The reports out of Washington indicate this coming week will be climactic in the ongoing debate over health care reform.  In stating their position on this issue, the U.S. bishops have identified four key elements necessary to insist upon in the proposed legislation:

* A truly universal health policy with respect for human life and dignity.  (To be specific, the expansion of health care should not involve the expansion of abortion funding and of polices forcing everyone to pay for abortions.  It is very important that the language in the House-passed bill preventing abortion funding, the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, be incorporated in its essential features as a part of any final bill.The provisions on abortion funding in the current un-amended Senate health care bill are seriously deficient and unacceptable.)

* Access for all with a special concern for the poor and inclusion of immigrants.

* Pursuing the common good and preserving pluralism including freedom of conscience and variety of options.

* Restraining costs and applying them equitably across the spectrum of payers.

In the hours and days ahead, please contact our lawmakers and keep them in your prayers as they debate, and ultimately vote, on this historic legislation.  I would urge you to go online to get the latest information and suggested action plans advocated by the Michigan Catholic Conference and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Cardinal Francis George, president of the USCCB, has challenged Congress to recall and honor President Obama’s commitment to the nation last year that health care reform would not become a vehicle for expanding abortion funding or mandates.  ”The Conference will remain vigilant and involved throughout this entire process,” the cardinal states, “to assure that these essential provisions are included in the final legislation.”

At this critical juncture, it is vitally important that we, as Christian Catholics, raise our voices regarding the moral case for genuine health care reform that protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

The Most Reverend Allen H. Vigneron

Archbishop of Detroit

The tradition of blessing Easter baskets celebrates the joy of the Resurrection.  The Easter meal breaks the six weeks of Lenten fasting with the sharing of blessed food on Easter morning.  The foods represent fare abstained from during Lent: meat, butter, rich breads and more.

In many European countries and parishes in the United States, families bring colorful baskets filled with Easter foods and covered with special linens on Holy Saturday to be blessed.

The foods in the baskets are foods that are especially significant to our faith.  They are symbolic of Christ Himself, our true Passover.

Eggs, plain or decorated and hardboiled are a sign of rejoicing in the new life that is ours in Christ.  The Paschal Lamb, usually made from cake, bread or butter, is symbolic of the victory of Jesus Christ after his Resurrection.  Butter or sugar represents the sweetness of God’s blessings.  Meats (sausage, ham, bacon) are symbolic of abolishment of the “Old Law” in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Easter breads are symbolic of Christ Jesus, the Bread of Life.  Horseradish reminds us of the bitter sufferings of our Lord.  Salt, the fundamental seasoning and preservative, is symbolic of prosperity and justice.

On Easter Sunday the blessed foods are shared with family and friends.  The colored eggs are exchanged with friends.

This old custom is indeed richly symbolic and beautiful and one in which the whole family can participate in and prepare.

Please note: There will be no confessions available on that day. On the official website for Divine Mercy (www.thedivinemercy.org), the following information about confession is given:

Whether your last confession was 10, 20, 30, or even more days before Divine Mercy Sunday, as long as you do not have the stain of unconfessed mortal sin on your soul, then you are spiritually alive in Christ and able to receive His special grace from Holy Communion on that great feast day! Divine Mercy Sunday could just as easily be termed “Divine Generosity Sunday,” when we consider how little our Lord requires from us in order that we may be able to receive this extraordinary outpouring of His love…Some people seem to believe that you have to go to Confession on the very feast day itself! But nowhere in St. Faustina’s Diary does it stipulate this. In fact, we know from Diary entry 1072 that St. Faustina made her confession in preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday on the day before the feast, on a Saturday.

In fact, all of Lent should be a preparation to make a good confession in order to receive Holy Communion with an open and trusting heart on Easter Sunday and on Divine Mercy Sunday.

On Easter Sunday, be sure to bring your Easter basket to Mass for a special blessing and treat.

