|
Masses for the Week Masses for the week of December 26th, 1999 will be offered at St. Joseph's Church.
Saturday, January 1st, 2000, 6:30pm Parishioners Eucharistic Minister: Bugar Sunday, January 2nd, 2000, 10:30am Lasak & Karcz Family (Mrs. Mary Czirjak) Eucharistic
Ministers: Seymen/Krupansky Your Prayers are Requested In the kindness of your prayers, please remember the Sick: Robert and Michael Hracho, Mary Shesko, Vera Lahm, Julia Esposito, John Yankech, Maxanne Sushinski and son Kenneth, Mary Riley, Jean Moister, Lyndsey Conner, Carolyn Pechin, Ann Hook, Joan Emery, Helen Collins, Grace Baldini, Charles Adams, Olivia Monko, Ann Hoskins, Liz Bradford, Thomas Witzgell. New Year's Day Mass Falling on a Saturday this year, January 1st, the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, does not carry the force of obligation. Your attendance at Mass is optional this day. On New Year's Day, however, a Festive Marian Mass will be offered at 9:00am in our Parish Church. If not by reason of obligation, then by reason of devotion, join us in honoring the Virgin-Mother who presented a Savior to our world. Advent Giving Tree Our venture with the Advent Giving Tree this year was a wonderful success. So very many were the gifts given to brighten the holidays of a designated needy family and those assisted by the Comboni Missionary Sisters. Thank you for your support of this charitable effort. God love you for your kindness at Christmas! Christmas at St. Joe's Celebration Nothing but applause, applause and more applause for all those responsible for the grand success of our "Christmas at St. Joe's Celebration" on December 18th. Very special thanks goes out to Andrea Levenite, Fran Shesko and the hard working members of the Women's Club, our hosts, for a fabulous catered dinner served to 165 participants. We are most grateful to the Women's Club, too, for their gift of $6,000.00 to the Parish, drawn from the proceeds of their recent Christmas Bazaar. The night concluded with a spirited medley of holiday music from our Children's Choir, smartly attired in their new choir robes. Miss Susan Sandoski skillfully serves as the Director of our Children's Choir. A good time, ushering in the Christmas Season, was certainly had by all! |
A Family Perspective The ideal of a holy family life is set before us in today's readings alongside Paul's concerns that we would bear with one another and forgive grievances. We move into the new millennium trusting that in the real struggles of our less than ideal family lives, we remain God's beloved children. Thank you for your Thoughtfulness Please know of my gratitude for your greeting cards and other thoughtful remembrances at Christmas. Your many kindnesses are a source of comfort and joy, bringing much brightness to the holidays. Thank you! God love you, one and all! Father John Oulds Our sincere "thanks" to all the good parishioners of St. Joseph's. The outpouring of basic items that will enhance the Christmas holidays for the poor of Coatesville and Parkesburg was extremely generous. We thank you and will keep you in our prayers. Merry Christmas! Prayer Service on New Year's Eve All are invited to a New Year's Eve Ecumenical Prayer Service of Celebration, Challenge and Commitment in preparation for the 3rd Millennium of Christianity. It will be conducted in the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, 18th Street & Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, on Friday, December 31st, at 5:00pm. It's not just another year of another century. It's the 2000th Anniversary of the Birth of Jesus Christ. Let us honor the Lord of all time and the God of all ages, as well as usher in the Jubilee Year with this special Archdiocesan event. Concerning the Weekend Schedule On New Year's Day, January 1st, the usual Saturday 6:30pm Mass will be offered to fulfill one's Sunday obligation. Confessions will be heard on Sunday, December 26th, from 9:45 until 10:15am, as well as on Saturday, January 1st, from 5:45 until 6:15pm. Remembering Philadelphia's Saint A cordial invitation goes out to all to join His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua in the Upper Church of St. Peter the Apostle, North 5th Street & Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, to celebrate the Feast of our own beloved St. John Neumann on Sunday, January 2nd, 2000. The Pontificial Mass will be celebrated at 3:30pm, with a concert of Holiday Music presented at 3:00pm by the Archdiocesan Boy Choir. Parking is available adjacent to the Shrine from Lawrence Street. Two additional parking lots are also open: one accessible from the west side of 5th Street and the other from Lawrence Street or 5th Street. Both are located less than a half block walking distance from the Shrine. Jubilee Year Observance With his Christmas midnight Mass, Pope John Paul II solemnly opened the Holy Jubilee Year 2000 in Rome. It will be a year of great celebration not only in the Eternal City and in the Holy Land, but also in our own Archdiocese (as described in materials recently mailed to all households). With its focus on the Holy Eucharist, we have been requested to observe a weekly Day of Eucharistic Exposition all throughout the Jubilee Year. Tuesdays are our happy choice, beginning this Tuesday, December 28th, in St. Joseph Church. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed upon the altar immediately following the 9:00am Mass and continue all day long, until a concluding Service with Benediction at 5:00pm like daily Mass, the site for Exposition will alternate back and forth with our "twin", St. Stanislaus Kostka Church. Please keep Tuesdays in mind as a day for special devotion honoring the Christ of the Holy Eucharist. |