Wish You All A Very Blessed and joyous Christmas

My Dear Parishioners,

I am sorry to have to tell you that there seem to be a lot of fraudulent email scams going around this time of year and it has been reported to me that my name is being used by some of them as a means to ask for money or gift cards. This is similar to what happened in the past. Please be advised that I am not soliciting any donations over the internet. If you have any doubt, please call the rectory to check.

I am happy to report that our Casino Night realized a net profit to the church of $5,057.64 and our recent Christmas Bazaar brought us a net profit of $2,006.00. The 100^th Anniversary Banquet was not run as a fundraiser and we were able to break even on it.

I take the opportunity on behalf of Msgr. McCoy, Msgr. Bolger, Fr. Connors, and myself, and all those who minister here at St. Joseph to wish you all a very Blessed and joyous Christmas. We celebrate Jesus’ dwelling among us as a human being, but Christmas is also about anticipating Jesus’ return at the end of the world when we will be given the opportunity to live with Him in eternal happiness. We are grateful for the extreme love God shows us in wanting to save us, but also in wanting to be with us forever. Please accept my prayers for you and your family to experience a sacred renewal of the life that the Christ child brings at this time of year. I also pray that your New Year is filled with God’s many blessings. I thank all of you for the opportunity to serve as your pastor and also for the witness and inspiration you provide me.

I also want to thank you for your extremely generous support of our Advent Giving Tree. We were able to help many families in our local area directly with their Christmas celebrations. In addition, we were able to help the following charities: Guiding Star ministries in Philadelphia, which helps pregnant women and children; Gift of Mary, which provides a similar ministry in Chester; Blessed Margaret of Castello Home, which is a crisis pregnancy center in Bensalem; St. Ignatius/Our Mother of Sorrows Church, which is a merged church in West Philadelphia and provides outreach to many families in need; and Mother of Mercy House which provides outreach to those in North Philadelphia. We are also able to help many more families in the future through our own Hope Committee and also through the tuition assistance provided. The majority of the remaining gifts and cards were given to Catholic Social Services located in Levittown, PA.

I also take this opportunity to offer my annual reminder to our “regulars” that we will probably have a number of visitors for Christmas. I certainly know that this can try our patience but I ask your help in making all our worshipers feel welcome. Please do your best to follow our parking procedures to allow us to accommodate as many cars as possible.

If you are parking in the lot nearest the church, the design is that you would enter from 611 and pull all the way up to County Line Road leaving the fire lane and also the walking path (yellow crosswalk) clear of cars, so that people may safely travel to the further back parking lot. A little bit of cooperation will go a long way in helping us all celebrate the Birth of our Savior in a calm and peaceful state of mind. Thank you for your understanding. If anyone is willing and available to assist people with parking, especially for the vigil Masses, please contact me. Saturday, our Christmas Eve Masses will be at 4:30, 6:30 p.m. and 12 Midnight. Sunday, Christmas Day the Masses will be at 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Please note that there will be no evening confessions on Saturday. January 1, 2023 is the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God and we will follow our usual Sunday schedule.

May God Bless You,
Fr. Bordonaro