March 2012 Sweatshirt and T-Shirt Order Form

How, though?  How can we make it a habit to put God first in our days?  One very simple – ridiculously simple – technique I have found is to set my clock-radio to play loud static.  So now, rather than waking up to the immediate imposition of other people’s ideas (whether they might be jokes, news, marketing, music, or whatever), I wake to a meaningless noise.  And it’s SO easy to fill that moment with prayer!  Here’s one I like:  God, bless my day. May it be exactly everything You want for me. And may I be, today, exactly the person You created for Your own glory, pleasure, and communion.  Fill me up and pour me out, Lord. Amen.

Your Pickle,

Marian Bart

Parish Catechetical Leader

Dolan is urging Catholics and the public at large to speak out in protest. Please take action today. More information can be found here.

Please also read Archbishop Allen Vigneron’s official statement.

Next week I will continue with the commentary on the new translation, but I think it would be a good idea for us to refresh our memories on how to properly receive the Eucharist. It is very easy to forget things or to fall into bad habits since we are not perfect, so reminders are always helpful! This is for all of us, so there is no need to feel you are being singled out.

The communicant is properly disposed to receive the Eucharist when he or she is in the state of grace, and has observed the one hour fast from all food and drink other than water and medication: “One who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain from any food or drink, with the exception of water and medicine, for at least the period of one hour before Holy Communion.” (Canon 919, The Code of Canon Law, 1983)

Just before receiving the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, the communicant is to make a small bow in recognition of the True Presence of Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The communicant may receive the Body of Christ either on the tongue or in the hand. If you receive on the tongue, then simply tilt your head back and stick your tongue out so as to create a flat surface to place the Body of Christ upon. If you receive in the hand, then place your left hand under your right hand with your palms facing up and flat. “When receiving in the hand, the communicant should be guided by the words of St. Cyril of Jerusalem: “When you approach, take care not to do so with your hand stretched out and your fingers open or apart, but rather place your left hand as a throne beneath your right, as befits one who is about to receive the King. Then receive Him, taking care that nothing is lost.”” (#42, “Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion under Both Kinds in the Dioceses of the United States of America” March 22, 2002)

When St. Cyril says, “taking care nothing is lost,” he is warning of the danger of any particles from the Host sticking to the communicant’s hand, or of the Host being dropped. Please avoid using what I like to call the “pinchers approach,” where the communicant pinches the Host between his or her thumb and pointer finger. This is very risky and is also more of a gesture of “taking” than of “receiving.” It is understandable if the communicant is carrying a child, however, as a suggestion, it may be easier for that communicant to receive on the tongue. If you receive in the hand, then you must consume the Host immediately. There should never be a point at which you are walking with the Host (unless you have a pyx to bring the Eucharist to the homebound or sick after Mass). The only thing you need to say upon receiving is “Amen.” Please do not say “Thank you,” or anything else. This is not a personal exchange between the communicant and the one distributing the Eucharist, but is a personal encounter between Our Lord who is Truly Present in the  Host and the communicant. Likewise, this is why the priest, deacon, or Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion is only to say, “The Body of Christ,” and nothing else. Those who distribute should never say “The Body of Christ, Jim, or Joe, or Sue…etc.” Once again, this is not about the one distributing the Host and his or her relationship with the communicant. For all intensive purposes, the one distributing is not there; the only Person the communicant needs to be paying attention to is Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.  Besides, there are practical reasons for not addressing the communicant by name: e.g. how would the other communicants feel if the one distributing said the name of one communicant but did not know the names of others?

When receiving the Precious Blood the communicant makes a small bow in recognition of what he or she is about to receive, says “Amen” in response to hearing “The Blood of Christ,” and then takes a sip of the Precious Blood.

Then comes the most intimate time any of us can ever spend with God on this earth, when the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ resides in our bodies (which is a Presence estimated to last for about 15 minutes before digestion occurs)! That is awesome and absolutely amazing! Praised be Jesus Christ! Have a blessed week and please pray for the homeless, that they may have warm shelter at this cold time.

