St. Joseph the Worker

Dear Parishioners of St. Joseph the Worker:

This week is filled with celebrations of several Saints.  How fortunate we are in the Catholic Church to have these men and women to guide us, challenge us, and inspire us, through how they lived and what they taught. 

For example, on Monday January 24^th we celebrate St. Francis de Sales.  He died in 1662, was the bishop of Geneva, and sought to have people come back to Church through his many writings.  He was co-founder of the Visitation Order, and is the patron saint of writers, journalists, and the deaf.

On Tuesday, the 25^th, we celebrate the Conversion of St. Paul, one of the great Saints in our faith history.  This day calls to mind when St. Paul was thrown off his horse and told by the Lord to stop persecuting His people.  Paul changed his life and became an ardent follower of Jesus Christ.  He wrote letters to various churches and witnessed to the faith daily, causing him to experience much suffering. 

On Wednesday, the 26^th, we have Sts. Timothy and Titus, companions of St. Paul, who were in charge of the churches at Ephesus and Crete.  They received epistles from St. Paul.

On Thursday, the 27^th, we celebrate St. Angela Merici, the foundress of the Ursuline Order.  Her Order was the first of its kind to teach poor young girls.  She died in 1540.

And on Friday, the 28^th, we commemorate St. Thomas Aquinas.  He was a Dominican priest who died in 1274.  He wrote many great theological works, one of the most influential was Summa Theologiae.  He is the patron of universities, colleges, and Catholic schools.

How blessed we are to believe in the Communion of Saints!!

Your Pastor,

Father Joe