From Deacon Bob Calleja

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Dear St. Valentine Parishioners,

      Four years ago, following what I believed to be a call from the Lord, I applied to enter into formation to become a deacon in the Catholic Church. I figured if it was indeed God’s will for me then all the doors would open leading to my ordination and if I was mistaken about the call, then He would lead me away from that path into another way of living out my Catholic faith.  Either way I knew, as we all do, that we are made to love and serve God and our neighbor in Him. The journey, in my case, has indeed led me to ordination and my heart rejoices that I found the way from which I am called to understand God’s movement in my soul. From here I will learn, by grace, to live it out from this new perspective. I pray Our Lord will help me to live it well. I pray that Jesus will help us all to live the call He has placed on our lives well … especially right now, when the world so desperately needs bold, authentic witnesses to the saving power of Jesus Christ.  What a crazy year this has been for us all!! Still so strange and challenging but I’m so grateful to be alive right here and right now! Right now when humanity has seen how fragile life truly is despite all that we think we know … we see how little comfort and calm can be offered by the material things of the world … and we can see all too clearly right now that our salvation is not to be found in politics and politicians. Right now is an important moment for the Universal Church and, in a special way, for the Archdiocese of Detroit as we begin to work together, in a more united, interconnected, and familial way than ever before to Unleash the Gospel of Jesus Christ … Right here, right now what the world is really hungry for is Jesus! And we are ALL called to introduce everyone we know to Him.  I want to thank the people of St. Valentine Parish for all your prayers which truly inspired me to come to know Jesus more deeply and to follow His call on my life.  I will always pray for you and your call as individuals and as a parish.  I think it  is amazing that three deacons have come from among this parish within the past couple decades!  God clearly hears the prayers for vocations that are being offered here and so I beg you to keep it up! The great early 20th Century English writer G.K. Chesterton once said, “Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”  And so I say, thank you again … for by you, my fellow disciples in Christ Jesus at St. Valentine, my happiness is indeed doubled by wonder. 

 

God bless you always, 

Deacon Bob  

 

Deacon Bob,

The parishioners of St. Valentine Parish and I congratulate you and your family upon your ordination on Saturday, October 17th at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. May God continue to bless all of you.

 

Fr. Socorro

Roofing Project

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As you can see, the inside of the church is enshrined in plastic!  The South side of the church has been completed and looks great.  Thank you to all the volunteers who helped on Sunday to cover everything before the work began on Monday.  If you are able to help on Saturday morning to take the plastic off for Mass this weekend, all help will be appreciated. Thank you to Patty Soter and John Danic for the photos.

Fall Clean Up

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Our heartfelt thanks go to Allison Wright, Kathy Burger-Reece,  Ray Mote, Barbara Cunningham, Eileen and Bob MacDonell and Rick Charlton. Their dedicated watering and gardening throughout this summer kept our plants living and yielding beautiful flowers for us to enjoy God’s Majesty.     

Unfortunately, it soon will be time to remove the decaying flowers, and ready the grounds for winter. Please set aside Saturday, October 17th, 9 am-12 pm,  for fall clean up around the church and school. Please bring tools, paper bags, and come join a bunch of fun volunteers. Many hands certainly make the work lighter !! All the best, and hope to see you on Saturday, October 17th.

Eileen MacDonell

Praying the Rosary

 Our Parish will be praying the rosary after most weekend Masses in October. Please mark your calendars to join us.

Saint John XXIII’s Story— November 25, 1881—June 3, 1963

Saint of the Day for October 11

Although few people had as great an impact on the 20th century as Pope John XXIII, he avoided the limelight as much as possible. Indeed, one writer has noted that his “ordinariness” seems one of his most remarkable qualities.

 The firstborn son of a farming family in Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo in northern Italy, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was always proud of his down-to-earth roots. In Bergamo’s diocesan seminary, he joined the Secular Franciscan Order.

After his ordination in 1904, Fr. Roncalli returned to Rome for canon law studies. He soon worked as his bishop’s secretary, Church history teacher in the seminary, and as publisher of the diocesan paper.

His service as a stretcher-bearer for the Italian army during World War I gave him a firsthand knowledge of war. In 1921, Fr. Roncalli was made national director in Italy of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. He also found time to teach patristics at a seminary in the Eternal City.

In 1925, he became a papal diplomat, serving first in Bulgaria, then in Turkey, and finally in France. During World War II, he became well acquainted with Orthodox Church leaders. With the help of Germany’s ambassador to Turkey, Archbishop Roncalli helped save an estimated 24,000 Jewish people.

 Named a cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice in 1953, he was finally a residential bishop. A month short of entering his 78th year, Cardinal Roncalli was elected pope, taking the name John after his father and the two patrons of Rome’s cathedral, St. John Lateran. Pope John took his work very seriously but not himself. His wit soon became proverbial, and he began meeting with political and religious leaders from around the world. In 1962, he was deeply involved in efforts to resolve the Cuban missile crisis.

His most famous encyclicals were Mother and Teacher (1961) and Peace on Earth (1963). Pope John XXIII enlarged the membership in the College of Cardinals and made it more international. At his address at the opening of the Second Vatican Council, he criticized the “prophets of doom” who “in these modern times see nothing but prevarication and ruin.” Pope John XXIII set a tone for the Council when he said, “The Church has always opposed… errors. Nowadays, however, the Spouse of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity.”

On his deathbed, Pope John said: “It is not that the gospel has changed; it is that we have begun to understand it better. Those who have lived as long as I have…were enabled to compare different cultures and traditions, and know that the moment has come to discern the signs of the times, to seize the opportunity and to look far ahead.”

“Good Pope John” died on June 3, 1963. Saint John Paul II beatified him in 2000, and Pope Francis canonized him in 2014.

Taken from franciscanmedia.org

 Permanent Deaconate of Robert Calleja

Please keep Robert (Bob) Calleja in your prayers as he will be ordained to a Permanent Deacon on Saturday, October 17th. The ordination Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.