In Christ through Mary,
Fr. Eric Fedewa

Together we learn about the experience of grief and loss,

And find comfort as we journey through grief.

St. Anastasia Church in conjunction with St John Hospice is offering a five- week series about the experience of grief and loss.

The purpose of this five-week series is to provide support and an understanding of what we may experience as we grieve the death of a loved one.  Through sharing, education, and mutual support members learn how to cope with grief and begin the process of healing in a group setting.
The contents of each week’s sessions builds upon the previous week, so participants benefit most by attending all sessions.

“Healing the Heart” is offered as community service, and there is no charge.

Wednesday Evening Group

March 7, 14, 21, 28, and April 4

6:30p.m.-8:00p.m.
For further information or registration call:

Kim Houseman at 248 689-8380 x 112

Today’s Gospel from Luke describes this in one sentence: “Mary treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart.” We    marvel at Mary, the Mother of God, a teenager from Nazareth. She gave birth to a tiny baby who was also God. It is a miracle within a  miracle.

Happy New Year,
Deacon Ron

I hope you all had a great Christmas with your families. Happy New Year, and more importantly, Happy Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Mother of God! Today, we will continue to look at the new translation of the Nicene Creed. Again, all of this comes directly from the  Magnificat Roman Missal Companion, edited by Fr. Peter John      Cameron, O.P., with the commentary written by Professor Anthony Esolen, 2011. (You may order this companion or subscribe to Magnificat, which is a great Catholic publication that contains the daily readings from Mass for each day along with meditations from Saints and Catholic writers visit: http://www.magnificat.com/romanmissal/roman_missal_companion.asp )

“…of all things visible and invisible: The words “visible and invisible” replace “seen and unseen.” The point is not that God makes things we happen to see and things we happen not to see, but things that can be seen, like all the beauties of earth and the spangled stars in the sky, and things that by their very nature cannot be seen. Those include the spiritual beings we call angels, the messengers of God whom we can see only if they manifest themselves to us, and such non-material things as the moral law. So when we utter these words, we proclaim the truth that what can be seen by man is but a portion, indeed quite a small portion, of all that is. The words echo those of an ancient hymn to Christ, preserved for us by Saint Paul: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him” (Col 1: 15-16). Thus too the verse, accurately rendered, helps to join our praise of the Father with our praise of the Son which follows, “through him all things were made.””

“…the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages: Christ is eternally begotten of the Father, and here the idea is given a precise and yet poetic form: before all ages. We may think of the birth of Jesus in the fullness of time, as a man to dwell among us.  But before that time, even before there was such a thing as time at all, Christ is begotten and born of the Father. That is not something that happened, in the way that an event happens on earth. There was never the Father without the Son and the Holy Spirit. All things and all times, from the beginning to the end of the world, are the creation of the Blessed Trinity. “He is before all things,” says Saint Paul (Col 1: 17). “I am the first and the last,” says Christ in the Book of Revelation, “the one who lives” (Rv 1: 17-18).”

“…consubstantial with the Father: Christ is not simply one with the Father, as two separate beings joined together in love. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit share the same substance or essence. The word “substance” here is used with its ancient philosophical meaning: it does not signify the matter that composes a thing (for God is not a lowly mass of created matter, like the earth), but rather the essence that makes a thing the sort of thing it is. Since God is One, if Christ is  consubstantial with the Father, then he too is God, and not a  different God, but the same. That explains Jesus’ response to the Apostle Philip, who asked him to show them the Father. “Have I been with you for so long a time,” says Jesus, “and you still do not know me, Philip?      Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (Jn 14: 9-10). So also the Holy Spirit. Father, Son, and Spirit are not one in or by means of being, but One Being, three Persons in one Being. Again we are invited to dwell more fully upon the highest mystery of love, which is that communion of Persons in the Holy Trinity.”

I hope this new year will be a grace-filled one for you and a year in which Our Lord Jesus draws you to Himself in a special way through His Mother, Mary the Holy Mother of God. God bless!

In Christ through Mary,
Fr. Eric Fedewa

This commentary from Fr. Barron provides an excellent explanation of the need for the translation now in use.

