My Dear Parishioners, On April 22nd, the universal Catholic Church observes the 55th Annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations. By setting aside this day, the church publicly reminds each of us of our need to pray so that Our Lord may send laborers into his harvest. The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has…
My Dear Parishioners, I want to thank all those who supported our Easter Flower Collection. You helped to pay for the beautiful decorations for our solemn celebrations. Please know that your intentions will continue to be remembered throughout the entire Easter Season. The envelopes with your intentions written on them will remain on the reredos…
My Dear Parishioners, I hope that you had a peace filled, spiritually beneficial, and Blessed Easter. When we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection, it is not just His personal victory over death that we celebrate, but also the fact that He has won salvation for all of us. This Second Sunday of Easter, or the Octave…
My Dear Parishioners, On behalf of Fr. Duffy, Msgr. Bolger, Msgr. McCoy, myself, and all those who minister and work here at St. Joseph parish I want to wish all of you and your loved ones a very Blessed Easter. We rejoice that Jesus Christ is risen, and that we are also invited to participate…
My Dear Parishioners, Today is Palm Sunday, or sometimes called Passion Sunday. We mark the triumphal entrance of our Lord Jesus Christ into the Holy city of Jerusalem remembering that He was greeted with shouts of joy and adulation and the waving of palm branches as people of that day greeted royalty. The name Passion…
My Dear Parishioners, This past Tuesday we welcomed Bishop Fitzgerald as he confirmed 28 of our young people. Please keep these young people and their families in your prayers. We pray that they will remain open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and that they will be strengthened in their faith as they live…
My Dear Parishioners, We welcome Bishop Michael Fitzgerald this week to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on our young people. We are very grateful that he is able to be with us and call down the Holy Spirit upon them. This sacrament is essential to living life fully as a Catholic. Please pray for our…
My Dear Parishioners, In a little more than a week, Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Bishop Michael Fitzgerald, will be here to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on our young people. Please join me in welcoming Bishop Fitzgerald to our church. Please pray for our young people making the sacrament of Confirmation. This…
My Dear Parishioners, Someone recently asked me about the Annual Rice Bowls typically put out for the season of Lent, and it wasn’t until that moment that I realized that we did not receive them this year. I contacted Catholic Relief Services to see what we could do, but in the meantime, if you set…
My Dear Parishioners, Last year I found the following and published in the pastor’s column. A number of people found it helpful, so I am repeating it. It is from the U.S. Bishop’s website and can be found at http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/questions-and-answers-about-lent.cfm Q. Why do we say that there are forty days of Lent? When you count…
