From the Pastor's Desk
Dear Parishioners and friends of St. Joseph,
I pray that you all had a blessed and happy thanksgiving with your families last weekend. May we continue that attitude of gratitude to God and our loved ones all year round.
This weekend, Jesus speaks about the need to persevere in prayer. How important it is for each of us to lift one another in prayer and ask God's assistance in our daily lives.
Once again, I share the difficult news about Fr. Stephen's health....
------
A note from Fr. Stephen
Dear Friends in Christ,
I was recently diagnosed with cancer. I will be taking a leave of absence from St. Joseph's to focus on treatment. I am optimistic and hopeful about treatment and my goal and aim is to return to ministry once I am able to do so. Please keep me in your prayers as I begin treatment and be always assured of my prayers for you every day. There would be no reason for me being a priest if I was not continually praying for you the people of God. We hold up in prayer too everyone who is facing down this insidious disease. Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons in our arsenal. I am grateful for Fr. Bill's assistance to Fr. Rico and the parish in my absence. I look ahead and forward to returning to St. Joseph's.
In Christ,
Fr. Stephen
-----
While this news has not only affected Fr. Steve, but each of us, we know that the power of prayer is strong. Let us commit ourselves to lifting our priest, brother and friend Fr. Steve in our prayers as he begins his battle attacking cancer.
Fr. Steve will not be living in the rectory during his treatment, but is now living with his parents in St. Catharines.
Fr. Steve has asked that you kindly NOT reach out to him via phone calls or email messages. He thanks you for your prayers, however let us all respect his wishes for respecting his personal privacy. I do not expect him to return to St. Joseph until at least January 2023. In the interim, Fr. Bill will again assist me in meeting your pastoral and spiritual needs.
Thank you in advance for your prayers and respect of privacy.
I have asked all parishioners to create a GET WELL card that I will drop off each time I go and visit Fr. Steve. If you have completed your card, kindly drop it off in the basket in the foyer of the Church please. Thank you for continuing to pray for our beloved Fr. Steve!
-------
Please continue to keep Fr. Bill Derousie in your prayers. Today, he was in Ottawa to attend the funeral of his sister-in-law Karen Derousie. This is of course only days after burying his own sister Barbara.
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May Barbara and Karen rest in peace. Amen
Please also keep Fr. Jim Mulligan in your prayers. Fr. Jim passed away this week and has been a long standing member of our Diocesan Family, serving St. Kevin's Church in Welland as a Holy Cross Father. He is a champion for Catholic educations and has done much in our local Catholic Board as well as nationally in regards to the promotion and development and spreading of the Gospel message. Fr. Jim will greatly be missed. His funeral Mass was on Wednesday.
Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May Fr. Jim rest in peace. Amen
-------
Once again a reminder regarding protocols for receiving Holy Communion and the like:
As I announced last week, at my request, after meeting with Bishop Bergie, I am pleased to announce that throughout the Diocese, we are now able to relax more COVID protocols that had been in place for many months. This of course will also affect us here at St. Joseph. Effective immediately, myself and the ministers of Holy Communion are no longer required to mask when distributing communion. For those who wish to wear the mask while at Mass, you may do so.
For those who wish, you may once again receive Jesus in Holy Communion on the hand or on the tongue. In the coming weeks, we will also return to hold the Offertory and collection during its proper place at Mass and will once again also have a procession of gifts (ciboria, wine, water) at Mass.
This is great news!
Once again, I invite you all back to Mass in PERSON. Sacramental communion is essential.
----
As we approach the month of November, we especially remember those who have died from our families, friends and parish family. It is important that we remember them at Mass and pray to God for their eternal repose.
I encourage each of you to take an envelope from the foyer of the Church and place the names of your loved ones who have died, even those from many years ago, so they will be remembered at Mass each day in the month of November. Please then also place your donation in the envelope and return it to the office. Please note that the Diocesan offering for just one Mass is $10, please allow your offering to be appropriate since there will be over 40 Masses offered for our loved ones. Please return the names BEFORE October 29th to the parish office.
I will also be hosting the Parish All Souls Mass on Sunday November 6 @ 6:30pm and have invited all parishioners who have lost a loved one in the past year to attend. You are also welcome to attend this Mass as we lift our loved ones to Almighty God.
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. Amen.
----------
GOD's PLAYBOOK podcast continues to launch DAILY.
I pray that each of you will use this podcast to enhance your faith and especially recommend it to your family and friends to bring them back to faith, especially the weekly attendance at Mass. This podcast will answer tough questions about faith, give the reasons why we believe what we believe and also broaden our prospective on God and His daily will for our lives.
Andrew Natale and I continue to promote World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal. Our pilgrimage will be from July 27- August 6th, 2023. I will be leading our Diocesan group and encourage ALL young people of the parish, aged 18-35 to consider joining us. We will be staying with families in the Diocese of Fatima, visit the shrine and also experience the many youth activities and faith programs. This is a great way to deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ and experience the Church on a global level. Join Pope Francis along with young people from all over the world in this amazing experience of God.
If interested, contact the parish office and speak to Andrew or myself.
I once again encourage each of you to attend our Evening of Reconciliation and discussion regarding building better relationships of healing and accompaniment with our Indigenous brothers and sisters on October 25th. I thank Rose Scott and Carolyn Pietrangeli for spearheading this important evening.
Please see below for more details.
-------
If you are in the parish NFL Survivor pool, remember that your team pick for the week needs to be chosen in your account before 1pm on Sunday.
Week 5 had all 17 remaining entries survive the week. Good luck to you all in Week 6!
------
Let us continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. They deserve and rely on our prayers and support. Let us ask the Lord of peace to bring peace to the people of Ukraine, Russia and throughout the world. Once again, I include this Prayer for Ukraine.
PRAYER FOR UKRAINE
Almighty God, through Jesus' divine name and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we humbly ask for your mercy to obtain peace in the land of Ukraine. May all the people of that country, especially children and the elderly, remain safe from danger. Please do not let chaos and war reign in the land of Ukraine, but only a forever peace that comes from You. Amen.
Be assured of my prayers and I humbly ask for yours.
God loves you and so do I.
Mary, Mother of the Church - pray for us
St. Joseph - pray for us
God bless,
Fr. Rico
The RCIA team and I have begun our parish RCIA program for this year. This program invites those who have never been baptized into the Catholic Church, those baptized in different faiths, those who are Catholic and have not yet received all of their sacraments, or those who are Catholic who would like to learn the WHY we believe what we believe. I encourage each of you to consider joining RCIA, or recommending it to family, friends and neighbours. We meet Wednesday evenings at 7:00pm in the Gathering Room. Please pray for for the RCIA team as we guide souls to come to know Jesus Christ.
-----
A Message from Fr. Bill
You are invited: Each Wednesday night the RCIA (an instruction in the Catholic faith for the unbaptized, for those of other faiths who wish to learn about the Catholic Church) meet. As baptized Catholics, sometimes we might have questions re: the Catholic Church. As the members of the RCIA team are here every Wednesday night, you are invited to come with your questions at 7:30pm to the St. Joachim Room and to hear a short presentation re: the RCIA topic of the night, and to bring your questions.
This week (Oct 12) the Topics is: The Sacred Places in the Church, the the vestments and sacred vessels. If you would like to understand more about the Bible, please join us Wednesday night at 7:30pm.