Easter Week is not over! Check below for events.

Forget to turn in your parish census form?
Or would you like to join the parish? You can download a form right from this page. If you are not currently a parishioner and would like to register, simply fill out the form and write "NEW PARISHIONER" at the top of the first page.

Download a census form.

Please call or e-mail the parish office if you need tax receipts for your 2004 tax return.

Adult Faith Formation has begun in our cluster!
This term's courses focus on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Members of parishes in the cluster and guests are encouraged to deepen their knowledge of our faith by attending.
Click here for times and location.

WE NEED USHERS!
Mike Singelyn is the interim captain of the ushers' club. Men and women who are able to usher at our regular Sunday Masses and the monthly German Mass are asked to call Mike at 313 885-5333 to volunteer their services.

Choral Mass schedule

The St. Joseph Cappella will sing at the 10:30 a.m. Latin liturgies on the following dates:

April 3: Closing Mass of the Mercy of God Novena (3:15 p.m.)
April 17
May 1

The Schola Sancti Josephi will sing:

April 17 (Noon)
May 8 (10:30)

Encourage your friends and family to attend!

The St Joseph Purgatorial Society
offers Masses throughout the year for your deceased loved ones. Anyone wishing to participate in this work of mercy toward the Poor Souls in Purgatory should write the names of those loved ones on a piece of paper along with a $10 stipend for each Mass you wish to have said. No limit for the amount of names per Mass. Put this in an envelope in the collection basket with "Purgatorial Society" written on the front. You may also mail these intentions with stipends to the business office at 4440 Russell, Detroit, MI 48207

In the charity of your prayers, remember the sick

New stories in Patrick's History Corner.

More thoughts posted on the Meditations page.

News: March 27, 2005
EASTER

Easter Week Schedule for St. Joseph Church and Divine Mercy Novena
March 28 through April 3

Divine Mercy Sunday
April 3, 2005
NO MASS AT 10:30 am
12:00 noon Mass followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament until Benediction at 3:00 pm. 1:00 to 3:00 pm Confessions
3:15 pm Solemn Latin Mass with orchestra. (This Mass will repeat most of the music that was performed at the Easter Vigil, including Mozart's Colloredo Mass.)

"Tempest Fidgets"
Daylight Savings Time starts next week! Please set your clocks ahead before retiring on Saturday, April 2. Remember: No 10:30 Mass here on April 3, 2005. See above.

News: March 20, 2005
PALM SUNDAY

Holy Week Schedule

Wednesday: 12:10
Mass, Novena and Confessions at St. Joseph's.

Holy Thursday: No services here at St. Joseph Church
7:00 to 11:00 pm - Mass, Novena and Tenebrae followed by Adoration at St. Josaphat for the entire cluster. St. Josaphat Church is located at the comer of Canfield and the Chrysler Service Drive. It can be seen from the Chrysler Freeway.

Good Friday:
12:00 noon - Stations of the Cross.
1:30 pm - Good Friday liturgy (Fr. Wolfgang Seitz) followed by veneration of the relics.
3:00 pm - Divine Mercy Novena begins.

Holy Saturday: 7:30 pm Easter Vigil Mass

Easter Sunday:
9:00 am -German Mass
10:30 am - Latin Mass
12:00 noon - English Mass followed by Divine Mercy Novena

Please consult your schedule that was mailed out to all parishioners for times of services and Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament at our cluster churches. Schedules are also available in the vestibule of the church or can be downloaded here.

RELICS
The Catholic practice of honoring relics goes back to the beginning of Christianity. When the brave martyrs gave their souls to God in the arena or at the fiery stake, there were always found equally brave Christians who gathered together dismembered remains, the blood or the ashes, and preserved them as a priceless treasure. Burial near the tomb of a martyr was especially desired by the pious faithful. Objects that had merely touched the remains of a saint were thereafter treated as relics. When the wood of the True Cross was discovered by the Empress Helena, it was soon divided into minute fragments, so that within a few years, in the words of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, it "had filled the whole world."

