Dear Detroit Catholic Deaf Community, As we continue to celebrate the Easter Season and prepare for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, I hope you are enjoying the beautiful spring weather—the longer days and the changes in nature. These moments remind us of how beautiful God’s creation is and how perfect His plans for us are. Just as there are seasons of the year, we also experience seasons in our personal, family, and professional lives.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, We start April with the Holy Week—a time to commemorate Jesus' passion, death, and resurrection. A time for reflection and of thanksgiving for the beautiful gifts Jesus' sacrifice brought to each of us, especially the Eucharist and eternal life in heaven! Here is the Holy Week calendar to accompany Jesus and our faith family, during this Holy season:

Dear Friends in Christ, By now, many of you have purchased your ticket for our Lenten Retreat with Fr. Mike Depcik on Saturday, March 7, at the Blessed Solanus Casey Center. Fr. Mike will also teach Catholic Faith 101 at SJDC on Friday, March 6—please see the flyer for details. And believe it or not, he will celebrate Sunday Mass for us at both locations on March 8! Don't miss these chances to grow in faith, celebrate the Sacraments, and enjoy Fr. Mike's warm presence.

Dear Friends in Christ, In February, we recall Joseph and Mary presenting Jesus in the temple, where Simeon and Anna, guided by the Holy Spirit, recognized Him as the Savior. Their faith reminds us to trust God and remain open to His Spirit. As we begin this month and walk together through the Archdiocese of Detroit's (AOD) restructuring, let us pray for the same faith. I invite you to light a candle on February 2 and pray for your personal intentions, our Catholic Deaf Community, and the AOD's restructuring process.

I hope you had a wonderful, faith-filled Christmas and continue to reflect on the blessings of 2025. I pray that God blesses you and your loved ones with joy, peace, love, and health—the gifts only Jesus can give! Last year, I learned from a Mel Robbins podcast to look back at my phone’s photo albums and reflect on the people and moments that shaped my year. Her advice?

Dear Friends in Christ, As we enter the beautiful season of Advent and prepare our hearts for the coming of our Savior, we give thanks for the blessings of this past year and look forward with hope to the joy of Christmas and the promise of a new year...

Dear members of the Detroit Catholic Deaf Community, The vibrant colors of fall and the shorter days in November serve as a reminder that the seasons are changing. In our Catholic Church, November is the ideal time to reflect, remember, and be thankful...

Dear friends in Christ, We are officially in the Fall season, and we can already feel the crisp air, see the shorter days and see the leaves changing colors. I prefer bright and longer days, but I appreciate the reminder of how important light is in our lives...

Dear friends in Christ, Back to school means St. John's Deaf Center is back to its regular schedule with Children's Liturgy on Sundays, Catholic Faith 101, Adoration, regular lunch service on Tuesdays and more! I look forward to seeing you more often now that we return to regular operational hours after the week of Labor Day Day Weekend.

Dear friends in Christ, On August 15, we commemorate the Assumption of Mary to Heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states (CCC96), "Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death."

Dear friends in Christ, The Feast of St. James (pictured on top) is on July 25. According to the Scriptures, St. James was among the first apostles to join Jesus, along with his brother John, the Beloved. He was one of the three apostles (along with John and Peter) who were present at three special events in Jesus' life: the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus, the Transfiguration, and the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Dear friends in Christ, Thank you for praying for my pilgrimage to Fatima and Santiago de Compostela. I will remember it as an exciting, faith-filled, yet challenging physical experience. I pray that I continue to bear fruit from this blessed and humbling pilgrimage. One of the most potent and exciting experiences was arriving in Santiago de Compostela on May 8, the second day of the Conclave to elect the new Pope.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Alleluia! He is Risen! As we continue to celebrate Easter, we are reminded through Jesus that we will enjoy eternal life. As we continue to celebrate the Eastern Season, I pray that we keep the healthy habits we created during the Lenten Season and continue to work on renewing ourselves through God's help.

Dear Catholic Deaf Community, When you read this, Easter will be a few weeks away. I pray that we all have a transformative Lenten Season and remain hopeful about the gift of eternal life through Jesus' Passion, Death and Resurrection.

Dear Catholic Deaf Community, Besides the snowy and wintry weather in February, we had two big announcements within the Archdiocese of Detroit. The first one, Archbishop Vigneron, shared a new pastoral note, "No Second Tunic: A Plan for Mission Ready Parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit."

Dear Catholic Deaf Community, We just celebrated the start of the new year (it felt like yesterday), and now February, the month of love, is here! Time is going fast indeed. It serves as a valuable reminder to live life to the fullest, count our blessings, and love others as God has loved us.

Dear Friends in Christ, Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely Christmas with your loved ones, and I pray that God will bless us with health, peace and happiness in the Year 2025. As I mentioned in my last newsletter, we have started the 2025 Jubilee Year's theme, the "Pilgrims of Hope.”

December! The last month of the year! And a busy one! We have so many special celebrations in our Catholic Church, and we start with the Advent Season. Advent comes from the Latin Adventus, which means "coming." Advent lasts four Sundays and marks the beginning of a new liturgical year.

November is the month of Thanksgiving. We should all find something to be grateful for each day of this month. When we count our blessings, we can find much more joy and Peace in our hearts. On November 1, All Saints' Day, let us thank God for the saints who have influenced our lives.

Welcome to our redesigned newsletter! I am thrilled to have technology that makes it easier to create this monthly newsletter. I hope you like and enjoy the new design. I want to express my gratitude to all of you who have donated to CSA during these challenging times.