Catholics traditionally remember St. Joseph during the month of March. On December 8, 2020 the Holy Father announced that the year 2021 will be dedicated to St. Joseph. The special designation marks the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church. Here at St. Clare, we will pray for all fathers and father figures through the intercessions of St. Joseph. Here is a prayer that can be used: O glorious St. Joseph, master, and model of the spiritual life, I ask you, be my guide and conduct me to Jesus Christ, that I may learn in your school to know, adore and love Him as my only Lord and God. Amen.
Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's Will more faithfully.
This is a very exciting week ahead for all of us. It is Catholic Schools Week. You will find our Catholic Schools Week Calendar in the bulletin today. The week kicks off with the St. Clare of Montefalco Catholic School Open House Sunday, January 31. Please visit the teachers by connecting at www.visitstclareschool.org between 1:00 PM and 3:40 PM this Sunday afternoon. Each grade has a specific time for families to meet and greet the teachers via a zoom link. The website has videos of each teacher sharing their classrooms too. You can view the videos anytime using the website link.
Christmas decorations have been tucked away in storage for another year – hopefully a more joyful, peaceful, and friendlier year. Our churches will look a bit simpler, plain – ordinary. But isn’t it in those moments God speaks to us, reveals himself, and is present beside us? Isn’t it in those moments that we are asked to live out our baptismal promises we renewed last Sunday? Isn’t it in those moments we are asked to say: I am Gods’ beloved child. God will use my talents and gifts to build his Kingdom. I deserve respect and dignity. Striving to live Jesus’ example, imitating him in mercy, charity, peace, goodwill, and healing that can transform, change not only our normal ordinary daily activities and moments of encounter, but also the wider land in which we live. Just like in the life of the Apostles from today’s Gospel. Let’s us be open to those ordinary encounters with God’s grace and go see where God is staying nowadays. Be Bold Be Holy Be Catholic.
I said happy, certainly we wish happiness for ourselves our loved ones and friends, but as we begin a new year, the question is: What will this year be like? What will it bring? An end to COVID, a united country, a stable economy? How about our health, peace, and happiness in our families? As our catholic community of the Archdiocese embarks on the collaboration of Families of Parishes, what will that look like? There is so much unknown, perhaps a bit of fear, pondering the uncertain, it is hard to look to the future with a sense of ease.
On behalf of ALL of us here St. Clare School and Parish I wish you a peaceful, healthy, and Merry Christmas. This may not be what we envisioned our Christmas celebration to be, by that I mean all that “wraps” the main event – coming of Jesus into our lives. The tangible things of this world do matter; beauty can reveal the truth about God becoming flesh. Perhaps this is the best way of “walking” in the shoes of Mary and Joseph or the Three Magi – who could not have imagined the coming of the Messiah “in this way” or the birth of the New King “in this way” in all these surroundings? Mary said Fiat – Yes, Magi brought gifts and came to pay homage. We can learn from this ancient but ever new story: We come to God and welcome Him in the way we are, but also God comes to us and welcomes us the way He is.
Saturday, Dec. 12, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patronesses of the Americas. Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Indian convert to Christianity in December of 1531 as he was on the way to Mass. He was a quiet humble man, a poor peasant. When Our Lady appeared to him she told Juan to ask the Bishop to build a church in her honor. To persuade the reluctant Bishop Our Lady promised to give a sign. When Juan presented his message to the Bishop and the roses from the tilma fell to the ground they revealed the image of Mary on the tilma now enshrined in Mexico City. In this image Mary resembles a young Aztec woman. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is widely revered as a symbol of God’s love for all American natives. Join us for this special Mass at 8 am.
Today we light the second candle on our Advent wreath. Some refer to this as the Bethlehem candle which represents the birthplace of Christ (the first coming) and the hope of Christ coming again. During Mass, right after the prayer of Our Father we pray: Deliver us Lord…. as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Today we transition to year B in the Sunday lectionary and Week 1 of the weekday cycle. The evangelist for this new year is the Gospel of Mark. As many are using personal prayer books and the Divine Office books at home, be sure to note these changes. Did you know the First Sunday of Advent is the Churches official “New Year’s Day?” Today’s reading from the Gospel suggests a good New Year’s resolution: develop one good habit for keeping alert to God’s saving action.