Please check this page often to continue to learn about the eternal, ever-new liturgy.

We now look at the prayers which occur just before the preface (e.g. “may the Lord accept…”) and the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy). Again, all of this comes directly from the Magnificat Roman Missal Companion, edited by Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., with the commentary written by Professor Anthony Esolen, 2011.

“…that my sacrifice and yours: There is a subtle difference between saying “mine and yours” and “ours.” When we say “ours,” we make no distinction among persons or groups. But there is a distinction to be made here, and a great truth to proclaim. The priest is not simply one of us, but the man whom God has chosen to offer the sacrifice on our behalf. That is what he means when he calls it my sacrifice. Then he says it is also ours. For we too are priests of God, a holy people, a nation set apart.”

“…his holy Church: There is no need to omit the word “holy.” We know that the Church on earth is made up of sinners. How could it be otherwise?  How could it be the ship of our salvation, if sinners could not be admitted aboard? Yet this same Church has been sanctified by the blood of Jesus. If he looks upon it with love and takes it to him as a bridegroom takes his bride, let us then never deny the holiness of that Bride, but rather pray that he may make us also holy, and without spot. For Christ has handed himself over to die, to sanctify the Church, “that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph 5: 27).”

 “It is right and just: The translation is brief, as the Latin itself is. First we affirm that it is the right or worthy thing to do, to thank God, and then we affirm that it is also just. For a thing may be right in many ways. If I am ill, it is right for me to beg God for healing, since it is correct for me to acknowledge his power and virtuous for me to trust in him. Yet if I did not beg for healing – if instead I prayed for the healing of others – I would not necessarily be committing a wrong. But our thanks to God is right because it is just: we owe him the debt of gratitude.”

“Lord God of hosts: Perhaps the most common phrase to   describe the Lord, heard by the prophet Isaiah in his great vision in the temple, and echoed here in our prayer: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Is 6: 3). The words here show that God makes his power manifest in a special way through the hosts of angels who attend him. When he made the world, as we read in the Book of Job, “all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Jb 38: 7). These are the angels who minister about his altar, or who guard us in our weakness, or who fight on our behalf. They and the saints are one in the Church  triumphant, against whose onslaught, says Jesus, the gates of hell shall not prevail (Mt 16: 18)”

That’s all for now, have a blessed week and may God bless you all!

In Christ through Mary,
Fr. Eric Fedewa

P.S. The Knights are willing to remove any splinters at no cost (as long as you were not sitting on the table!?!) 

Only Good Will Come From This
Are you aware that we celebrate Exposition here at the parish? In fact we are going to be celebrating even more. Presently we Expose the Lord in the Chapel after the 9:30am Mass every Wednesday until 6:45am Thursday morning. Every First Friday of the Month we Expose the Lord after the 9:30am Mass Friday morning until 8:00am Sunday morning. In addition we will now Expose the Lord after the 9:30am Mass on Monday morning until 8:00pm Monday night.

Countless religious, including many saints and popes over the centuries, have extolled the great spiritual blessings and benefits we can derive from Eucharistic adoration. Pope John Paul II calling it “a great treasure of the Catholic faith” noted that “it nourishes social love” and encouraged all Christians to visit Jesus regularly in the Blessed Sacrament as “we are all called to abide in the presence of God.”

Speaking of being called, what is so important for us to realize is that Christ calls us, each one of us, to visit Him in Eucharistic adoration much as He called His apostles! Our Lord said on the cross “I thirst” and, indeed, He thirsts for us! Jesus is waiting for us in tabernacles all over the world. 

Four of our adorers who sign up regularly for an hour spot are dealing with surgeries and other medical challenges. They are no longer able to fill their hour and we are not allowed to expose the Eucharist if no one is present, therefore we need your help.  Think about how precious and intimate it is when the Chapel is reserved for you and Jesus alone. We need your help to fill in a few of the now vacant spots: weekly on Thursdays from 2—3am, once a month on Saturday from 8—9pm, and we need helpers for benediction on Mondays at 8pm and Thursdays at 6:45am.  Please call the parish office and let us know if you can assist.

God bless,
Fr. J.J.