Frequently Asked Questions

WHY WAS 52 SUNDAYS CREATED?

The Archdiocese of Detroit is in the midst of a missionary transformation under the leadership of its chief shepherd, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, and guided by his pastoral letter, Unleash the Gospel. The family is at the heart of the archdiocese’s efforts to unleash the Gospel.

Unleash the Gospel calls families to display a strikingly counter-cultural way of living: grounded in prayer, sacraments, and Scripture. It calls families to embrace their role as the domestic Church and seek the spiritual and social renewal of its neighborhood, schools, and places of work. However, today’s families face unprecedented challenges and need support and accompaniment to attain this vision. For this reason, the local Church in Detroit has committed a major portion of her resources to support families in building the domestic Church and equipping them for mission. (Unleash the Gospel, Guidepost 7)


A clear starting point for this work is to help families reclaim Sunday as a day set apart for the Lord. To help all families reclaim the Lord’s Day and grow in the habits of discipleship, the Archdiocese of Detroit created 52 Sundays, a weekly resource that provides a structure for living Sunday in a distinctly Catholic way.


The 2024 edition of 52 Sundays is accessible to families in English or Spanish for free in a digital format. The option to print entries as PDFs is also available. Sign up here to receive the weekly prompts to access and download the content.


WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT THIS YEAR'S EDITION OF 52 SUNDAYS?

The 2024 edition of 52 Sundays introduces families to some of the martyrs of the Church via the “Meet Our Extended Family” section. The word “martyr” comes from the Greek word for witness. They are called witnesses because that’s exactly what they were doing through their deaths: witnessing to their love for God and their fidelity to him. The stories of these men and women are incredibly inspiring.


The weekly stories span every age of Christianity and touch on all corners of the world. Some of the stories are well-known and others are not, but each leaves a powerful legacy of faith and fortitude. These stories are recommended for upper elementary-aged children and older, as the act of martyrdom is included in each story. Parents are invited to preview these stories and adapt them to the developmental level of their children.


The history of our Catholic faith can be intense and frightening at times, but it is important not to shy away from these parts of the story, lest we get an inaccurate picture of the world. It is important to help disciples of every age to understand that bad things do happen in this world, but God has a plan that extends beyond all the bad -- a plan to restore his Kingdom to the way it was intended to be in the beginning, with no more sadness and no more tears. The thousands of men and women who approached their death filled with the joy and love of God in the power of the Holy Spirit, tell us something huge about life with God. It tells us that his promises are real, and in the end, even death cannot separate us from his love.


Today, many people have rejected faith in God because it is, in their opinion, too restrictive, too hard to understand, or too boring. The lives of the saints attest to the fact that the Christian life is certainly not boring, especially those who are featured in this year’s edition of 52 Sundays. Their lives were filled with adventure, drama, and heroism. We live in a culture that is often hostile to Christian principles and ideals. As disciples of Christ, we are called to stand up for our faith and live in imitation of our Savior. While it is unlikely that any of us will be called to give our lives for the faith, every disciple is called to a daily dying to self and witness to the Gospel. It is our hope that the stories of the martyrs will inspire virtue and a more fervent desire to put ourselves under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and live as his witnesses in the world.


WHAT DOES 52 SUNDAYS INCLUDE?

52 Sundays contains unique content for each Sunday of the calendar year. Families can determine how much of the content to use based on their family’s interests and needs. Below is a description of each section of the content.

EXPLORE THE SUNDAY GOSPEL

52 Sundays contains the Sunday Gospel for each Sunday in 2024 as well as the biblical citations for all the readings of the day. Here are some ways that you can explore the Sunday Gospel:


MEET OUR EXTENDED FAMILY

The saints are members of the Church who are with Christ in heaven praying for those in the Church who are still on their pilgrimage of faith on earth. Saints help us see how our ordinary lives can be lived out in extraordinary ways. 52 Sundays makes it easy to get to know our extended spiritual family by featuring one saint each week. Introducing this saint to your family can be done in several ways:


TAKE TIME TO CHAT

52 Sundays provides discussion questions on the Gospel passage and the featured saint to foster discussion within your family. Discuss these questions at a time that works best for you (i.e., in the car, during a meal, at bedtime). These questions may stimulate curiosity and lead to more questions. That is a good thing! Parents often feel anxious when children ask questions that they can't answer. However, not having all the answers is an opportunity to listen better, allowing the child to explore and ask more questions. Children's curiosity is possibly the greatest player in their drive to learn. Here are a few pointers that might help navigate faith conversations:


