Palm Sunday

Passion Play Cast

Suzanne McGill-Anderson, Director

Matt Dargay, Narrator
 

Rene Bryce, Emily Osterman, Jack Slayton, Philip Meyer, Drew Tomasko, Mario Arribas, Spencer Watson, Paola Mendez, Mike Rhadigan and Ali Corrion.

Breakfast: Pat and Bridget Llewellyn and Family

Good Friday

April 6

12:00 noon Stations of the Cross

1:15 p.m. Solemn Celebration of

the Passion of the Lord

The Passion of Our Lord; Veneration of the Cross; Communion.

One of the main features of our Pilgrimage to the Holy Land was the celebration of Mass at various shrines along the way. These shrines are dedicated to remembering a certain story or event in the Gospel. Our guide, who was Jewish, commented that the Catholic Pilgrimage is really dictated by the Mass schedule. We had Mass scheduled for each day at a certain time, so that became the focal point of the day, and everything else revolved around that.

Our Mass schedule in Jerusalem didn’t exactly follow the chronology of Holy Week. Our first Mass was in Bethany, at the shrine of Lazarus, but the very next morning we found ourselves at the Garden of Olives. It was a few days later before we would visit the place of the upper room. The day that we visited the old city, we had Mass scheduled for 9:00 am in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This presented a problem because the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is at the end of the Via Dolorosa. Pilgrims usually pray the 14 Stations of the Cross – three of which are in the Church, and end the day with Mass in the Church. There was no time to walk the stations before the morning Mass. We would walk the Via Dolorosa after Mass, but we had to get back in the bus and drive around to the other side of the city so we could begin at the first station. Our guide said it would be a lot easier if we could just do the stations backward, but we agreed that would not be a good idea.

I liked the idea of beginning with the Mass at Holy Sepulcher because of an insight Ron Rolheiser had shared with us a few summers ago. In reflecting further on the Agony in the Garden, Ron points out that the Greek word Agonia refers to the preparation an athlete undergoes before going into the arena for a serious competition. “Gethsemane teaches that to enter the spiritual arena, one too must first be properly warmed up. Cold muscles are a hazard here as well: We cannot walk from self-pampering to self-sacrifice, from living in fear to acting in courage, and from cringing before the unknown to taking the leap of faith, without first, like Jesus in Gethsemane, readying ourselves through a certain AGONIA, that is, without undergoing a painful sweat that comes from facing what will be asked of us if we continue to live the truth.

Mary Jo Leddy once commented that in order to live in real courage we must die before we die. In any situation that is dominated by fear, she asserts, we need to be living the resurrection already before we die. This means that choosing not to die is not always the same thing as choosing to live. Rather we need to choose truth, integrity, and duty even if it means pain and death, otherwise the deep instinct for self-preservation will forever cause us to be more concerned about our own safety and comfort than about anything else and fear will always dominate our lives. __

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus dies before he dies and in that way readies himself for what awaits him. The next day, when Pilate threatens him with death, Jesus stands in a freedom and courage that can only be understood if we understand what happened to him in the Garden. When Pilate says to him: "Don't you know that I have power over you, power to take your life or to save it." Jesus answers: "You have no power over me whatsoever. Nobody takes my life, I give it over freely." In essence, Pilate is threatening a man already dead. [in his talk, Ron had Jesus saying to Pilate: “You’re a day late, I gave my life away last night.”] In great anguish he had given his life over freely the night before and so he is ready for whatever awaits him. “(Rolheiser: THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN 2004-03-28)

Jesus already knew where he was going. He is always ahead of us, but he invites us to follow in the same path. As we heard in last Sunday’s Gospel: Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. (John 12:26)

Please mark your calendars for the registration dates for our two week Summer Catechetical Component. Registration will take place on Tuesday, May 1 and Thursday, May 10. Both meetings begin at 7:00 and will be completed by 8:00. Attendance at one of these meetings is the only way to register for this program. Our Summer Catechetical Component will take place the weeks of July 16 and 23 (am and pm) and August 6 and 13(am only).

This summer we study “OUR LIFE” as Catholic Christians. It is a most important unpacking of the moral foundations for living our day to day life.

Enroll your children grades 1-5 so that we as Church may support you as you raise your children with good values and strong foundations.
 