CLICK ON DETROIT: For months, mass at St. Clare Montefalco Parish in Grosse Pointe Park has been different in many ways, but still celebrated weekly. “People have gotten pretty used to things by now,” said parishioner and Leadership Director Bill Harrington. “We socially distance, we wear masks, we use hand sanitizer.” For those who don’t feel comfortable coming to church in person, the Archbishop of Detroit, Rev. Allen Vigneron, extended a blessing. Announced on Friday, the dispensation from the obligation to attend mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation was extended to Ash Wednesday, Feb, 17, 2021. Click story to view the video clip.
November is a perfect time to remember our deceased family members and friends in prayer. In the past, we invited you to enter the names of your beloved deceased in our Book of Life. This year, a basket has been placed near the baptismal font where you may deposit a card with the names of those you wish to be remembered. There are cards available or you may bring one from home. Those whose names are placed into the basket will be remembered at all Masses during the month of November. If you would like to have Masses offered for your loved ones, you will find envelopes for this purpose on the table as well, and please indicate clearly that this is for the Mass.
On Wednesday, November 11, we remember our Veterans of the past and present who dedicated their lives in service for our freedom. Wednesday morning Mass at 8:00 am will be offered for all veterans. We remember and we are grateful to all veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. Please join us for this celebration.
On November 1, 2020 at 11:00 am, St. Clare will celebrate All Souls Day with a special Mass in memory of all those who died this past year. Candles with names of the deceased will be prepared for all those buried from St. Clare. If you have a family member or a loved one who died this past year, who was not buried from St. Clare, you can call the St. Clare parish office at 313-647- 5060 and provide the name of the person who died. We will prepare a candle for you to carry that day in procession along with the others.
Join me on Thursday evenings at 8:30 pm when I lead the rosary live via our Facebook page. The month of October is dedicated to Our Lady and the Rosary is the prayer where we reflect on the mysteries of our faith. We ask our Blessed Virgin Mother to intercede on our behalf as we place our petitions before her. It also is timely for us to pray for our country as we draw closer to the election in November.
Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron will celebrate a memorial Mass to remember the infants and children lost to miscarriage and stillbirth on Sunday, October 18, 2020. Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament at 11:00 AM. Parents and families who have suffered the loss of a child will be invited to come forward to receive a memorial rosary and a special blessing from the Archbishop.
On Tuesday, September 29, our 6:30 evening Mass, will celebrate the feast of the Archangels. This is the day the Michaelite Congregation to which Fr. Tom and I belong, will begin its Centennial Year. This is a special day for the Michaelite Fathers (C.S.M.A.), as we celebrate our patron saint, St. Michael the Archangel. C.S.M.A. stands for the Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel. Say a prayer for us and the members of our community to be good followers of St. Michael and good priests according to God’s heart. Thank you for all your generous donations to the cause of our community, especially our seminary.
Two weeks ago, David Troiano, Ron Kotz, Dan Piepszowski, and Mark Fikany met to discuss how our Music Ministry can more engaging in our fall celebrations. Beginning Sunday, September 27, additional music will complement our services. Limited choir members will return to the 9:00 am Mass. At 4:00 pm and 11:00 am a cantor will accompany the organ/piano. We will also resume the Sunday 5:00 pm Mass on September 27.
Children’s Faith Formation: Classes will begin on October 4. If you have not registered your child or children, please do so today. I would like to order materials by tomorrow, September 21, so we have them here by our start date.
Have you considered that this time of challenge and uncertainty could possibly be the Church in Detroit’s finest hour? This is a time for our parishes and communities to do what we do best: rise up. In southeast Michigan, we are no strangers to challenges,and we, with the grace and love of God, have always been resilient, rising from the ashes and overcoming these trials.
It’s been two months since we returned to the church for services. I am happy to be able to sit in the pews again with other parishioners, but just like everywhere else I go these days, it is a little bit different…