Exposition of the Eucharist

Unplug, unwind…

Is noise pollution interfering with your Lenten journey?  Do you need a place to unplug from the tv, computer, cell phone and i-pod?  Our very own chapel is open 24/7 and offers a peaceful, quiet, spirit-filled choice.  Bring your reading, writing, thoughts, worries, thanks and prayers and experience the gift of silence!  Special opportunities to be in the presence of Jesus Christ during Eucharistic Adoration on Wednesdays from 10:30 am until 8:00pm.  He is waiting for you.

Stations of the Cross

Each Friday in Lent at 7 p.m. different groups from the parish will lead us in the stations and reflection.

• February 26th, The Legion of Mary will lead us in the stations “Through the Eyes of Mary.”
• March 12, Family Stations of the Cross are geared toward children. We will be “looking at Jesus” and then, “looking at our hearts.” The Stations go very quickly, but  the church will remain open until 8:00 p.m. on this evening so that all are able to spend some quiet time praying in the church
• March 19th, hosted by Fishermen’s Net Prayer Group, there will be scriptural Stations of the Cross followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
• March 26th, Father J.J. will celebrate the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick following stations.

Reconciliation

Tuesdays of Lent from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
Wednesdays of Lent from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Anointing of the Sick

Friday, March 5th at 9:30 a.m.
Friday, March 26 following Stations of the Cross at 7:00 p.m.

A Piece of the Cross

This year you are invited to pick up a “piece of the Cross” from the baskets in the Narthex.  Take home the piece of wood and decorate with paint, markers, glitter, sparkle; use your creativity!  Bring it back to church no later than Palm Sunday.  It will become part of our Easter Cross.

The new projector in the Davidson Center is installed, up, and running. It’s even better than we thought it would be and we look forward to you all seeing it and benefiting from it. As we indicated in a previous article, the old projector that is in need of some repair is being donated to Our Lady of Loretto in Redford.

Your automated donations for Easter will be the same as your normal donations for those of you on the weekly plan. With Easter falling on April 4^th, those of you on the semi-monthly or monthly plan will not have an automated donation other than the normal 15^th and 30^th for semi and 30th for monthly.  You are certainly welcome and encouraged to drop an envelope in the basket for Easter, but if you prefer to donate automated for Easter, please fill out the form below and return it to the office to the attention of Franz, or drop it in the collection basket.  Either way, if you want automated for Easter we must have your authorization for an Automated Easter Collection returned to Franz no later than March 29^th…those of you on weekly automated, in the event you’d like to increase your automated collection for Easter (one time only), then also fill out the form with the additional amount only and return it also by March 29^th.

God bless, Franz

“Having finished the training, I recently began my ministry with No One Dies Alone. The first time I was called, I was able to get to the hospital within 40 minutes. I didn’t know anything about the person who was dying. I  gathered my bible, a rosary, a prayer booklet on dying, a scapular, and went to the hospital.

Once I arrived, I asked for the nurse on duty and then was shown to the man’s room. I was told his name: John.   Nothing else was shared with me, other than he was alone, and had a visitor from Florida that morning. He  appeared to be in his early 70’s.

The first thing I did was say the Divine Mercy Chaplet. He was not awake, and he was struggling with his breathing.  Then, I read four messages from a booklet called, “Heaven Speaks to Those Who Are Dying.” They are messages received by Anne, a lay apostle, from  Jesus, Mary and the saints **(see below). They were very beautiful and just what I would like to hear/know at that time of my earthly life’s end. I read those messages aloud, and then began reading Psalms aloud. As I finished reading a fourth Psalm, I noticed that John’s breathing had become easier. I glanced at him while reading and spoke his name softly. I was surprised at the love I felt for this stranger. I felt connected to him and knew that this was a very special time.

Before beginning to read another Psalm, I looked at John. His eyes opened. He was looking upward and then his eyes moved over to me. I stood, and told him that I was going to get his nurse. She was surprised and came immediately.

As I turned back in to the room, John was still looking toward me and then his eyes again looked upward. Within a minute, he passed away. So, within 40 minutes of being with this man, I was able to pray for him – and with him – and was present as he left this earth for eternal life. I was very happy to have started praying with the Divine Mercy Chaplet. I am grateful of the promises made by Jesus to be the Merciful Savior whenever someone prays the   chaplet for a dying person.

