Saturday, October 3 at Noon in the St. Mary Cause of Our Joy Parking lot.
News
Pancake and French Toast Breakfast 2026
On Sunday, September 20, 2026, the Holy Name Fraternity will offer a Pancake and French Toast Breakfast from 8:30am to 12:30pm in the Social Hall. We invite you to come and enjoy a good breakfast, warm friendship, and friendly service from the Fraternity members. Price is still just $3.
Forgotten Harvest – Extreme Weather
Please keep in mind: If the outside temperature is below 10 degrees real feel, the pantry will be cancelled. If we have an abundance of snow to where the parking lot is not cleared off for the truck to safely unload, the pantry will be cancelled. If the parking lot is unsafe for the workers due to snow or ice, the pantry will be cancelled.
We will keep you posted.
Forgotten Harvest
We will be hosting a Forgotten Harvest Mobile Food Pantry every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month from 9-11 am. If you know anyone who needs fresh fruits and vegetables, please let them know that they can stop in and get food!
We could also use 15 volunteers to help out with the event. To volunteer CLICK HERE
Next Dates:
Tuesday, September 22
Tuesday, October 13
Blood Drive – October 7, 2026
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026 from 9:00am to 3:00pm in the Large Social Hall.
Drive Details:
St. Mary Cause of Our Joy Catholic Church
8200 N. Wayne Rd,
Westland, MI, 48185
Register for a time at:
https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=stmarywestland
Thank you for supporting the American Red Cross blood program!
Download the Red Cross Blood Donor App on the App Store, Google Play or text BLOODAPP to 90999. Schedule appointments, get rewards and invite friends to join you on a lifesaving team.
Little Free Pantry
Our Little Free Pantry is finally here!
Thank you Knights of Columbus, Msgr. Kohler #15204 for building it for us!
We hope everyone in our community will use this box, both to bring food, but also to take food when they need a little help. Look for it next to our office building!
"For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink..." Matthew 25:35
“Take what you need, leave what you can.”
Sign Up for Flocknote
Easy Sign Up!
Flocknote is an email/text service which will allow us to send up to the minute information on thing like funeral arrangements, building closings and meeting cancellations. It is free, and you decide what information you would like to receive.
- You can sign up for St Mary, COOJ’s Flocknote here: Go to FLocknote!
- Or by texting “COOJ” to 84576
Cremation And The Order Of Christian Funerals
Excerpts from: January 2012 Newsletter of the Committee on Divine Worship
Ideally, if a family chooses cremation, the cremation would take place at some time after the Funeral Mass, so that there can be an opportunity for the Vigil for the Deceased in the presence of the body (during “visitation” or “viewing” at a church or funeral home). This allows for the appropriate reverence for the sacredness of the body at the Funeral Mass: sprinkling with holy water, the placing of the pall, and honoring it with incense. The Rite of Committal then takes place after cremation.
The cremated remains of a body should be treated with the same respect given to the human body from which they come. This includes the use of a worthy vessel to contain the ashes, the manner in which they are carried, and the care and attention to appropriate placement and transport, and the final disposition. The cremated remains should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. The practice of scattering cremated remains on the sea, from the air, or on the ground, or keeping cremated remains on the home of a relative or friend of the deceased are not the reverent disposition that the Church requires.
The silence of God when we pray
Last weekend, I wrote about silence in our church, and the need to respect the Eucharist and others who are praying and listening to God. This weekend I would like to write about another silence. The silence of God when we pray.
I am not much of a moviegoer; however I recently went to see the movie SILENCE, directed by Martin Scorsese. This movie is based on a book written by a well-known Japanese Christian author, Endo Shusaku. It is the story of Jesuit missionaries in Japan in the 1600’s, and the hidden Christians that they encountered. If you get a chance, I heartily recommend this film. It gives a good insight into the torture and persecutions that the Christians endured. For more than 250 years, Christianity and all contact from the outside world was outlawed in Japan. The Christians that remained were forced to practice their faith underground; if they were discovered they were often tortured, even martyred. The film portrays the life of these heroic Christians, and the lives of the missionaries sent to them.
The “silence” that this film refers to is the silence from God when we pray to Him and seem to hear nothing. Those who were being tortured for their faith prayed, and it seems that God wasn’t listening. Time and again in the history of Christianity in Japan, believers were told that if they just renounced their faith, by trampling on a cross (called a fumie) they would be freed, escaping the horrendous torture awaiting them. Why did it seem that God was not there for them? Wouldn’t God help them in their moment of most need? One of the missionaries continues to see the haunting face of Jesus over and over again, the face from a picture hanging in the seminary where he studied. It is a face he loves and serves; but the face never speaks. It remains silent when the priest is chained to a tree to watch the Christians die, silent when he asks for guidance on whether to commit the trampling on a cross (fumie) to set them free, and silent when he prays in his cell at night.
Although the movie ends in seeming ambiguity, the author’s intent was to confirm that God is not silent; He does speak to us, just not always in the ways that we would expect.
In our own lives, as well, there are times when we wonder if God is really there. Is He listening to me? Doesn’t he know the troubles in my life? I try to do everything for God, where is he? Sometimes our image of Jesus is one of majesty and power; the one who can do anything and everything. As we can learn from the movie, Jesus is also the one who suffered for us and is suffering with us. Jesus al- lows our weaknesses. Jesus, too, was weak and powerless. Often times, the answer from God is there, we just don’t hear it or don’t acknowledge it. Great saints, such as St. Theresa of Calcutta (Mother Theresa), asked God why He seemed to remain silent. Sometimes the deepest answers and love come in moments of silence. All we need to do is listen with an open heart.
Fr. Ken
