December 2006
Month of the Divine Infancy
Year of Prayer for Priestly Vocations

The Madonna University Chorale will perform a Christmas concert here at St. Joseph’s on Sunday, December 10th at 3:00 pm. Admission is $5.00 or $15 per family. Tickets are available now.

Adult Faith Formation has begun. See the schedule for details. The biweekly classes are also listed on the parish calendar.

Schedule change!
As of January 14, 2007, our Latin Mass will move to 12:00 noon and our English Mass will be at 10:30. On the fourth Sunday of each month, the 10:30 Mass will be in German. Fr. Borkowski has made this change because so many who attend the German Mass travel a very long distance and petitioned him for the change.

Get involved in the Parish Council!
All parishioners are welcome to attend the meetings and participate in the governance of the parish. You can download the minutes from the last meeting here.

REGISTRATION
If you have been attending St. Joseph Parish but have not registered as a parishioner, please consider joining us! You can download a registration form here. Once you have completed it, please drop it into the collection basket at Mass, or send it to the address at the top of the sheet.

Don't forget Daily Mass!
Fr. Mark has reinstated daily Mass in our cluster. Mass is held Monday and Tuesday in Latin, and Wednesday in English at St. Joseph's at 12:10 p.m. Thursday noon Mass is at St. Josaphat's, and Fridays at Sweetest Heart of Mary, also at noon. Take the time for midday worship!

Choral Mass schedule

Choir season began on September 10 and the choir performs approximately biweekly at the 10:30 Mass on Sundays.

Christmas Masses

Latin - December 24 at 11:30 - Midnight Mass for Christmas by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704).
Marc-Antoine Charpentier was one of the most outstanding French musicians of the late 17th century. In his youth, he spent three years in Rome studying under one of the leading Italian composers of the time, Giacomo Carissimi. After he returned to his native Paris, he composed several operas and a notable portfolio of sacred music. Charpentier was particularly drawn to Christmas music, and composed instrumental carols, Latin oratorios on Christmas themes, French pastorales and the Midnight Mass for Christmas (Messe de Minuit pour Noël). This piece was created around 1690 and was most likely composed for the Jesuit church of St. Louis in Paris, where Charpentier held the important post of maître de musique.

German - December 25 at 9:00 a.m.- Carpathia Chor

English - December 25 at 10:30 a.m. - Choral selections

News: December 31, 2006
HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH

ANNOUNCEMENT
January 1st, Feast of Mary, the Mother of God, is not a Holy Day of Obligation this year. There will be one Mass, here at St. Joseph Church at noon. Parishioners are encouraged to prayerfully consider attending Mass and asking God’s blessings upon the New Year. Keep in mind that it is normally a Holy Day, and that it's all about honoring our Lord's mother and not about personal convenience, whether the local bishops want to "let us off the hook" for the day or not. Mary didn't think of her own convenience when she agreed to bear our Savior.

Schedule change! Coming January 14, 2007, our Latin Mass will move to 12:00 noon and our English Mass will be at 10:30. On the fourth Sunday of each month, the 10:30 Mass will be in German.

News: December 24, 2006
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Please excuse our dust! Thanks to John Nalepa, whose company painted our entire church back in 1982, we are able to repair all of the plaster damage that occurred by the St. Joseph and Blessed Mother altars when our roof was leaking . Mr. Nalepa has graciously lent us the scaffolding to restore all of our plaster damage. Our poor church cannot afford to hire outside workers for this kind of work and thanks to Mr. Nalepa, we saved the tremendous cost of renting scaffolding. The work is being performed by our own custodian with the help of a volunteer. May God richly reward you, Mr. Nalepa, for your generosity to all the historic churches in Detroit but especially St. Joseph’s. We may be poor financially, but we are rich indeed, with friends like you.

O Adorable Infant Jesus, my Savior and my God, who are so good and Who has loved me so much! In this night in which you bestow great Graces on so many souls, grant Your Heavenly consolation to this poor soul of mine also. I ask of you the Grace to love You always, from this day forward, with all my heart. Set me all on fire with Your Holy Love. I love You, 0 my God, Who has become a Babe for love of me. Never let me cease from loving You evermore. Dearest Jesus, our Lord and God, deign to grant me, during this joyful Season of Christmas the request I humbly ask (mention your request) if it be Your Holy Will. Amen. Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory Be.