Adult Formation in the Future

All are welcome to join us for Bible study. Take some time to learn more about God’s Word. St. Paul refers to it as “alive and active.” Those who study it seriously call it transformative…come and see for yourself.

We will be resuming our Wednesday morning study on April 18 at 9:30am. We will be studying the First 11 Chapters of Genesis this time around. Come learn about the very true “myths” of our faith…the foundational beliefs about God and our relationship with God. How did it all begin? What’s our relationship with evil and suffering? How might one begin to describe God? I would urge those who have retired or Moms (or Dads) who are home during the day to consider coming for these six weeks in the morning. These stories constitute such a foundation for how we read the scriptures, and understand God’s Word to us. If you might be interested in joining us, please call to reserve a copy of the guidebook.

Or join us on Wednesday, April 18 at 7:00pm as we begin a Six Week with the Bible course on the challenging Book of Revelation: God’s Gift of Hope . This is a challenging book, and one that deserves a group approach for wisdom and balance. If you might be interested in joining us, please call to reserve a copy of the guidebook.

Between these two studies, we will be studying God’s Word as it begins and ends. These settings are non threatening and open to all, those who are familiar with the Scriptures, and those who are just beginning. The group of people who come are welcoming and respectful of all views and opinions. Write April 18 into your schedule now.

Even though this is a school vacation time, please celebrate this Holy Week in your “domestic Church” setting. Take time to pray the Stations of the Cross with your children. Make Holy Thursday special by breaking bread and thanking God for all God’s gifts. Find some way to wash another’s feet. And above all, celebrate the true meaning of Easter. Don’t take time only for Easter Egg hunts and Easter baskets. Take time to praise God for the gift of new life…take time to thank God for the gift of faith. Bring new life to your relationships. This is a Holy Week indeed…give your child that gift.
  

 
Please Pray for our Elect
and Candidates

As Lent continues, please pray daily for those journeying toward the Easter Sacraments and those who will be coming to full communion with us at the Easter Vigil…we are the prayer community supporting them.

Our Maintenance Department at Christ the Redeemer is looking for a washing machine in good working condition.

If you have a machine you would like to donate please call the parish office, 248-391-1621.

The Passion of Jesus makes it clear, no one escapes suffering. Suffering is inevitable but no one should suffer alone. That is one of the primary roles of families, to stand with and support each other in suffering.

This Sunday is called “Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion”. We celebrate two ends of a spectrum, two parts of a story. When we begin, we see Jesus riding through town on a colt, and the colt’s back is covered in robes of his followers. This speaks of great reverence for a king. Palm branches are waved and scattered on the street to line his passing. Revelers are abundant and the mood is high. It’s hard to imagine that in a short time the scene will change and the atmosphere with it.

Have you ever had an experience where everything seemed to be going your way? You felt unstoppable, almost invincible – ready to take on the world. You have friends backing you and you feel you can accomplish anything. Then, in a moment, everything changes. Suddenly you find yourself alone, no more celebrating, no more

But look at things from the follower’s perspective? What causes you to change teams, as it were? What could have happened to make you turn your back on your friend? Do you suddenly disagree with his ideas? Or are you afraid of being taken up with his punishment? It is so easy to follow along when everything is wonderful, but so much harder when things turn bad.

In the beginning, the streets are lined with crowds praising Jesus! They can’t yell loud enough. But then the tide turns, and his followers desert him. It all became much too scary for many of them to continue, and even those with the best of intentions,

Journaling Questions:

What hard choices have you had to make to continue following Jesus?

How does Jesus’ example help you to go against the crowd?

Approximately 70 parishioners spent a Saturday afternoon in March at Gleaners Food Bank in Detroit. Volunteer jobs included; preparing food orders, packing family food boxes and sorting bags for the backpack program. Gleaners Food Bank relies primarily on volunteers to do the work of their organization.

Thank you to our volunteers for taking the time to help the less fortunate. Thank you to the parishioners who donated food for the Gleaner’s Food Drive. We collected 783 pounds of food during our drive, almost a full van of non-perishable food. Gleaners collects 36 million pounds of food per year and distributes it to those in need. We now know that we contributed to that awesome number.

