What can one say about this year of 2020?  It certainly has held the whole of the human experience in it: life/death, peace/violence, generosity/selfishness, love/hate, calm/fear, full/spent, etc.  I can only speak to what my experience has been.

 

I have great hope in humanity because I trust in the plan our Creator put into action so many billions of years ago.  I trust that the sun will rise tomorrow morning.  I trust that laughter will come after the storm of darkness.  I trust that joy will come after grief.  I trust that the broken places will be mended.  I trust the union will be found, even in the midst of difference.  I trust that the hungry will be fed, the thirsty will drink, the sick & imprisoned will be visited, the stranger will be welcomed, and the dead will be buried.  In the end, I trust that LOVE will win the heart of all of creation! 

 

Yes, this has been a difficult year.  Yet, it has been a year where I have seen God’s presence all around me.  The hours of ministry have definitely increase, greatly due to the increased need of pastoral care in people’s lives as well as the need for the teacher (me*) to learn new ways/avenues to teach.  I have heard God’s presence in the voices of the loved ones as they are journeying with their dying family member from a distance.  I have seen God’s presence on the computer screen while meeting with community members who simply desire to connect while caring for the most vulnerable by keeping physical distance.  I have felt God’s presence while holding space for those who work in the medical field to tell their stories or simply to weep.  I have witnessed God’s presence in the playfulness of the child’s squirm while on screen preparing for Sacraments.  I experienced God’s presence in the extension of the other waiting for me, giving me distance, a smile behind a mask, many patient words of love, and fewer honking horns in the midst of the snarls of traffic, as I drive from home to work and back!  Yes, God is so present, especially at this time of difficulty.

 

Most challenging of this year for me has been the deaths of two siblings, my brother Jim on June 19th, and sister Debra on June 26th.  I take comfort and find hope in the fact that they now reside in the glory of the Lord!

 

2020 has been a year that will go down in History for many reasons.  In my life, I believe it will be the year that I look back on and find incredible personal growth from.  In the end, like the gift the Incarnation brought, I have HOPE!  Thank you, Jesus.

 

May God bless and keep you and your family throughout 2021.

Much Love,

Joan

 

From The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The Feast of Epiphany brings to a perfect fulfillment all the purposes of Advent. Epiphany, therefore, marks the liturgical zenith of the Advent-Christmas season.
Click the image below to view the entire blessing.

When I was in elementary school, we were made to memorize a number of poems by William Blake. We didn’t understand them, but they had a wonderful jingle to them, were easy to commit to memory, and remain branded inside me to this day.

One of those was a piece entitled, Infant Sorrow:

Whole books on anthropology, psychology, and spirituality could be written on this poem: our struggle for our father’s blessing, our ambivalence in separating from our mothers, the constriction this creates in our hearts, our inevitable slide into depression as adults, and the impact this has on our spiritual lives...CONTINUE READING HERE

By Anne Lamott

"I am stockpiling antibiotics for the Apocalypse, even as I await the blossoming of paperwhites on the windowsill in the kitchen," Anne Lamott admits at the beginning of Almost Everything. Despair and uncertainty surround us: in the news, in our families, and in ourselves. But even when life is at its bleakest--when we are, as she puts it, "doomed, stunned, exhausted, and over-caffeinated"--the seeds of rejuvenation are at hand. "All truth is paradox," Lamott writes, "and this turns out to be a reason for hope. If you arrive at a place in life that is miserable, it will change." That is the time when we must pledge not to give up but "to do what Wendell Berry wrote: 'Be joyful, though you have considered all the facts.'"

In this profound and funny book, Lamott calls for each of us to rediscover the nuggets of hope and wisdom that are buried within us that can make life sweeter than we ever imagined. Divided into short chapters that explore life's essential truths, Almost Everything pinpoints these moments of insight as it shines an encouraging light forward.

You can purchase this book HERE.

Saturday Mornings at 10am via Zoom

Alternate: Sunday at 1pm via Zoom

We meet together digitally and break into small groups based on which Mass times we usually attend. Expect to go through this week's readings and have a great group discussion! Each group is moderated by a volunteer or staff member and we welcome all new-comers! 

REMINDER:
New Materials Pick-Up for at-home faith formation packets is on Thursday Jan 14th from 3-5:30pm. Please see the invitation directly above. 

Dear Middle Schoolers,

Happy New Year!!!!
I don't normally do this but I want you to scroll down to the Life Teen section of this newsletter this month and read what I have written there about the Epiphany. I challenge you to do the chalk activity with your family and text me a picture of it when you are finished! I am excited to see!

        (my work cell is 248-385-3567)

One thing I do want to say specifically to you all, though, is that, in January, celebrating Mary as well as the Epiphany and the Baptism of Jesus reminds me that ANYONE can say Yes to God's love and calling in their lives. God's love is not reserved for just one race of people, or just one gender, or just people who speak one certain language. These feasts in January remind us that God is accessible to EVERYBODY because of Jesus and this is something that makes me super pumped about my faith. This simple fact makes it easier for me to share my faith with my friends as well because I can be TOTALLY SURE that no matter who I share the love of God with, God DOES, indeed, love them. NO MATTER WHAT. Even better? That includes you!

Love you all! Here's to praying that 2021 is a little easier than 2020!

Blessings,
Chelsea

We miss your faces! It's time to  hang out, play games, and check in with your church community and youth group grade. Join us once a month while we zoom together. We miss you! 

8th Grade:   The 1st Wednesday of every month

7th Grade:   The 2nd Wednesday of every month

6th Grade:   The 3rd Wednesday of every month

5th Grade:   The 4th Wednesday of every month

Links to these zoom meetings will be sent via text and email every month to everyone on our Middle School faith formation list. If you aren't receiving the links and you would like your child to participate, please contact me via email at: Chelsea@SJTBCC.org and let me know that you want to be put on the list!

Looking forward to seeing your shining faces! 

by Pope Francis

Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? If not, there's still time, and Pope Francis has some ideas for you.

These are the ten things that he called upon Vatican employees to do:

1. “Take care of your spiritual life, your relationship with God, because this is the backbone of everything we do and everything we are.”

2. “Take care of your family life, giving your children and loved ones not just money, but most of all your time, attention and love.”

3. “Take care of your relationships with others, transforming your faith into life and your words into good works, especially on behalf of the needy.”