2016
Bulletin for January 31, 2016
We will continue to celebrate the Year of Mercy and practice the necessity for hospitality by focusing on the themes of Welcome the Stranger and Instruct the Ignorant in the month of February. See page 2 of this week’s bulletin to read Bill Alt‘s, the Campus Minister for Social Justice, reflection on the January Daytime Warming Center and the opportunities to live out February’s themes in the coming weeks.
Beginning this Wednesday, Fr. John Ferone, S.J. will provide guides to prayer using St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. See page 4 of the bulletin to see each week’s theme and/or contact Fr. John for more information.
2016
Bulletin for January 24, 2016
Still debating whether or not to sign up for the Busy Student Retreat? Read Jessica Montgomery’s reflection on page 2 of the bulletin to learn about her BSR experience and why it could be the perfect way for you to grow in your faith this Lent! Sign up by January 31st.
We have a new Jesuit joining the SMSP pastoral staff this July! Start to get to know Fr. Miguel Arrieta, S.J. before he arrives by reading page 6 of the bulletin!
2016
Bulletin for January 17, 2016
It may seem like Christmas just happened yesterday, but Lent will be here before you know it. If you are interested in growing in your relationship with Christ this Lenten season through Scripture, prayer, and conversation, joining a Small Church Community (SCC) here at St. Mary Student Parish is the perfect opportunity. Sign up here. If you have any questions about SCCs, contact SCC coordinator Kelly Dunlop or SCC intern Elise Huber.
We still need volunteers for our January Daytime Warming Center! The warming center provides food, coffee, a warm place of rest, and solidarity with our brothers and sisters experiencing homelessness. Please consider signing up for a shift here. Contact Bill Alt with any questions.
Calling all Umich Catholics! Follow the new twitter for the Catholic Campus Community and St. Mary Student Parish @umichcatholics. Your fellow student parishioners will each be taking turns tweeting for a week about different SMSP events and what it means to be Catholic at the University of Michigan.
2016
Bulletin for January 10, 2016
In response to Pope Francis’ call to celebrate a holy year of mercy, St. Mary will focus each month on two of the traditional works of mercy. Our focus this month is to shelter those without homes and console the despairing. See page 2 of the bulletin to learn about the resources SMSP has to offer to live out this focus.
Undergrads, don’t forget to join us this Thursday, January 14th from 8-10pm for ice skating at Yost! Meet at SMSP at 8pm with your Mcard and $5, and we will all walk to Yost together.
2015
Bulletin for December 20, 2015-January 3, 2016
At times, it can be easy to doubt all the goodness in the world when we seem to be constantly told of all the suffering. See Fr. Ben Hawley’s Pastoral Perspective on page 2 in which he reminds us of God’s rejuvenating power and the beauty of this Advent season.
Volunteers are needed for the January Daytime Warming Center! Sign up to join your fellow parishioners in providing those people experiencing homelessness a warm and safe space. For further details, see page 3 of the bulletin.
2015
Bulletin for December 13, 2015
The Year of Mercy began this week! See page 2 of the bulletin for a reflection on what this means and how we can each embrace mercy in our own lives.
Graduate students and young professionals are invited to our first annual Grad/YP Holiday Party! Put on your tackiest holiday sweater and join us at Arbor Brewing Company on Monday, December 14th at 7 pm!
2015
Bulletin for December 6, 2015
All undergrads are invited to attend our Christmas Bash on December 11th! Take a quick break from studying for those upcoming finals to celebrate the holiday season. More details are on page 5 of this week’s bulletin.
Looking for a way to connect with your Catholic faith in a new and impactful way? All parishioners are invited to join the Catholic Thinkers Book Club, which meets one Tuesday a month to discuss different faith-based books. See page 6 of the bulletin for further details.
2015
Bulletin for November 22 and November 29
Fr. John Ferone prepares us for the Advent season and reminds us of our own call to “Prepare the way of the Lord” in his article on page 2 of this week’s bulletin.
Join us on Sunday, December 6th from 7:00-8:30 PM for a “Living Library” where our eleven student interns and two campus ministry associates share the stories of their spiritual journeys.
Are you an undergraduate student looking to get more involved as a leader at St. Mary Student Parish? Apply Now for a leadership position within the Catholic Campus Community. Applications are due Wednesday, November 25th!
2015
Faith Sharing Fridays November 20, 2015
Gospel for Sunday, November 22nd
When you are a child, and another child takes your toy from you, it seems like your world has been turned upside down. When you are a teenager and you feel like you don’t have any true friends, again your world is turned upside down. When you are in college and you don’t know what you want to do with your life or who you want to be, your world feels upside down. When you have a stressful job and that is all that is on your mind, once again, you feel your world turned upside down.
No matter what phase of life we are in, we have experienced those difficult moments where it seems like it is impossible to get through it. The challenge is overwhelming and you don’t know how to make it work. Yet, somehow, we always make it to the other side. Looking back on these challenges, I can see that they are “worldly”. And in the Gospel, we are reminded that the kingdom of God does not belong to this world.
Of course, this does not diminish the challenges we have, but rather this allows us to put it into perspective and hopefully make it through our challenges with courage, like Jesus. The kingdom of God does not belong to this world, but it can still be found within it. Those moments of pure joy and peace are the moments when we rest in the kingdom of God on earth. Those moments can give us courage to continue through our challenges.
An Undergraduate Woman
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As I read this reflection, I realized that the events of this past weekend are spoken through these words. Lives were turned upside down, the world was turned upside down in shock and horror as we watched the headlines ablaze with news of death and terror. BUT out of that darkness, love and light poured through – a call for peace, a call for solidarity, a call for prayer – for God’s Kingdom to reign here on Earth. In the outpouring of support for the victims of the Paris attack, in #prayforParis, I saw God’s kingdom giving courage to those suffering to make it through the challenge. So for this week, I chose a picture that shows that God’s kingdom can still be found within our world.
An Undergraduate Woman
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From Isobel Bowdery, a survivor of the attack:
“But being a survivor of this horror lets me able to shed light on the heroes. To the man who reassured me and put his life on line to try and cover my brain whilst I whimpered, to the couple whose last words of love kept me believing the good in the world, to the police who succeeded in rescuing hundreds of people, to the complete strangers who picked me up from the road and consoled me during the 45 minutes I truly believed the boy I loved was dead, to the injured man who I had mistaken for him and then on my recognition that he was not Amaury, held me and told me everything was going to be fine despite being all alone and scared himself, to the woman who opened her doors to the survivors, to the friend who offered me shelter and went out to buy new clothes so I wouldn’t have to wear this blood stained top, to all of you who have sent caring messages of support – you make me believe this world has the potential to be better. to never let this happen again.”
2015
Bulletin for November 15, 2015
Check out page 2 of this week’s bulletin to read a reflection on Sunday’s readings written by a campus minister. Also, if you’re interested in reading more reflections, see our #faithsharingfriday blog!
Undergrads, mark your calendars for November 21st to join us for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner! Finally, the last day to sign up for the Feast Day of Service is a week away. Register now to participate.