The Women’s Club met last Wednesday to decorate pumpkins for St. Anne’s Meade Assisted Living in Southfield.

Everyone had a good time knowing they were sharing their talents with others. And we feel quite confident the pumpkins will be viewed well after Halloween!

The Month of October 2019 has been designated as Extraordinary Mission Month. The Holy Father has invited the whole Church to live an extraordinary missionary time commemorating the centenary of the promulgation of the Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud by Pope Benedict XV (30 November 1919).

The Theme of the Mission Month of October is “Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World. In the celebration of this Extraordinary month the Holy Father calls to mind: “Celebrating this month will help us in the first place to rediscover the missionary meaning of our bond of faith to Jesus Christ, faith freely received as a gift in Baptism… It is a mandate that touches us closely: I am always a mission; you are always a mission; every baptized woman and man is a mission… Each of us is a mission in the world because it is the fruit of God’s love.” (Pope Francis, Message for World Mission Sunday)

 Vatican Council II also reminds us that ‘The pilgrim Church is by her very nature missionary’. Today the Church, in a special celebration recalls the mission she had received from Christ. The Church is the assemble of all those who have experienced the joy and the challenge of the resurrection of Christ and the new life he has brought us. All of us are called to deepen our experience of this new life and are sent to share our experience with others by word and by the witness of Christian living.

 During this Extraordinary month of Mission, let us resolve to pray the Holy Rosary for the missions and priests and religious who tirelessly dedicate their lives in missions.

Our Archdiocese is in an effort to Unleash the Gospel in a new way. With the prompting of the Holy Spirit our diocese has been undertaking a lot of initiatives to engage people like never before and thereby save more souls for Christ. We are missionaries in our places. So let us pray for our diocese that we may grow and become missionaries in our lives.

St. Valentine Parish Office Sign

For some time, we have been thinking about putting up a Parish Office Sign to  match what we have in the front of the Church. Mr. Tom Alexander came forward to design and make the sign. Tom with the help of  Mr. Ricky installed it Tuesday morning. As a parish, we appreciate his willingness and generosity. May God bless your family abundantly.

I wish you all a blessed week.

 Fr. Kishore Babu Battu SAC 

St. Valentine Catholic School welcomes all families to our 1st of  2 Open Houses. Our first Open House is on Thursday, February 7, 2019 from 5:00-7:00pm and our second Open House is on March 21st from 5:00-7:00 pm. Please join us to find out the many benefits our school can provide for your child. Our school offers faith based educational excellence for Preschool through Grade Eight. At our open house you will have the opportunity to tour the school, meet the teachers, and gain valuable information about how our school can help your child. Our school is located in Redford on Hope St. just off of Beech Daly between Schoolcraft and Five Mile. If you would like more information please call 313 533-7149 or visit our website at 

www.stvalentineschool.com

Eighth Grade School News

The eighth grade students had a very busy January! Confirmation candidates went on a retreat as part of their preparation to become adults in the church and strengthen their faith as Catholics. On January 29, students will compete in the National Engineers Week Future City Competition at The Suburban Collection Showplace. Students, along with their teacher and engineer mentors, have worked as a team to design a futuristic city with an innovative power grid that can withstand a natural disaster. We are all very proud of their hard work and wish them luck!

Mrs. Ciechanowski

Congratulations, Bob Calleja, and Welcome Bishop Gerard Battersby

 As a part of his preparation and formation to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders to be a permanent deacon in the church, parishioner Bob Calleja will receive the ministry of acolyte. Some of you may remember from years past that before a man received the sacrament of holy orders, he received several minor orders prior to receiving the sacrament. At the Second Vatican Council, the Church discontinued the practice of giving the minor orders and instead retained a couple of them to be conferred as official ministries within the church. The ministry of lector and the ministry of acolyte were the two ministries given to men in formation as steps in the process.

Although people can be and are deputed to act as lectors and acolytes to assist at Mass, there are some who receive these ministries in official capacities from the Church in view of the sacrament that they will receive. As recipients of these ministries, they are encouraged to exercise them when possible in preparation for life as a deacon. As an official acolyte, Bob becomes a kind of official extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. He is not yet an ordinary minister of Holy Communion, but he would be the first extraordinary minister used at Mass if any are needed. When you see Bob do things like administer communion or serve at Mass, know that he is doing this in preparation for the permanent diaconate, which he hopes to receive in 2020. Please keep him in your prayers and congratulate him as he prepares himself to serve in the Church in a new capacity. 

This coming week we have a wonderful opportunity to take part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as we will have the Advent Penance Service on December 12^th at St. Valentine Church. This service will begin at 7 p.m. with a little preparation followed by individual confession.

Besides Fr. Kishore and myself there will be Fr. Rick Hartmann and Fr. Sal Briffa from the Clergy Village and Fr. Pat Brennan from St. Paul of the Cross. Advent is a good time to heal all that keeps us from experiencing the divine love and mercy.

A Christmas Gift for Your Parish

 I have mentioned it several times how I love being a priest and as a priest I have also mentioned how I dislike asking for money. While I firmly believe in the priority of spirituality over materialism, every year before Christmas I have to ask this of you because it’s something necessary for the parish. So here I come to remind you how important it is to make a generous gift to the parish at Christmas. The Archdiocese gives all parishes a special exemption from the 7% diocese assessment for the Christmas collection, so your Christmas contribution stays right here. And I assure you that every dollar you contribute will be used for the good and betterment of St Valentine  parish community. Thank you for your generosity this Christmas as well as throughout the year.

Fr. Socorro

For Families and Individuals

Prayer is the most powerful way each of us can prepare our hearts and minds to recognize Jesus in each of the people we will encounter at Christmas, and to extend his love and mercy to them. The following are suggestions for ways to pray as families and as individuals during Advent and beyond.

· Read and pray with Luke 2 and discuss how Mary and Joseph went from place to place in hope of being welcomed in Bethlehem, but could not find a room. Pray for the grace to welcome those they do not know, share their seats, smile, and encourage conversation.

· Pray for God’s grace to connect with a family who comes at Christmas, and to welcome them with radical hospitality.

· Pray for the courage to invite another family (or individual) to a Christmas liturgy.

· Pray intentionally for those who wills serve as liturgical ministers at the Christmas liturgies, for those who will assume particular hospitality roles, and for those who will attend the Christmas liturgies.

· For all Saturday/Sunday liturgies during Advent, invite parishioners to pray and fast for the guests who will attend the Christmas liturgies.

· Pray for protection for the parish during the Christmas liturgies. Ask the Lord to place a “hedge of protection” around the parish grounds, the building, all staff, parishioners, and guests: “Lord, place a hedge of protection around our parish grounds, the church building, all of our parishioners, and those who will join us for Christmas. Keep in what is holy and is of you, and cast out what is not. We ask this in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.”

Taken from The AOD Radically Mission-Oriented Christmas Playbook