There will be veneration of the relic of the True Cross, the relics of bone from the Twelve Apostles, and the particles of clothing from Our Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph at the end of the Good Friday services and before the beginning of the Divine Mercy Novena here at Saint Joseph Church.

Acts 19:11-12 And God worked more than the usual miracles by the hand of Paul; so that even handkerchiefs and aprons were carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

Correction
The February 27 installment of History Corner stated that the celebration of the Feast of Divine Mercy had its beginning in the Detroit Archdiocese here at St. Joseph Church 15 years ago. Recent mailings to the church office inform us that it actually began here 22 years ago.

News: March 13, 2005
FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Alms Giving
Is there a special soul in your life either living or deceased who is in need of, or who will benefit from the fruits of the Holy Mass? In the spirit of Lenten almsgiving, Father Borkowski is offering this work of mercy.

Saint Joseph organist David Carle will be the tenor soloist in the Michael Hayden Requiem, Good Friday, March 25th, 7:30 pm at Old St. Mary's, Greektown. On April 30th he will perform in Verdi's Requiem. 7:30 pm at St. John's Episcopal Church, the south east corner of 1 1 Mile & Woodward, Royal Oak. Tickets available at the doors.

Worried about the shortage of priests? Worried about the increasing number of parishes without any priest in the U.S.? Worried about priest burnout? Want to help? Pamphlets are available in all the cluster churches for: A Rosary for Priests. "The harvest is great but the laborers are few. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to gather in his harvest." Matthew 9:37-38

News: March 6, 2005
FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Alms Giving
Is there a special soul in your life either living of deceased who is in need of, or who will benefit from the fruits of the Holy Mass? In the Lenten spirit of giving alms, God may be offering a rare opportunity here at Saint Joseph Church.

Confraternity of Saint Joseph
Starting March 19th, the intention for the Wednesday 12:10 Mass will be for those living and deceased who are enrolled in the confraternity. The required donation is $50 for each name submitted. This entitles that person to a one-year enrollment of fifty two Masses, Saint Joseph Novena Prayers and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. It is important that enrollments be completed prior to Wednesday, March 23 when the first Mass of the confraternity will be celebrated. Enrollments will be accepted throughout the year but late enrollments will only consist of the number of Masses that remain to be celebrated before March 19th, 2006.

TODAY: Forty Hours Devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament continues at Sweetest Heart of Mary. Adoration today after the 10:30 Mass. Confessions at 2:00 p.m. Procession, Benediction and closing of 40 Hours Devotion at 3:00 p.m.

March 19: Saturday, Feast of Saint Joseph. Mass at noon followed by confessions. Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament all day. Solemn Vespers and Benediction at 6:00 pm. Traditional San Giuseppe Banquet at 7:00 pm in the Social Hall. See poster in the rear of church for Banquet information. Tickets are available after Masses for all the cluster dinners.

Frequent visits
Our Parish web site has been visited by over 8,000 people (and several search engine robots) from six continents, and over 43 countries including Cote D'Ivoire, Nigeria, New Zealand, Brazil, Sweden, Iran, Israel, the Russian Federation and many others. (To see the list of all the countries, click here.) On December 30, 2004, Saint Joseph received its first online donation of $200.00.

Still unclaimed: A man's beige topcoat, no brand name. about size 42, lining not zipped in, brown leather gloves in pocket. This coat was involved in a case of mistaken identity last March at St. Joseph's (following the spaghetti dinner). Will the owner please take the coat. See Patrick Degens for details.

News: February 27, 2005
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

Parish Council Meeting
The Parish Council will meet tomorrow at 7:00 pm in the Social Hall. This is a make-up for the meeting that was cancelled because of Fr. Mark being sick.

Year of the Eucharist — Special Observances
March 4: Friday Forty Hours Devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at Sweetest Heart of Mary. Please consult the schedule that was mailed to all parishioners for times of services and confessions. Extra schedules are available in the vestibule of the church.
March 19: Saturday, Feast of Saint Joseph. Mass at noon followed by confessions and Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament all day. Solemn Vespers and Benediction at 6:00 pm. Traditional San Giuseppe Banquet at 7:00 pm in the Social Hall. See poster in the rear of church for Banquet information. Tickets are available after Masses for all the cluster dinners.

