1.  Consistent Ethic of Life presentation: Capital Punishment  March 22, 7 pm
“From Fury To Forgiveness, Contempt to Compassion:  "A Catholic mother's desperate search for her kidnapped child and God's idea of Justice.”  Presentation by Marietta Jaeger Lane                                                                                            

2.  Bake Sale to benefit Crossroads Easter Meal  March 14

3.  Pope Benedict XVI Lenten Theme:  “The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ.”

4.  Alternative Spring Break
Presentation Night   March 15, 7 pm
ASB Pancake Breakfast  March 21

5.  Announcements   

• Society of St Vincent de Paul is seeking volunteers
• Pax Christi Conference                                     March 27
• ICPJ Trip to DC to lobby Congress to close the School of the Americas (WHINSEC)

6.  Prayer for Conversion

Capital Punishment: “From Fury to Forgiveness, Contempt to Compassion:  "A Catholic mother's desperate search for her kidnapped child and God's idea of Justice"

Presentation by Marietta Jaeger Lane     March 22, 7 pm

The Vatican declaration to the World Congress on the Death Penalty in June 2001 stated, “The Holy See has engaged itself in the pursuit of the abolition of capital punishment as an integral part of the defense of human life at every stage of its development, and does so in defiance of an assertion of a culture of death”.  This evening, the mother of a murder victim will share her story and the reasons for her Catholic opposition to the death penalty in America.  Participants will be invited to listen, discuss and pray with one another around this issue.
 

March 14
The Social Justice Ministry will host the annual Crossroads Bake Sale. This sale funds the Easter dinner our parish provides to Detroit 's poor and homeless at Crossroads soup kitchen. On Easter Sunday, we expect more than 1,100 guests.  This year, St. Mary's will also provide a meal on Good Friday at the Neighborhood Service Organization's Tumaini Center, a warming shelter in Detroit. We expect the cost of these two meals to equal up to $5,000. To raise this amount, we need MANY donations of lovingly baked goods, as well as your generosity in purchasing these goods.  Please bring your donations of baked goods to the parish office on Saturday, March 13 between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. or drop them off at the bake sale on Sunday March 14.

 
We also need volunteers to help staff the bake sale after most masses on March 14.  If you would like to volunteer, have questions or would like more information, please e-mail:  margaretannlynch@yahoo.com. 
 

“The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ.”

Pope Benedict XVI has recently issued a message for Lent 2010. This year’s message focuses on the theme “The justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ.” In the message, Pope Benedict reflects on the “profound link between faith in God who ‘lifts the needy from the ash heap’ (Ps 113,7) and justice towards one’s neighbor.” During Lent, he calls for our “conversion to Christ” which requires us to “exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one’s own need – the need of others and God.” Strengthened by this experience, he writes, “The Christian is moved to contribute to creating just societies, where all receive what is necessary to live according to the dignity proper to the human person and where justice is enlivened by love.” The full text of the message can be found at Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for Lent 2010.
 

Alternative Spring Break Presentation Night                                                     March 15, 7 pm
Come here about our students’ experiences of spending Spring Break in service of others.  96 students participated in service works in eight different sites in the US.  See pictures and hear anecdotes of this transformative experience.

Don’t miss out on the ASB Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, March 21 after the 8:30 and 10:00/10:10 masses.  This is the group’s way of saying THANK YOU for your prayers and support.  
 

Society of St Vincent de Paul is seeking volunteers

Men and women of all ages are invited to join the Society, both for their own spiritual growth and to reach out with a helping hand to others.  Volunteers serve in the thrift store at 1001 Broadway collecting, sorting, displaying clothing and household goods for individuals and families in need.  For more information, contact Jennifer (store manager) or Joe (asst. mgr.) at (734) 761-1400 for more details.
 
Pax Christi Michigan  29th Annual State Conference         
Saturday, March 27th, 2010
“Active Nonviolence: Building a Peaceful World”
Featuring Nobel Peace Prize nominee Kathy Kelly
Mercy High School - Farmington Hills, Michigan

Kathy Kelly co-coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence, (www.vcnv.org) a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare.  As a co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness, she helped form 70 delegations (from 1996 – 2003) that openly defied economic sanctions by bringing medicines to children and families in Iraq.  

Register at Pax Christi MI website - www.paxchristimi.org/state_conference.htm

 
ICPJ Trip to DC to lobby Congress to close the School of the Americas (WHINSEC)

Each November, ICPJ's Latin America Task Force organizes labor leaders, students, faith community members, veterans, families, and others to take a bus to Ft. Benning, Georgia, to protest the School of the Americas/WHINSEC for the human rights abuses committed by its graduates. 

This April, we’ll take our protest to Congress during the SOA Watch Lobby Days. Delegates from Michigan will carpool/fly/train to D.C. to lobby our elected officials demanding that the school be closed. You can join us for this important mission!  This year, with a bill to close the school in committee (H.R. 2567 which would suspend operations at the SOA/WHINSEC for investigation of human rights abuses), we are optimistic that we have a real chance to make a difference.

Agenda Overview:

• Saturday, April 17th – evening social event (optional)
• Sunday, April 18th – lobby training
• Monday, April 19th – lobby visits to Congress
• Tuesday, April 20th – possible continued lobby visits

For more information contact Grace Kotre: (734) 663-1870 or gracek@icpj.net.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner
    for my prodigal heart has wandered far from you
        and squandered the inheritance of your love.

Set me free from the distractions that surround me
    unbind those places where I am anything but free.
    
Open my ears to hear your call
    and quiet the restlessness that keeps me caught up in frenetic activity.

Show me the way back to you...
    the way to take the first step
    the way to be patient and attentive    
    the way to forgive myself and others
    the way to apologize for how I have treated others
    the way to let go of regrets and past hurts
    the way to live gently and mindfully
    the way to be still and return to you

Free me, restore me, forgive me, embrace me
    so that in turn, I may become your love and justice
        in a world in need of conversion.

Amen.

Education for Justice