach out to those most in need.  When we give alms, we give something of ourselves, whether it be material resources, time or talent, to help support the needs and rights of our brothers and sisters, without thought of recompense or recognition.   

  The Samaritan House is a non-profit, ecumenical organization sponsored by nineteen local churches and is devoted to providing our neighbors in need with emergency food, utility and medical assistance.  To that end, SS. John & Paul parishioners have given alms to the Samaritan House through our sponsorship, volunteer services, monetary and food donations, special collections, Sharing Tree gifts, Back-to-School backpack drive, Thanksgiving and Easter food baskets and bimonthly food drives here at the church. 

  Birthright of Macomb is another non-profit volunteer agency dedicated to the rights of the unborn and aid to mothers and families in need.  This agency depends solely on donations and volunteers to keep it going.  We at SS. John & Paul have for many years been associated with this agency through our almsgiving of monetary assistance through special collections, gifts from our Sharing Tree, the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day flower sales and most recently our “Baby Shower” during the month of October.  

  These are just two examples of SS. John & Paul’s year round community almsgiving. 

Saturday and Sunday

March 5-6, 2005

Fr. Jerome Krieg by Family

Lorraine Darga by Family

Camille Minjoe by Cracchiola Family

Eldon Gregory by C. Gregory & Kevin 

Monday, March 7, 2005

Katherine Miracola by LaRose Family

James & Marietta Farchione by Family

 Tuesday, March 8, 2005

Bob Henk by Greenway Family 

Wednesday, March  9, 2005

Bob Henk by Pospiech Family

 Saturday and Sunday

March 12-13, 2005

Isaac Giffin by Gaffke Family

Lorraine Geromin by Snodgrass Family

Rudi Dietrich by Family

Dominic Tringali by J. Clancy Family