"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.
As we continue our month of November, we pray for our deceased brothers and sisters in Christ. We also prepare for the 2nd coming of Jesus and our own call home to the Lord in these last two weekends before our new Church year (1st Sunday of Advent). May the Lord continue to bless us.
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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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Back by popular demand, my mother Carmelina Passero will once again hold her Jewellry Showcase here at St. Joseph in the Gathering Room Dec 1-4th. This is a great opportunity to purchase gifts for Baptism, 1st Communion, Confirmation, birthday or Christmas gifts.
Open House - St. Joseph Church Gathering Room
Thursday Dec 1 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Friday Dec 2 - 1:00pm to 9:00 pm
Saturday Dec 3 - 10:00am to 4:00pm and 7:00 pm to 9:00pm
Sunday Dec 4 - following the 9:00, 10:30 and 12:00pm Masses
Any questions or orders, contact carmelinapassero@gmail.com.
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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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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 December 6th @ 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 January.
3. Our updated campaign for our HVAC system is $94,250. 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
Holy Hour:
Saturday 9:30am to 10:30am.
Saturday 9:30am to 10:30am.
Please keep these brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers as we mourn their passing into the Lord's hands
Annie Rebek
Florence Rallon
Jadwiga 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.
Mass Intentions
Monday, November 14th
9:00 a.m. † Frank Nafekh
-and- Special Intention for Carmelina Passero
-and- Special Intention for Denzil Crasto
Tuesday, November 15th
St. Albert the Great
9:00 a.m. † Anthony Music
-and- Special Intention for Gord Bell
Wednesday, November 16th
St. Margaret of Scotland & St. Gertrude
9:00 a.m. † Hector MacInnis
-and- † Deceased Members of the Crasto Family
Thursday, November 17th
St. Elizabeth of Hungary
9:00 a.m. † Karen Derousie
-and- Special Intention for Paz de Leon
Friday, November 18th
9:00 a.m. Special Intention for Fr. Stephen
Saturday, November 19th
9:00 a.m. Special Intention for Penny Underhill
-and- Special Intention for Danny Scott
5:00 p.m. † Gabriela Laskowski
-and- † Dymtro Dosiak
-and- † Gavino Rozza
Sunday, November 20thOur Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
9:00 a.m. † Pasquale, Grace, Sam and Vito Bommarito
-and- † Gloria Demers
-and- † Bill Rapko
10:30 a.m. † Tony Passero
-and- † Matthew Kubik
-and- † Fran Farr
12 noon † Giacomo Grossi
-and- † Ivanka Covaceuszach
-and- Parishioners of St. Joseph, Living & Deceased
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 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.
Grey Cup squares are all filled! Thanks for your participation, we will publish the full board shortly!
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 Knights of Columbus will once again be hosting their Wine Fundraiser with the parish. Order forms are attached to the email.
Next Meetings
4thDegree Thursday November 17
from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm in the Gathering Room.
Executive November 29th 7:30 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