Divine Mercy Sunday
April 3, the Second Sunday of Easter, is now known throughout the World as Divine Mercy Sunday as decreed by Pope John Paul II and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The Devotion to the Divine Mercy originated through visions from Our Blessed Lord to Saint Faustina Kowalska. Jesus asked for a renewed devotion to His mercy through observance of the 3 o'clock hour (hour of His death), the feast of Divine Mercy Sunday, the recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to be recited on the rosary beads, and the Novena of Divine Mercy. The Novena (9 days of prayer) will begin here at Saint Joseph Church on Good Friday at 3:00 pm.

Something New!
Starting March 19th, the intention for the Wednesday 12:10 Mass will be for those living and deceased who are enrolled in the "Saint Joseph Guild." The required donation is $50 for each name submitted. This entitles that person to a one-year enrollment and fifty two Masses. This is a spiritual society. Enrolled members are remembered in 52 Wednesday Masses, Saint Joseph Novena Prayers and Benediction. Names may be added throughout the year.

News: February 20, 2005
SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

Saint Joseph Day
On Saturday, March 19th there will be a noon Mass here to celebrate the Feast of Saint Joseph, followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament until 6:00 pm when there will be solemn vespers in Saint Joseph's honor. Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament will follow vespers. At 7:00 p.m. the traditional San Giuseppe (St. Joseph) banquet will be held in the Social Hall. This tradition dates from the middle ages when the people of Sicily prayed to St. Joseph for rain during a time when they were suffering from a severe drought. When they received rain, they held a huge "feste" in St. Joseph's honor. Even today, Sicilians go to Mass before their St. Joseph's day dinner and then go by procession to their festive tables.

Year of the Eucharist
The Holy Father announced a year of the Rosary from October of 2003 to October 2004. At that time he encouraged the entire world to pray the Rosary, daily if possible, for peace. At the close of the year of the Rosary he announced a year of the Eucharist. There are many opportunities within our cluster to enrich our lives during this year of the Eucharist. The annual Forty Hours Devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament will begin at Sweetest Heart of Mary on March 4th. Please check your Lenten schedule for the times of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and confession.

Bulletins direct to your home
The St. Joseph Sunday bulletin can be mailed to any household for $20 per year. Checks for this service should be made out to Sweetest Heart of Mary Church because the postage for these mailings comes from that office. Requests may be mailed to the administrative office or dropped in the collection basket.

Talk up the parish!
Don't forget to invite your friends and family to attend Mass at St. Joseph's. This doesn't just go for holidays. Beautiful music and solemn worship are the hallmarks of the parish, and it's our responsibility to share them.

News: February 13, 2005
FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

Warmer Now?
Have you noticed how cozy the church has been this winter? Extensive repairs on the part of our former part-time custodian, Jim Barber and our present full-time custodian, Tom Crachiolo are the reason our furnace has become more efficient. This is not an easy task. Our heating system is spread out in small earthen tunnels beneath the church. Jim and Tom have to crawl into dark, confining spaces to do the work required. Remember that this church was built in the days when church buildings were not heated. This church stood for 14 years before the first heating system was installed. Besides the repair bills for broken pipes and replacement of blower motors, we have ongoing heating bills. Here is a sampling:

Church gas bills:

November -$1,684.62
December - $1,676.21
January - $2,507.19

Rectory gas bill: January - $306.29

Social Hall gas bill: January - $477.30

Social Hall water bill (3 mos.): January - $705.89
Monthly burglar alarm bill - $339.69

This is just a small sampling of the monthly costs to maintain our church.

Lenten Events
Please check your Lenten schedule that was mailed out to all registered parishioners in the cluster for times of services. Try to attend the Friday Stations of the Cross at Sweetest Heart of Mary and perhaps enjoy a fish dinner in the hall. The men at Sweetest Heart are working very hard to provide this service during Lent.