News: December 17, 2006
THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

The Parish Council will meet tomorrow night at 7:00 pm in the Social Hall. Parishioners are all welcome to attend our council meetings and offer input to all the concerns of the parish.

Tom Cracchiolo, our church custodian, is doing a fantastic job at repairing all of the damage done to our walls that resulted from our leaking roof. This is dangerous work and it entails replastering the damaged area with three light coats of plaster. Charlie Gerulis, our Sunday parking guard, has been helping Tom whenever our limited funds allow for extra help and he is available. Thanks Tom and Charlie, and may the Guardian Angels protect you in this precarious work.

Church Decorating!
We need volunteers today! We will be decorating the church for Christmas after the noon Mass today. Join us for doughnuts and coffee in the Social Hall before we start.

News: December 10, 2006
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Quentin Clark passed away on Wednesday, December 6, 2006, at Sinai Grace Hospital. Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. today and tomorrow at the James H. Cole Funeral Home, 13631 Puritan, one block west of Schaefer, in Detroit. His funeral Mass will be at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 12, here at St. Joseph's.

Quentin and his wife Gerthugh have been members of St. Joseph parish for over 55 years. Quentin was the parish representative of the St. Vincent de Paul Society for 50 years, and until recently he was head of the usher's club. The Clarks worked on nearly every project that occurred here in the last half century. He is survived by his wife Gerthugh, his sister Juanita, and many nieces and nephews. May his soul rest in peace.

The Madonna University Chorale will perform a Christmas concert here at St. Joseph’s, today at 3:00 pm. Admission is $5.00 or $15 per family. Tickets are available after Mass or at the door.

Deadline for returning the gifts for the giving tree is next Sunday, December 17th. The gifts on our tree go to the children with cancer and their families who are ministered to by Sister Judie Ann and her sisters. Please remember to attach the paper ornament to the Christmas gift. All of these families live below the poverty level and do not have cars. Sister transports the children to Children’s hospital on a daily basis for their chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Many of these children will not live until next Christmas. Help to make their Christmas memorable.

Church Decorating!
Calendar correction: We will decorate the church for Christmas on Sunday, December 17th after the noon Mass. It will be doughnut Sunday so all our volunteers can fill up on goodies before going to work. We need volunteers!

Parish Council
Here are the results of the Parish Council officers election on November 20th:

President: Craig Larson
Vice President: Terrence Klink
Secretary: Justin Karr
Members at large: John Tobin, Matthew McGuire, Christine Gray, Carol Potrykus and Sharon Fromm

News: December 3, 2006
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Friday, December 8th is a Holy Day of obligation. Masses at St. Joseph and St. Josaphat are at 12:00 noon. Mass at 6:00 pm at Sweetest Heart of Mary and Tridentine Mass at 7:00 pm at St. Josaphat.

The Madonna University Chorale will perform a Christmas concert here at St. Joseph’s on Sunday, December 10th at 3:00 pm. Admission is $5.00 or $15.00 per family. Tickets are available now and can be bought at the door before the concert.

Please patronize our Bake Sale today in the Social Hall. If you can’t wait to eat your goodies at home, complimentary coffee and juice is provided in the hall. Remember, the profits are going to help pay our winter heating bills. Last year’s monthly bills for all of our buildings were as high as $3,000 in the coldest part of the winter.

Father Borkowski began the practice of a Giving Tree in our church last year. The gifts on our tree go to the children with cancer and their families who are ministered to by Sister Judie Ann and her sisters. Last year many of the children asked for fishing poles because Sister took them on a picnic to a lakeside cottage. Sadly, some of the children did not live until this past summer to enjoy the use of their Christmas gifts. Nonetheless they were very happy and looked forward to a summer outing. These children come from families who live below the poverty level. The families have no cars and Sister Judie Ann transports the children to Children’s Hospital on a daily basis for their radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Not all of Sister’s patients are children. A young 20 year old mother of two is terminally ill with cancer. Her young husband is devastated by the vision of his wife’s approaching death. There may be something on the giving tree for that little family. Please remember to attach the paper ornament to the Christmas gift.

In the charity of your prayers, remember the sick

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