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Catholic Biblical School of Michigan
What’s This? A variety of stand-alone bulletin articles/columns that can be used anytime through/including Labor Day weekend
Having Breakthroughs in Bible Reading
As Catholics we believe that the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and meant to be living–a source of fuel and power for our daily lives. Yet for most of us, this is easier said than done! Things get in the way, we experience a lack of time to read the Scriptures, we open up to an Old Testament reading we heard at Mass and it seems hopelessly confusing or boring, we have an insight while pondering the Scriptures alone, but nobody to discuss it with. The barriers in our lives are real. This is where the Bible Foundations course from the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan helps us take steps forward as disciples.
It’s a Thursday 6:00-7:30 pm weekly class at St. Mary Cause of Our Joy (Westland) starting on Sept 18th running in the Fall/Winter (summers off!) with expert, live teacher Cathryn Torgerson MA to guide us through the Old and New Testaments. By combining dynamic presentations, small group discussion, and prayer, together we’ll grow as the missionary disciples the Lord is calling us to be–able to understand, share, and live out the inspired Word of God, in every part of life. Find out more and sign-up by Sept 6th at cbsmich.org.
Looking for new energy in your prayer life? Let the Bible fuel you!
Prayer is essential to the life of a missionary disciple–it’s how we grow in friendship with the Lord and discern how God desires us to live and serve in our world! And yet, we all need fuel for our prayer life, the energy, insight, and motivation to keep going through life’s ups and downs. Without continual renewal, our prayers can seem dry, dull, stagnant, boring, or ineffectual. The Scriptures are fuel and renewal for our prayer lives, and yet we often let this fuel go untapped. As Archbishop Vigneron wrote in an Unleash the Gospel Pastoral Note, “When we read Scripture prayerfully, it becomes a dialogue of love. We listen to God’s heart through his word and we respond from our heart in prayer.”
How can we learn to do this, together? Bible Foundations is a weekly course starting September 21st on Thursdays 6:00-7:30 pm at St. Mary Cause of Our Joy in Westland. With engaging Catholic Biblical School of Michigan teachers, it allows the Holy Spirit to transform the lives of participants. Here’s what people are saying:
“Instead of prayer being an occasional thing I do, it’s now an integral part of my life. I find myself talking to our Lord throughout the course of the day. Instead of being an associate of our Lord, I find myself developing a relationship with our Lord.” -Participant from St. Fabian, Farmington Hills
“Now, I feel like I have a personal relationship with God…Now getting up in the morning and reading the Bible, it’s like brushing my teeth and combing my hair…if I don’t do it, I feel like I left something out. it’s a part of my life.” -Participant from Ss. Peter and Paul, North Branch
“My prayer has really deepened… in the past when I used to pray I’d pray to God–God’s up there and I’m down here. But, what I’ve come to is that this is more of a reciprocal relationship in that I am praying with God and we’re facing each other, and I’m talking to Him.” -Participant from St. Clare of Montefalco, Grosse Pointe Park
Find out more and register for class at cbsmich.org
The Bible: It’s Transformative, Not Just Informative
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures hold a unique place in our Catholic faith. Through the Holy Spirit, the Bible is not merely information or history, but transformative, action-producing wisdom for all those who seek and listen.
Taking time each week to study the Bible in the Thursday 6:00-7:30 PM Bible Foundations course from the Catholic Biblical School ministry fills our lives with new opportunities to be transformed. As a past Biblical School ministry participant says, “this has been one of the best things I’ve ever done with my life!” Why? “I’ve learned how loving and forgiving God is…and I’ve learned to be more forgiving, understanding, and loving, even to those who are hurtful to me. It’s easier to live a life being forgiving and loving than to be angry and hateful.”
Take a leap of faith this year and seek transformation. Learn more and register at cbsmich.org
Blood Drive – October 8, 2025
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025 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.
Adult Catholic Book Studies
Beginning in January we will have two opportunities for Adult Catholic Book Studies. The 1st will be on Wednesday mornings from 10:30 to 11:30, January 8 thru January 29. This study session is on “The Three Ordinary Voices of God”, by Matthew Kelly. Sabrina Queen and Jeanine Frantsen will be the facilitators. If you would like to reserve a spot, please call Sabrina at the Parish Office – 734-425-4421 ext. 217. Book donation is $5.
The second study will be on Thursday mornings 10:00 – 11:30 from January 23 thru February 27. This study session will be on “The Creed”, by Bishop Robert Barron. Paul Zdieblowski will be the facilitator. Paul is the Pastoral Associate and Director of Evangelization at St. Mary, Wayne. Information and registration forms are in the Gathering Area.
Blood Drive – October 12, 2022
October, 12, 2022 from Noon to 6:00pm 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.
Formed
We are excited to announce that St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy now has a subscription to FORMED from the Augustine Institute. As a parishioner, you now have access to a premier online platform filled with over 6,000 Catholic studies, movies, audio dramas, talks, e-books, and even cartoons for our children. To join for FREE:
- Go to https://signup.formed.org/
- Enter our parish’s zip code – 48185
- Enter your name and your email address
You can enjoy FORMED on your computer, tablet, smart-television, or smartphone. Either by going to their website, or downloading the FORMED app.
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
St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy Catholic Church 