Help for Our Brethren in Eastern Europe
This week an envelope was included with the bulletins, in an appeal by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops for assistance to the church in Eastern Europe. Please give generously to this campaign, as help is sorely needed to rebuild not only the Church's physical infrastructure in the former communist bloc, but the spiritual infrastructure of the people as well. Information on the USCCB program, its progress, and the job it's still got cut out for it, can be found at http://www.usccb.org/aee/.

The St. Joseph website editor, James Kirchner, spent three years in a part of the Czech Republic that may be familiar to some of our parishioners, the town of Marianske Lazne (Marienbad), in the former Sudetenland. He saw personally the need the local community has for the help of fellow Catholics in the West. Here is part of what he observed:

The monastery at Teplá (http://www.tepla.cz/turistika/klaster.htm), which had once owned and developed the entire area, was seized from the Premonstratensian Fathers in the years right after the communist takeover, and turned into a military base. Not only was the place not maintained, but soldiers even took pot shots at the sacred buildings for target practice. Bullet holes in the facades and damaged statues were visible as late as the early 1990s, and may still be today. At one point -- for the second time in history -- the fathers had to buy back the remains of their founder, the Blessed Hroznata (this time, however, from some soldiers, and for only a couple bottles of slivovice). Once communism was toppled, the fathers received their monastery back, but they had no means to restore it. A brewery they had used for centuries as a revenue source had been dismantled by the army and removed from the grounds, so they were pretty much starting from scratch. With a lot of work, and some outside assistance, they were able to convert the old stables into a hotel and retreat house, and things got moving. Their spiritual mission is even more daunting, however. One of my Czech friends put it best when he said that over 40 years communism had eliminated most of religion and the middle class, which together are the main purveyors of morals in any society. Once the Iron Curtain fell, there was a huge spiritual vacuum that was readily entered by pornographers, sleazier Western media, and even cults. Together with our Protestant brothers and sisters (in that area mainly Methodists and Czech Brethren), the Premonstratensians of the district have to combat not only these spiritual and moral problems, but even a great deal of prostitution in the local resorts (in which high school girls, Ukrainian immigrants, and even children are employed), and a host of other devastating developments.

As bad as things are in the Czech Republic, they are even worse in places like Russia and Ukraine. Please help the Church regain its foothold in this region. And even though communism is gone, Catholics still need to pray for conversions.

News: February 6, 2005

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 9th, this week.
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are Days of Fast and Abstinence. All between the ages of 18 and 59 inclusive are limited to one full meal on these days. Two other small meals are permitted which together should not equal one full meal. No eating between meals is permitted. All Fridays of Lent and Ash Wednesday are days of abstinence. All who have reached their 14th year are bound to abstain totally from meat on those days. Persons who are sick or frail are excused from the rules.

Parish Council Meeting
The parish council will meet on February 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the Social Hall. All are welcome to attend.

Our Hero Is on the Mend
Christine Hubbard, our three-parish secretary has had foot surgery and will be in a cast unable to drive for 6 weeks. She is still showing up for work every few days for a few hours as long as someone will drive her to the rectory. Please remember her in prayer. She is a tireless worker and a great lady.

Thanks to Volunteers
On Sunday, January 30th, thirteen volunteers came after the 12:00 noon Mass to take down the Christmas decorations and clean the church. May God richly reward them and all of our volunteers. Without them, there is no Saint Joseph Church.

DISASTER! DISASTER! DISASTER!
Apparently someone at Saint Joseph Church is not aware that it is winter! On Sunday, January 23, someone opened the window in the men's room and left it that way. The temperature outside was 16 degrees and that night it dropped to 2 degrees above zero. This was not discovered until 3:00 p.m. the next day. By then all of the pipes had frozen and split in two. The toilet bowl was destroyed as was the wash bowl. Until extensive work is done to completely rebuild that facility, the ladies room has become a unisex bathroom. Big money down the drain.

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