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First Saturdays at St. Joseph's: For Life and Now, For Vocations, too

For several years, our parish has scheduled Evening Holy Hours on the First Sundays from September through January. The attendance has been very satisfactory.

That five of the some twenty who left for St. Charles’ Seminary last week came from this parish is surely a sign of God’s blessing upon our prayers.

Should we just “coast along” on the formula next month? After all, some families had accepted to come in the long distance twice in the same day.

I appeal to the whole congregation to approve a new experiment in response to Bishop Burbidge’s call to every parish in the Diocese to pray for our seminarians and to ask God to increase their number.

First Saturdays, long a mainstay of St. Joseph’s devotional life, are now being summoned to carry a special thrust for “Vocations” as well as “Life.”

Following the eight o’clock Mass, there will be exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, praying of the Rosary (with commentary on five decades), and then Benediction.

The Sacrament of Penance will be offered at 9:45 a.m. until all are served. For those who cannot stay after the Mass, due to Life engagements or other duties of the day, the Church is open every first Saturday by 7:00 a.m.

The urgency of our Church’s need for more priests – and sisters, too – has been underscored for some years now.

Families, “seniors”, youth and young adults are being convoked to support this Holy Saturday Hour – which should be a sign to those discerning a call to the priesthood and religious life that the subject is such that the bodies of parishioners are on the line before the “Lord of the Harvest” asking for more workers for the vineyard.

The Chalice program continues, as well as a prayer during First Friday devotions, at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart. First Saturdays, associated for nearly a century with the message of Fatima, are privileged times for prayer for peace…for the Gospel of life. We make room for a new layer of intentions: vocations.

Thank you for planning now to make the Saturday of the Labor Day weekend a good start.

Yours faithfully, in the Holy Name,
(Monsignor) John Williams
Pastor

Sunday Morning Faith Formation Series for Adults

“Remember the time when…” A New Look at the Old, Old Story

When families gather, they often reminisce and retell stories of special family moments; laughing at the funny ones, and possibly shedding a tear or two at those that are sad or bittersweet. It is in the “remembering”, the looking again at the family album and the re-telling the family history, that we are reminded of our identity -- of where we came from, who we are, and where we are called to go.

This Fall, you are invited to take part in a look backward at our history as the family of God, His chosen people.

Mr. Abbe will lead this re-telling of the story of God’s family on Sundays, between the early and late Mass, in the rectory living room. We will look again at the story of God’s chosen people in the Old Testament, and how their story is truly OUR story. (In the Spring, we will bring that story forward to the New Testament, and walk again through the life of Christ and the Apostles, the birth of the Church, and the spread of the Gospel to the world – seeing the Old fulfilled in the New.)

When is it? The series will run for 11 weeks, from Sept. 12th, (Sunday after Labor Day weekend), to November 21th, (Sunday before Thanksgiving). Meet in the rectory.

Where do I sign up? Please stop by the Faith Formation registration table in the Community Room to sign-up for this Adult Education series. Sign-up SOON!

Sep. 12th – Foundation & Introduction: A Catholic Understanding of: “The Word of God.”
Sep. 19th – “Creation, Fall, Flood, Nations”
Sep. 26th – Call of Abram; The Promise Fulfilled, “the Test,” and the Twins
Oct. 3rd – Jacob and His Sons – The Twelve Tribes and Sojourn into Egypt
Oct. 10th – Call of Moses; Plagues, Passover, and “Parting”
Oct. 17th – Entry into the Promised Land/Time of Judges/Call of Samuel
Oct. 24th – Saul, David, and Solomon: Establishment of the Monarchy
Oct. 31st – The Divided Kingdom and the Prophet’s Voice
Nov. 7th – Israel Conquered, Judah Captive
Nov. 14st – Return and Restoration
Nov. 21st – “The Long Wait”