From Deacon Bob Calleja

Kathy Parish Activities

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

Kathy Parish Activities
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

Kathy Parish Activities, Weekly message

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.

 

Message from Deacon Lawrence Toth

Kathy Uncategorized, Weekly message

My dear community of Saint Valentine,

As some of you know, our Archbishop recently granted me the status of Senior Retired Deacon.  Stephanie and I moved from Redford to Chelsea over two years ago, yet I have been able to complete my term of assignment to Saint Valentine, which officially ended in July of this year.  So it is with mixed feelings that I officially announce my retirement.

 I did not want to go out this way.  After 32 years of being a member of this parish family, and spending the last 12 serving as a deacon among you, it grieves me to leave you in this pandemic year when I have, of necessity, seen so little of you all.  Yet this is the reality we live with, and it is for God’s glory. 

 How can I, in the few words allowed me in this bulletin article, properly honor you for the great gifts of God that I have received through you?  You have enriched me and my family in more ways than I can count.  This is a parish that has been, and continues to be, very much alive.  The depth and breadth of the faith we live together shows up in our midst just as it does in a good marriage: in the whole of life.  We live for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in life and in death.  We have so many ways in which we, together, have expressed, and continue to express, our life of faith.  I could never name them all. 

 Perhaps my greatest joy as a deacon is seeing, in the life we share, the truth of what we teach about the Eucharist: it is the source and summit of our life.  And I mean the day-to-day human life we live as the Church, the local expression of the Body of Christ.  When we come together around the altar, we come from our homes, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our schools, our sports fields, our parties, our parish meetings and our Redford community.  We have prayed and played, sung and kept silence, grieved and rejoiced, argued and agreed, studied and taught, worked and rested – in all of it striving to be faithful to the call of Jesus to “love one another as I have loved you.” 

I will not even try to name names.  To do so would risk leaving out someone who has profoundly enriched me.  Each of you has touched me, whether by your presence, a simple word, or the example of your life.  I owe all of you a debt of gratitude.  Some of you have encouraged me and given me hope when I needed it.  Others have shown forbearance with my faults and failings.  Still others, however, have challenged, guided and corrected me, and for this I am extremely thankful.

 I am grateful for the honor of having served you, and can only hope that, when I stand before the Lord, I will be judged to have been a faithful servant.  This is not goodbye.  It is au revoir.

All my love in Jesus Christ,

Deacon Lawrence

Family of Parishes—Frequently Asked Questions

Kathy Archdiocese, From our Pastor

Why are we creating Families of Parishes?

Before the pandemic, the local and universal Church were already facing significant challenges, including the shortage of priests to care for parish communities. The coronavirus pandemic and its associated health and economic crises accelerated these problems.

  We now have fewer resources to keep our mission active. Archbishop Vigneron, in consultation with clergy and lay advisors, has determined that now is the time to act.

  Our mission to unleash the Gospel hasn’t changed, but how we approach that mission must shift in response to our circumstances. We must move forward with greater collaboration and better stewardship of our resources.


  With this shift, we take inspiration from the early Church. From the beginning, Christ knew the mission he gave his disciples would be difficult and that they would face many challenges, so he sent them to preach the Gospel two-by-two (Mk 6:6-7 and Luke 10:1). Like us, the early disciples knew what was asked of them but not necessarily how to accomplish it or what the end result would be. St. Paul himself was shipwrecked three times (2 Cor 11:25) but wherever he ended, he remained committed to the same mission with which we are entrusted today. Because of St. Paul’s commitment and the commitment of the early apostles, the Gospel was heard across the world.


  Like the disciples, we have been asked to unite and go on mission together, enhancing each other’s strengths and working collaboratively to Unleash the Gospel around us. And while the impact of the pandemic may feel like a shipwreck – like St. Paul, this is not what we planned or wanted – we know that God wants us to continue his mission with the same zeal and dedication of the early apostles. He will be with us every step of the way.

 

Does this mean our mission to Unleash the Gospel has changed?

Not at all. Through Synod 16, we discerned that God was calling us to transform our archdiocese into a band of joyful missionary disciples, sent on mission to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in southeast Michigan. God continues to send us on this mission to bring Christ to this place and in this time. Those around us are still thirsting for the Gospel, the words of eternal life. The new model of Family of Parishes will allow us to better serve this mission.

 In fact, it is during times of crisis — when people are in need and face uncertainty — that they are more open to hearing the Good News. We must seize the opportunity to bring the message of the Gospel to all during these times. 

 More to follow in the coming weeks.

Grandparents Day, September 13—Generations

   God, you have blessed me indeed as the child I love has had a child I love with all that is within me. I pray that in your mercy you watch over and protect my grandchild as you have always done for me. May their lives be long and healthy. May they have the courage to follow their dreams and should the day come when I am no longer on Earth with them, may they look back upon me with fond memories and may they never forget that they were and always will be deeply loved by me.

Taken from jesuitresouce.org