Second Weekend of Advent

My Dear Parishioners,

On this Second Weekend of Advent, we join with the Psalmist and sing out: the Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy!

Don’t we have a sense of joy, especially after a long journey and a long time in the car, when we finally arrive home? We sing a song of joyful thanksgiving, don’t we?

The Psalmist was singing a joyful song for finally arriving home. Psalm 126 was composed after the Babylonian Exile ended and those who wished were finally allowed to go home.

While the end of the Exile was an answer to many prayers, it was not the full restoration of Israel for which was hoped.

Not all of the tribes came back to Judea. The Exile had lasted for 70 years, and so, for many, Babylon was the only home they had ever known, and they chose to stay.

Also, no king arose from the line of David to govern the country, and so Judea seemed like a home without a head of the household.

Judea, moreover, had been left impoverished by the Exile and the wars that had preceded it, and so it was a home that was neglected and run down.

Yet, those who did return were very joyful and saw their return as a great work of God. They were grateful to be home and again on ground which they believed that was a gift from God Himself, the Promised Land.

What was not accomplished then would be accomplished by the Birth and Death of Our Blessed Savior. Jesus came into this world to die for us so that we could have a home with Him forever. He gave us the home of our beautiful Church of St. Joseph as only a temporary home and a foreshadowing of the home that He offers us in Heaven. So, we too sing for joy for the great things that He has done for us and He has invited us into His home.

We also rejoice this Advent and this Christmas for the opportunity to help the homeless. Yes, we have many homeless people around us. I am not speaking about those who are physically homeless, but about those who are spiritually homeless. There are so many spiritually homeless around us: those who were raised Catholic, but sadly haven’t been to Mass in years and who have sadly deprived themselves of the Sacraments. Many of these spiritually homeless know that something is missing in their lives. Many just don’t know how to find their way home.

That is our opportunity. We have the power to help them find their way home with a simple invitation: come to Mass with me, come with me to Christmas Mass, come, see that Jesus is there, waiting for you.

We rejoice that we have an opportunity, now, to invite them home.

Speaking of homes, on Tuesday we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto. Loreto, Italy, is the shrine containing the very home of the Holy Family and the home that Jesus called home. It is fitting that we celebrate this Feast this time of year, as we approach the Feast of the Nativity and the Feast of the Holy Family on December 29.

To help us celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto, I have included some words from the Little Flower on her visit to Loreto, along with the Litany of Our Lady of Loreto.

Through the intercession of Our Lady of Loreto and St. Joseph, may we always be a welcoming home.

St. Joseph, Patron of the Church and our Patron, pray for us!

Fr. Michael J Pawelko, Pastor

Litany of Our Lady of Loreto

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I was indeed happy when on the way to Loreto. Our Lady had chosen an ideal spot in which to place her Holy House. Everything is poor, simple, and primitive; the women still wear the graceful dress of the country and have not, as in the large towns, adopted the modern Paris fashions. I found Loreto enchanting. And what shall I say of the Holy House? I was overwhelmed with emotion when I realized that I was under the very roof that had sheltered the Holy Family. I gazed on the same walls Our Lord had looked on. I trod the ground once moistened with the sweat of St. Joseph’s toil, and saw the little chamber of the Annunciation, where the Blessed Virgin Mary held Jesus in her arms after she had borne Him there in her virginal womb. I even put my Rosary into the little porringer used by the Divine Child. How sweet those memories!

~Autobiography of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (

Lord have mercy,  Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy on us. Christ hear us. Christ graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,  Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, Pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, Pray for us.
Mother of Christ, Pray for us.
Mother of the Church, Pray for us.
Mother of Mercy, Pray for us.
Mother of Divine Grace, Pray for us.
Mother of Hope, Pray for us.
Mother most pure, Pray for us.
Mother most chaste, Pray for us.
Mother inviolate, Pray for us.
Mother undefiled, Pray for us.
Mother most amiable, Pray for us
Mother admirable, Pray for us.
Mother of good counsel, Pray for us.
Mother of our Creator, Pray for us.
Mother of our Savior, Pray for us.
Virgin most prudent, Pray for us.
Virgin most venerable, Pray for us.
Virgin most renowned,  Pray for us.
Virgin most powerful, Pray for us.
Virgin most merciful, Pray for us.
Virgin most faithful, Pray for us.
Mirror of justice, Pray for us.
Seat of wisdom, Pray for us.
Cause of our joy, Pray for us.
Spiritual vessel, Pray for us.
Vessel of honour, Pray for us.
Singular vessel of devotion, Pray for us.
Mystical rose, Pray for us.
Tower of David, Pray for us.
Tower of ivory, Pray for us.
House of gold, Pray for us.
Ark of the covenant, Pray for us.
Gate of heaven, Pray for us.
Morning star, Pray for us.
Health of the sick,  Pray for us.
Refuge of sinners, Pray for us
Solace of migrants,  Pray for us.
Comfort of the afflicted, Pray for us.
Help of Christians, Pray for us.
Queen of Angels, Pray for us.
Queen of Patriarchs, Pray for us.
Queen of Prophets,  Pray for us.
Queen of Apostles,  Pray for us.
Queen of Martyrs, Pray for us.
Queen of Confessors, Pray for us.
Queen of Virgins, Pray for us.
Queen of all Saints, Pray for us.
Queen conceived without original sin, Pray for us.
Queen assumed into Heaven, Pray for us.
Queen of the most Holy Rosary, Pray for us.
Queen of families, Pray for us.
Queen of peace. Pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord God, that we, your servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body; and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may be delivered from present sorrow, and obtain eternal joy. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.