St. Joseph the Worker

Dear SJW Parishioners:

 Welcome to another week of living our Catholic faith!  If you think about it, how fortunate we are to be able to proclaim our God-given faith wherever we find ourselves.  Let us have nothing get in the way of doing that.  Let us listen to the call of Pope Francis to be evangelizers in today’s world.

One way we can evangelize is by coming to Mass, thereby showing others that we value the importance of celebrating and growing in the faith given to us at our baptism.  When we receive the Lord in His Word and Sacrament, we proclaim our belief in the Suffering, Death, and Resurrection of our Savior.  What a witness that is to others!  And we pray that this witness spurs those who are not practicing their faith, fallen away, or have become lax in exercising their Catholic faith to become active and present once again.

Two of our liturgical celebrations this coming week can call us to reflect on our liturgical faith.

On Thursday, November 21^st, we celebrate the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple.  Mary’s parents, Joachim and Ann, obeyed the Jewish law of presenting their child to God.

This idea of presenting ourselves to the Lord should lead us to see how we present ourselves to the Lord when we come to Mass.  How are we dressed?  What is our intention when we come into the pew?  Are we attentive during Mass to the Readings, Eucharistic Prayer, and the words of the priest?  Do we reach out in welcome to others sitting beside/in front of us?

On Friday, November 22^nd, we celebrate the Memorial of St. Cecilia.  She is the patroness of musicians and cantors.  St. Cecilia would want all of us to SING and participate at Mass.  She would not care if we are lacking the best voice ever.  And neither does the Lord.  One of the most beautiful ways to participate at Eucharist is to give glory to God through singing the songs and acclamations. 

As St. Augustine famously said: “To sing, is to pray twice!”  How will we raise our voices?

May we be always grateful to Jesus for instituting the sacrament of the Eucharist.  May we never take it for granted.  May we never miss an opportunity to gather and sing praise to the God of our faith.

Your Pastor, Father Joe

P.S.  Please INVITE someone to come with you to Mass----a coworker, classmate, neighbor, family member, especially if they have fallen away from coming or are inquisitive about the Catholic faith.