"We, the members of St. Joseph Parish, as followers of Jesus Christ, are committed to serving the church, recognizing that our Church is a community of the people of God"
From the Pastor's Desk
Dear Parishioners and friends of St. Joseph,
I pray this week has been a truly blessed one for each of you.
The Sacred Scriptures this weekend remind us of our need to continue to pray for the dead, not just in the month of November, but all year round. We are also called to be aware of our own mortality and ensure that we are living an authentic Christian witness each day of our lives.
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We continue to lift Fr. Steve in our prayers.
Thank you to all those parishioners who have already dropped off their GET WELL cards. For those who have not yet done so, please drop them in the box in the vestibule of the church or bring it to the parish office. Don't forget to add your spiritual bouquet of prayers in the card and let Fr. Steve know how you are praying for him!
Thank you for continuing to pray for our beloved Fr. Steve!
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From Tuesday to Friday, our parish lost all access to internet, phone lines and cable due to an technical issue with Cogeco, our provider. I had escalated the calls and it still took that long to rectify the problem. I apologize if any of you had called the office during this time and were frustrated that myself and the pastoral team were not able to meet your needs in a timely fashion. The problems are now solved and hopefully this does not happen again. The joys of technology!
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I will 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.
Parish Mass for Remembering those lives lost this past year
Sunday November 6th - 6:30pm
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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.
Subscribe here on the podcast Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/GodsPlaybook and click on this link to begin listening to the podcasts - https://godsplaybook.buzzsprout.com/
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.
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The Knight of Columbus invite you to join our Grey Cup 50/50 Pool this weekend after the Sunday Masses this weekend. See them in the lobby after Mass to purchase a square for $20 each. Winners will be awarded after each quarter including the half time and full time scores.
Grey Cup game day is Sunday, November 20th
Good Luck to all and thank you for supporting the Knights of Columbus.
Thanks to all those who dropped off their bottles to support the Knights of Columbus and their charitable works. It was a great success today!
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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.
November is dedicated to All Souls in Purgatory
Click the image to learn more!
Hello everyone!
This week's bulletin/newsletter is attached below. Click on it to download and view.
Here are the highlights this week:
- Letter from the pastor
- Church BBQ coming up on Thursday!
- Vacation Bible School is starting soon
- Jerry's mom passed away. Please pray for her!
- (NOTE: be sure to update these bullet points to reflect the highlights in each weekly bulletin)
1. Our GOD TALK Parish Bible study will continue praying over John Chapter 8/9 on Tuesday November 8th @ 7:00pm via Zoom. All are welcome and encouraged to join so as to come to know God's Word more clearly.
2. Baptisms continue to take place. If you are looking to have your son / daughter baptized, please contact the parish office. We are booking dates into December.
3. Our updated campaign for our HVAC system is $93,775. Please continue to remember the parish through your regular giving and consider giving in addition for this campaign. Funds can be left in the parish collection box or sent via etransfer to myparishgift@gmail.com with "HVAC" on the memo line.
4. Below, you will see the teaser for the 2023 Faith & Flavours of Italy Pilgrimage that I will be leading from August 27 - Sept 10, 2023. Join me as we journey to enjoy the experience of a lifetime as we walk in the footsteps of St. Peter, St. Anthony of Padua and St. Francis of Assisi. Highlights will include Rome, Assisi, Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, Amalfi Coast, Pisa, Padua, San Gimignano and other beautiful places! Save the date and reserve your spot now, spaces will be limited! More details to follow in the coming weeks.
Weekly Mass Schedule
Monday 9:00 am*
Tuesday 9:00 am*
Wednesday 9:00 am*
Thursday 9:00 am*
Friday 9:00 am*
Saturday 9:00 am*
* denotes Live-streamed
All Souls Mass - Sunday November 6 at 6:30 pm - open to all
Holy Hour:
Saturday 9:30am to 10:30am.
Saturday 9:30am to 10:30am.
Mass Intentions
Monday, November 7th
9:00 a.m. † Allen McCarter
-and- † Emaon Timmons
Tuesday, November 8th
9:00 a.m. † Patrick McMahon
-and- † Betty Scharpf
Wednesday, November 9th
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
9:00 a.m. † Giambattiste & Luisetta Santini
-and- † Evelyn MacInnis
Thursday, November 10th
St. Leo the Great
9:00 a.m. † Paolo Colalillo
-and- Special Intention for Fr. Stephen
-and- Special Intention for Beverley Trojnar
Friday, November 11th
St. Martin of Tours
9:00 a.m. † Teodoro Iannarella
-and- Special Intention for
Maria George
Saturday, November 12th St. Josaphat
9:00 a.m. † Mateo King
-and- † Giuseppe Passero
5:00 p.m. † Anselmo Rego
-and- † James Durham
Sunday, November 13th
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
9:00 a.m. † Fernando Cardoso
-and- Parishioners of St. Joseph, Living & Deceased
10:30 a.m. † Ann Eppich
-and- † James Trainor
12 noon † Peter Paszynski
-and- † Allen McCarter
November 6 : 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time : The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Scriptures of this week:
2 Maccabees 7 : 9 and 14 : The CCC 992 God revealed the resurrection of the dead to his people progressively. Hope in the bodily resurrection of the dead established itself as a consequence intrinsic to faith in God as creator of the whole man, soul and body. the creator of heaven and earth is also the one who faithfully maintains his covenant with Abraham and his posterity. It was in this double perspective that faith in the resurrection came to be expressed. In their trials, the Maccabean martyrs confessed:
The King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws. One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him.
