Church guide

A great reminder from St. Jacinta Marto, one of the Fátima visionaries visited by Our Lady, of the reverence and respect we should have when in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Tabernacle! “Noticing that many visitors chatted and laughed in the chapel, Jacinta asked Mother Godinho to warn them of the lack of respect for the Real Presence this represented. When this measure did not bring about satisfactory results, she asked that the cardinal be advised that ‘Our Lady does not want people to talk in church.’” (I am unable to find the original written source for this, but based on a couple of the places that have used this basic quotation and the valuable point it makes, it seems probably worth sharing.)

A quick reminder that today (Sunday, August 18th) our second Sunday Mass returns to being at 10:30 a.m. (Last week it had changed to later because of the Assumption Procession; today it returns back to 10:30, where it will stay until further notice.)

Wishing you a blessed Feast of the Assumption of Mary! See our last post for our Mass schedule for today (a HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION).

Thursday, August 15th is a HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION—the Feast of the Assumption of Mary! Catholics are obligated to go to Mass today (as they are on Sundays), and our parish’s schedule for today is 12:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Note that the Assumption Mass held at St. Mary’s this past Sunday was not on the actual Feast of the Assumption, and does not count for today’s obligation. The feast is given such a special weekend commemoration at St. Mary’s because it’s the anniversary of the parish’s establishment.

Please note that, for tomorrow (Sunday, Aug. 11) ONLY, our 10:30 a.m. Mass will be changed to 11:30 a.m. It will return to being at 10:30 next week. The reason for this is the 89th Feast of the Assumption procession tomorrow! Please join our cluster and Bishop Michael Cote at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church for the opening Mass of this celebration at 9:30 a.m., which will be followed by a procession to St. Joseph’s, a Blessing of the Sick, and a procession back to St. Mary’s (where a decade of the rosary will be prayed). Grilled refreshments (hamburgers and hot dogs) will be offered back at St. Joseph School for the end of the procession. It looks like there will be fairly mild temperatures for tomorrow’s procession, so come enjoy a walk honoring the Queen of Heaven on what should be a beautiful day! Also, there will be a Life Teen Mass at St. Joseph’s tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.

Please note that our Sunday Mass schedule has changed—for the SECOND time very recently; the 7:00 a.m. Mass has been moved to 8:00 a.m., effective Sunday, June 2nd (which is tomorrow at the time this is being posted). For those of you who haven’t heard, our other recent change was to combine the 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning Masses into a 10:30 a.m. Mass. Our Sunday Mass schedule is as follows: Saturday Vigil: 4:00 p.m. Sunday morning: 8:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m.

Remember that tomorrow, Ascension Thursday, is a holy day of obligation. Our schedule of Masses that can fulfill this is as follows: This evening (Wednesday): 5:30 p.m. Tomorrow (Thursday): 9:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. Have a blessed feast day! Rejoice in the hope of following Our Lord into his heavenly Kingdom!

Please remember that our 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Sunday Masses have been combined into a 10:30 a.m. Mass. A full updated Mass schedule for St. Joseph Church will be posted soon.

Should you (or someone you know) find yourself in need this evening or future Monday evenings:

Please join us tomorrow for First Friday Eucharistic Adoration! Tomorrow (and tomorrow only), it will last from after the 7:30 a.m. Mass until the Benediction at 12:00 noon (normally it lasts till 5:30 p.m.). Also, thank you to those who did such a beautiful job decorating our altar for this Easter season! (This panorama was taken the morning of Holy Saturday, hence the open Tabernacle.)

Wishing you a very happy and blessed Divine Mercy Sunday! Today, we are granted the opportunity to receive a "plenary indulgence"--meaning that all temporal punishment for one's sins committed up to the time the indulgence is received (which would otherwise be paid off either through penance or in Purgatory) is remitted. From the National Catholic Register, here's how to go about obtaining that indulgence: http://m.ncregister.com/blog/joseph-pronechen/how-to-get-a-plenary-indulgence-on-divine-mercy-sunday?fbclid=IwAR3r570eudTpg-5ufRJFkQ5sIIDyUWHTLPVaQJXBv_a0JIk3Q2ec0qXjzWw

Wishing you a blessed and peaceful Holy Week! Our schedule for the Easter Triduum is as follows: Holy Thursday (April 18th): The Mass, at which we commemorate the Last Supper and First Eucharist, and at which twelve members of our parish community will receive the Washing of the Feet, is at 7:00 p.m., and is followed by Eucharistic Adoration in the Tabernacle of Repose in the church until midnight and the "Breaking of the Bread" baked goods social in the school gym. Good Friday: (April 19th): The Good Friday Service, at which the Passion according to the Gospel of John is read, the Eucharist is received, and veneration of the cross takes place, will be at 3:00 p.m., and the Living Stations of the Cross (performed by our school's eighth-grade class) will be at 7:30. There will be no Mass (at St. Joseph's or at any other Catholic Church on the planet) that day, and there will be no ordinary Stations of the Cross (just at St. Joseph's) that day, as the Living Stations will take their place. Holy Saturday (April 20th): The Easter Vigil Mass (the only Mass that day), at which we keep the vigil for the Easter Sunday Resurrection of Our Lord with the Liturgy of Light and the reception by our candidates of their respective sacraments alongside the Liturgies of the Word and Eucharist, will be at 8:00 p.m. The rehearsal for it (for those serving at it and possibly those receiving sacraments at it) will be at 9:00 a.m. that morning. You're very much welcomed and strongly encouraged to come to these beautiful, once-a-year events! Also, you are welcomed to attend the Chrism Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral tomorrow (Holy Tuesday, April 16th) at 10:30 a.m. (which an event was shared for this morning).

Happy 30th Anniversary of playing for St. Joseph’s to our dedicated organist, Ed Stoltz! Thank you for your service to our parish, Ed!

Please join us on this First Friday for Eucharistic Adoration, for a Benediction at the conclusion of Adoration (at 5:30), and for the Stations of the Cross (at 7:00)!

Remember to join us tonight at 7:00 p.m. for the Stations of the Cross!

Fr. Mark’s band, The Blarney Stones, in action from this evening at St. Joseph School! Remember that the spring-ahead time change is tonight; set your clocks AHEAD an hour—for example, 8:15 to 9:15.

Join us tomorrow for the Life Teen Mass at 5:00 p.m.!

Please join us tonight at 7:00 p.m. for the Stations of the Cross! These services will be held every Friday in Lent at this time. (On Good Friday, there will most likely be the Living Stations of the Cross at 7:30--more details to come on that.)