Operation Rice Bowl

As we reflect on the passion of Christ, we remember that more than 44 million people in the United States are living in poverty. While 75% of our gifts to Operation Rice Bowl support Catholic Relief Services’ programs around the world, 25% of our contributions remain in our diocese to support local hunger and poverty alleviation efforts. Your prayers, fasting, learning, and almsgiving through Operation Rice Bowl make a significant difference in the lives of people in our own community and in communities around the world.

ALL bowls must be turned in by Sunday, April 15.

Who Do We Tithe To?
Leader Dogs

Founded in 1939, Leader Dogs for the Blind provides dog guides to people who are blind or visually impaired to enhance their mobility, independence and quality of life. Each year, over 270 students attend their 26 -day residential training program to be paired with a dog guide. Leader Dogs is the only facility in the Western Hemisphere to teach deaf-blind students to work with a dog guide. They are 3 Star rated by Charity navigator. Leader Dogs for the Blind are located in Rochester, Michigan. For more information, you can reach them at 888-777-5332.
 
 

Volunteer Appreciation Friday, May 4 Celebrate Cinco De Mayo With Us! Mark your calendar and watch for details.

Meetings begin at Christ the Redeemer on Thursdays in the Matt 1 room. Anyone in recovery is welcome.

Questions please call the parish office.
 

Several times a year we make cards that are sent to members of Christ the Redeemer community. The cards welcome, console and cheer those that receive them.

Join the card making fun on Tuesday, April 24 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Samples, materials and instructions make the crafting easy, so no experience is necessary.

Christ the Redeemer members who expressed a desire to volunteer at the Baldwin Soup Kitchen on Saturdays now have the opportunity to volunteer for a weekday evening meal as well. Current volunteers will receive an email via VolunteerSpot asking for assistance with our future dates. VolunteerSpot will give you and your family an opportunity to sign up for any given day(s).

If you are interested and would like to be added to the email list please call Sera at 248-814-7393.

The Children in Foster Care & Orphan Support Committee would like to thank everyone who took a tag from the FICA tree and brought back items for children in need. In all, 381 tags were taken. On Saturday, March 31 Carekits will be put together.

These kits will be given to Counselors and Protective Service staff to give children when they are taken from their homes to be placed in a safe facility. Most children removed from their home take the clothes on their back and very little else. These kits provide comfort and necessities. Your generosity and kindness fills the resident facilities staff with gratitude.

For more information contact Mary Pergeau E-mail resources@flash.net or cell 248-884-1081.
 

Michigan Catholic Credit Union (MCCU) will be awarding $6,500 in scholarships this spring. MCCU created the “Make a Difference” Scholarship Program to award educational scholarships to students and families who are committed to making a difference in the lives of others through their volunteer services in their school, parish, and/or community. Thirteen (13) one-year educational scholarships, in the amount of $500 each, will be awarded this spring to selected MCCU members.

Members can apply for one of two categories of scholarship allocation:

• Families who attend a primary or secondary (K-12) Catholic School

• Graduating high school seniors pursuing higher education

For a complete list of eligibility requirements and to obtain an application please visit any MCCU branch location, or go online to www.michcathcu.org.

All scholarship applications are due by April 27, 2012.

The Archdiocese of Detroit Men’s Conference is an annual gathering of Catholic men designed to promote and strengthen the spiritual growth of the participants and enable them to make a positive difference in their homes, parishes, workplaces and communities. This year’s Conference will be featuring the Crossing The Goal ministry team of Danny Abramowicz, Peter Herbeck, Curtis Martin and Brian Patrick who will motivate men through inspired talks on conversion, transformation and evangelization. Join men from Christ The Redeemer, and throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit, for a faith filled Saturday. For more information contact Matt Miller 248.393.3130 or Kenn Andridge 248.891.8156 or to register on-line visit www.aod.org/men Tickets are on sale now $40 for adults, $25 for students. Seats are limited.

 
What Is It?

This is a ministry that has very caring, compassionate individuals that are members of Christ the Redeemer that have been trained to give quality Christian care to people experiencing a crisis in their life. If a person is facing a challenge such as divorce, grief, job loss, illness, loneliness, or any other of life’s challenges a Stephen Minister can be there during this time. Stephen Ministers meet for about one hour each week offering care for as long as it is needed.

If you would like more information about becoming a Stephen Minister, or if you are in need of a Stephen Minister, contact Judy Bas (248)693-3047 or e-mail: jkbas99@yahoo.com.