A few days later I was interviewed by the media department of Beaumont Hospital. They asked if I had been scared. I answered that it was a beautiful experience, and that belief in eternal life makes this time an extraordinary event. I was not scared and was happy to be of service to Jesus at this most important time. While I did not see  anything unusual, the love I felt in my heart for my brother was definitely of heavenly origin. Heaven was in that room while I was there! “

~Jean Paquette

**Direction for Our Times (which is the apostolate Anne began) wishes to manifest its complete obedience and submission of mind and heart to the final and definitive judgment of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and the local Ordinary regarding the supernatural character of the messages received by Anne, a lay apostle. In this spirit, the messages of Anne, a lay apostle, have been submitted to her bishop, Most Reverend Leo O’Reilly, Bishop of Kilmore, Ireland, and to the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for formal examination. In the meantime Bishop O’Reilly has given permission for their publication.

P.S. Thank you one and all (speakers, attendees, planners, food prep volunteers, greeters, musicians, maintenance, etc.) that helped make the Parish Mission such a rousing success.  “God’s Gift, Our Opportunity, My Response” was the theme. Gifts were certainly flowing. Let’s make sure we respond!

P.S.S. FYI – we have a Service Project Party today (Sunday, March 14) from 1 – 2:30 p.m. in the Davidson Center. You can help by making scarves, writing letters, baking cookies, or making PBJ’s. Just bring a jar of peanut butter and a loaf or two of bread to help us out. Thanks ahead of time.

God bless,
Fr. J.J.

The weekly donation review covers the weeks of February 21st and 28th. We’ve included the CSA update just to make sure you all see how close we are and to remind you to get those donations in when the request card from the AOD comes. We’re excited at the prospect of exceeding our assessment and look forward to closing out the CSA campaign at the end of May.

Those of you on the automated donation program will be receiving a letter (before Easter) for you to indicate if you want your Easter donation to be automated and what amount you want to donate. It will be the same type of arrangement we had for Christmas which went very well. We did have a few hiccups, but nothing we were not able to resolve quickly. You will then receive a second letter after Easter containing the remaining Holy Days through 12/31/10; you’ll be able to indicate if you want those donations automated and what amount you want to donate, return that to me and we’ll do the rest. There will also be categories for automated maintenance, flower, and outside beautification (flowerbeds, general upkeep) donations for you to participate in if you like. I would like to encourage one and all again to consider the automated program. We now have 164 families on the program with monthly donation levels of $19,983 (includes weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly). It seems that almost every week now we are getting 1 or 2 additions to the list. The forms are available in the narthex and also at the parish office. If you need more information or just want to discuss the options, feel free to call or e-mail me direct.

We are reaping the benefits of the Kroger Community Rewards program and as of this writing have been informed of a check being sent to us in the amount of $791.96 for the period of 11/31/09 to 1/31/10; together with our last check from Kroger in November, we’ve now benefited from that program for a total of $999.64. We’ll put the sign-up info in the bulletin next week for any of you that may want get on board as right now we have a total of 129 families that have signed up…for a parish this size we feel there should be more.

God bless, Franz

   St. Paul also had a burning bush experience on the Damascus road, and the passionate faith in Jesus that took root that day is visible in all his writings. Samuel and Isaiah discovered their burning bush in the temple. Each went forth from their experiences to serve God and God’s people as best he could despite the personal cost.

   Mary’s initial burning bush experience was mediated by the angel-messenger in whom she recognized the divine presence. She listened as the voice of God changed her future forever.

   Joseph’s experience came to him in a dream that encouraged him to surrender his own sense of morality and his logic to a plan he had not made, but in which he was invited to participate in a very important way. As for their son, Jesus, his burning bush took place in a garden after an intimate meal with his friends. Agonizingly alone before the reality of what lay ahead for him, Jesus knew the presence of God in the depths of his suffering. Even before his death on the cross, he allowed himself to be consumed by the will of God for him.

   With those experiences to ignite our own, each of us is challenged this Lent to be willing to discover those burning bushes through which God is revealed to us and we are revealed to Him. This Lent through prayer and penance let us ignite our own fire.

In His Burning Desire,
Deacon Ron