FAMILY FUN

Family fun is an integral part of building a strong family identity. When families have fun together with Christ at the center, it creates a holy bond that can last a lifetime. Therefore, a family activity is included each week to help you carve out some intentional time to have family fun! Here are a few things to keep in mind:


RECIPE OF THE WEEK

There are so many benefits to sharing a meal. When families eat together, children get the message that family is important and that they are important to the family. Make Sunday meals a sacred time as your family reclaims the Lord’s Day. Mealtime also provides the perfect opportunity to observe different seasons and feasts of the Catholic Church in our homes, and 52 Sundays provides some new and exciting recipes to help you do just that. Some of the recipes have a connection to the Gospel, featured saint, holiday, or season. Others are included because they are super easy or fun to make. Either way, the recipes will add some variety to your meal rotation and provide an opportunity for the whole family to pitch in and help. Here are some things you may want to consider:


FAMILY PRAYER

Prayer has the power to shift the spiritual atmosphere in your home dramatically. It’s also one of the best ways to help your family thrive. When you pray together, each family member learns what it means to be intimate with God. When you see answers to prayer, you experience God’s love and presence in your daily lives. Home life can sometimes be filled with chaos, tension, and stress. Praying helps to restore peace and change perspectives.


Families that pray together stay together. 52 Sundays provides a Family Prayer each week. These prayers will help your family learn new ways to pray. Families are encouraged to set aside time each Sunday for family prayer. It may be helpful to create a dedicated prayer space or to light a candle to create an atmosphere of reverence. Choose a time that works best for your family, such as before Mass, a shared meal, or bedtime.


LITURGY LINK

Each week’s liturgy link is a way for kids (and adults) to engage better at Mass and become more aware of the church environment. Consider asking the liturgy link questions immediately before or after Mass. If you can’t easily find the answer, don’t hesitate to ask your priest or a parish staff member.


FAMILY CHALLENGE

Each week, families are challenged to put the Gospel into action by extending radical hospitality, reflecting on Scripture, performing works of mercy, practicing virtues, or doing random acts of kindness.


FUN FACTS!

Fun Facts include some fun Catholic and secular trivia for the given day or week.


Share how your family celebrated Sunday! #52Sundays

Engage with 52 Sundays online. Families are invited to share their Sunday experiences through #52Sundays. Use the hashtag on all our social media channels: @UTGdetroit 


52 SUNDAYS HELPS TO BUILD THE DOMESTIC CHURCH. WHAT IS THE DOMESTIC CHURCH?

At different moments in the Church's history, the family has been called the "domestic Church," a term that describes the character and mission of the Christian Family. The domestic Church does on a small scale what the Church universal does on a large scale; it makes disciples.


No human community is better equipped to do this than the family. Parents are the first to exhibit behaviors in their home that reflect Gospel values by how they love and forgive one another, stand up for what is true and good, care for aging family members and the natural world around them, and model social teaching. As opposed to parish programs that are geared more toward large groups of people, families naturally focus on the needs of each member. Families also have natural accountability structures because of how well family members know each other and how much time they spend together. In their divinely appointed role as spiritual guides, parents have a level of intimacy and trust with their children, unlike that of a parish volunteer. The family is the perfect "small group" where faith is lived out in real and tangible ways.


Parents can build the domestic Church by weaving a Catholic world around their children and creating a culture in the home that reinforces the baptismal identity of its members. Parents control the religious content, activities, and experiences in the home, and they decide how the family spends its time. Parents help children see that faith is a lens through which one engages the world. 52 Sundays helps parents build the domestic Church by providing weekly religious content, activities, and home experiences anchored to the Sunday Gospel. These activities help cultivate habits of discipleship that extend beyond Sunday and into the rest of the week. The following are some tips on how to use the content.


HOW DO I USE THIS IN A FAMILY SMALL GROUP SETTING?

52 Sundays can easily be used in a small group setting. Here are some basic instructions to help you get started:


SAMPLE SESSION OUTLINE (90 MINUTES)

1. Gather, Socialize, Share a Meal or Snack (20 minutes without a meal)


2. Opening Prayer (5 minutes)

3. Discussion and Activities (60 minutes)
SUNDAY GOSPEL AND TAKE TIME TO CHAT


MEET OUR EXTENDED FAMILY


LITURGY LINK, FAMILY FUN, AND FAMILY CHALLENGE


4. Closing Prayer with Intentions (5 minutes)


TIPS FOR FAMILIES WHO ARE HOSTING FAMILY SMALL GROUPS


TIPS FOR DISCUSSION LEADERS


EXPECTATIONS FOR SMALL GROUP MEMBERS