Luke CCC 330 As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendour of their glory bears witness. Christ "with all his angels"
575 Many of Jesus' deeds and words constituted a "sign of contradiction", but more so for the religious authorities in Jerusalem, whom the Gospel according to John often calls simply "the Jews", than for the ordinary People of God. To be sure, Christ's relations with the Pharisees were not exclusively polemical. Some Pharisees warn him of the danger he was courting; Jesus praises some of them, like the scribe of Mark 12:34, and dines several times at their homes. Jesus endorses some of the teachings imparted by this religious elite of God's people: the resurrection of the dead, certain forms of piety (almsgiving, fasting and prayer), The custom of addressing God as Father, and the centrality of the commandment to love God and neighbour.
Please keep these brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers as we mourn their passing into the Lord's hands
Ilene DeLeon
Rozalia Kazal
Annie Rebek
Florence Rallon
Jean Chimielewski
Those who have died in Ukraine
Eternal rest, grant unto them O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
We will once again be clothing warm winter clothing (Adults) for the Out of the Cold Program. A box will be located in the foyer and will be checked regularly. If you have any questions, speak with Bill Slattery.
Lloyd Pottie will once again be selling beautiful religious Christmas cards in time for you to send them out to family and friends. He will be selling them after all masses on November 12/13 weekend for $10 for a box of 10 cards. Contact Lloyd at 905 945 1467 for more details
Poinsettia Sale - Saturday November 26th and Sunday November 27th in the Gathering Room. No pre-sales required!
Our next Perogi run will take place on Wednesday November 30th in time for Christmas. Contact the office no later than November 21st to place your order. Pierogi's are $10/dozen.
We are still taking any volunteers as well that would be willing to "pinch" as well as looking for someone who might be willing to make lunch for the volunteers. Contact the office or speak with Bruce and Lee Crampton.
The Knight of Columbus invite you to join our Grey Cup 50/50 Pool this weekend after the Sunday Masses. See Knights in the lobby after your mass to purchase a square for $20 each. Winners will be awarded after each quarter including the half time and full time scores.
Grey Cup game day is Sunday, November 20th
Good Luck to all and thank you for supporting the Knights of Columbus.
Ministries and Groups
Since last September, we have been advocating for Canada to adopt due diligence laws to prevent Canadian companies’ human rights and environmental abuses abroad and to help affected communities access justice.
Join us as we continue working on this issue this year and help us mobilize new members so that together we can put our faith into action and build a more just world.
Check out the new resources at (devp.org) that have been added to those from last year to help you promote the People and the Planet First campaign in your community. For more information, contact the parish office or visit devp.org/campaign.
The CWL would like to thank our ladies, the Knights of Columbus and all parishioners who so generously supported our Soctober event. 1126 pairs of socks were donated, surpassing last year’s total. The socks will be distributed to 5 agencies in the Niagara Region. Well done St. Joseph Church!
Next Meetings
Executive Mon. November 14 @7:00 pm in the Gathering Room
Rosary for Fr. Steve Wed. Nov.16 @1:00 pm via Zoom
General Mon. November 21 @7:00 pm
in the Gathering Room
in the Gathering Room
Advent Retreat - Thursday November 24th@ Mount Carmel
CWL Christmas Dinner at JJ's on the Docks
Mon. November 28 @5:30pm $35, choice of turkey or salmon
Tickets will be sold in the church foyer
after all Masses Nov. 12/13 and Nov. 19/20
Tickets will be sold in the church foyer
after all Masses Nov. 12/13 and Nov. 19/20
The next bottle drive is this Saturday from 9 am - 3 pm! Bring out all your empties to support local charities
The Knights and CWL members invite all to attend the mass for the departed Brothers and Sisters of both organizations.
Tuesday, November 8th pm
St. Alfreds Church, 272 Vine St., St. Catharines
Next Meetings
4thDegree Thursday November 17 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm in the Gathering Room.
Executive November 29th7:30 pm to 8:30 pm in the Gathering Room.
General Tuesday, December 6th 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm in the Gathering Room
The next meeting will take place in November to kick off Advent from 6-7:30 pm in the St. Ann Room. We will be making Advent Wreaths! For more information, email Moms. We look forward to seeing you!
Little Spirits Aged 3-6 & Children's Liturgy Aged 7-10. Join us during the 10:30 am mass on Sunday!
Life Teen will be hosting an Alpha Youth for those who are curious and want to learn more about their faith and is open to all students in High School. We will be meeting after school in the Youth Room. Our next meeting is on Tuesday November 8th in the Youth Room. We will have a light meal, a short video and discussion. Contact Andrew to register!
EDGE will take place from 6:30 - 8 on Tuesdays this year. It is open for all students in grades 5-8 in the Youth Room.
We had 19 people out at our last Youth Ministry night and a ton of fun was had by all! Our next meeting will take place November 15th, contact Andrew for details!
Young Adult(19-39)
Stay tuned for our next meeting!
Get those deposits in for World Youth Day, the deadline has been extended and we continue to accept new applicants.
Please continue to remember the Parish in your financial giving.
May God bless you abundantly for the gifts of your time, talents and treasures.
Reply to this email and let us know how we can pray for you! It is so important during this pandemic that we are there for each other so if we haven't seen you in a while let us know what's going on! We continue to pray for you, please continue to pray for all of us.
Fr. Rico, Fr. Bill and the Pastoral Team
