St. Joseph the Worker

Dear Parishioners of St. Joseph the Worker:

Welcome to the Fourth Sunday of Easter!  Isn’t it great to be in the Easter season?  These days in which we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord are given to us to be joyful, hopeful, and faithful.  How can one not be joyful, hopeful, and faithful when the possibility of eternal life has been given to all who follow the Lord.  An empty tomb is a sign that the death of Good Friday turned into the life of Easter Sunday.  And if that doesn’t call for an ALLELUIA, then nothing else will!

This weekend I will be away in St. Louis at the one event each year that I never miss.  What could possibly be so important that it calls for this dedication?  Why, the MIDWEST MINIATURE BOTTLE COLLECTORS ANNUAL CONVENTION, of course!  That goes on the schedule first thing when the new calendars come out each year.  (For a miniature bottle collector, to not do so would be considered a SIN - HA!)  

One of the greatest reasons to go to the Bottle Show each year is for the other collectors.  So many wonderful people show up annually to have fun, catch up with each other, and, oh yes, to buy a bottle or two.  The three days we collectors spend together are treasured ones.  And what is neat is that the people there are so different in many ways---some are young, others old; some men, others women; some rich, others not; some just starting out collecting, others who have been in the Club for many decades; some just looking, others wanting to add to their collection.  The variety of the people who attend shows me how varied the world is, the Church is, the Club is, etc.  No one is totally like the other, and that adds to the beauty and richness. 

I have learned a lot from the 35+ Bottle Shows I have attended over the years.  I have learned that God makes people He loved into being in many shapes, sizes, heights, colors, backgrounds.  I have learned to see His richness in the people around me.  I have transferred this to the parish---how fortunate we are to have God’s beauty and richness at SJW.  Look around you the next time you are at Mass or at a function.  See the Resurrected Lord in the young and the old, the widow and mom, the sad and the happy, the infirmed and the healthy.  God shows Himself in diversity!

Have another joyful Easter season week!!

 Your Pastor, Fr. Joe