St. Paul the Apostle
Parish
www.stpauljoliet.com
815-725-1527
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Feast day of St. Joseph-Friday, March 19th 2021
Everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture and that has seemed too little for those who made up legends about him. We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the skeptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, "Is this not the carpenter's son?" (Matthew 13:55). He wasn't rich for when he took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised and Mary to be purified he offered the sacrifice of two turtledoves or a pair of pigeons, allowed only for those who could not afford a lamb (Luke 2:24).
Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Luke and Matthew disagree some about the details of Joseph's genealogy but they both mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38). Indeed the angel who first tells Joseph about Jesus greets him as "son of David," a royal title used also for Jesus.
We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been betrothed, he knew the child was not his but was as yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He knew women accused of adultery could be stoned to death, so he resolved to send her away quietly to not expose her to shame or cruelty. However, when an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins," he did as the angel told him and took Mary as his wife.
(Matthew 1:19-25).
When the angel came again to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby. He waited in Egypt without question until the angel told him it was safe to go back (Matthew 2:13-23).
We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48). We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son for over and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, "Is this not the son of Joseph?" (Luke 4:22)
We know Joseph respected God. He followed God's commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus' birth. We are told that he took his family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not have been easy for a working man. Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus' public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry.
Joseph is the patron saint of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus' public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth. Joseph is also patron saint of the Universal Church, families, fathers, expectant mothers (pregnant women), travelers, immigrants, house sellers and buyers, craftsmen, engineers, and working people in general. We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker. March 19 has been the most commonly celebrated feast day for Joseph, and it wasn't until 1955 that Pope Pius XII established the Feast of "St. Joseph the Worker" to be celebrated on May 1. This is also May Day (International Workers' Day) and believed to reflect Joseph's status as the patron of workers.
Many places and churches all over the world are named after St. Joseph, including the Spanish form, San Jose, which is the most commonly named place in the world. Joseph is considered by many to also be the patron saint of the New World; of the countries China, Canada, Korea, Mexico, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Peru, Vietnam; of the regions Carinthia, Styria, Tyrol, Sicily; and of several main cities and dioceses. In art, Joseph is typically portrayed as an older man, with grey hair and a beard, often balding, sometimes appearing frail and a marginal figure next to Mary and Jesus, if not entirely in the background. Some statues of Joseph show his staff topped with flowers. St. Joseph is shown with the attributes of a carpenter's square or tools, the infant Jesus, his lily blossomed staff, two turtle doves, or a spikenard.
There is much we still wish we could know about Joseph -- exactly where and when he was born, how he spent his days, exactly when and how he died. But Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was -- "a righteous man" (Matthew 1:18).
https://youtu.be/JnxX_eyEJao
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This Friday will be the last Stations of the Cross, join Deacon John at 7:00 pm in the church |
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PROGRESSIVE 50/50
CURRENT JACKPOT AS OF 3/12/21
$337.50
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Click the Link below to follow St. Paul the Apostle Religious Education |
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Good Afternoon Families,
I hope you are doing well, it was so nice to see so many families in church this past Monday. The 8th graders did such a fantastic job, I was quite proud of them, and I think they may have enjoyed it more than they were anticipating. I am trying to get it uploaded to YouTube and will let you know when it is available.
This Sunday's Gospel is from St. John 12:20-33. On the first Palm Sunday, as Christ entered Jerusalem not as a conquering king on a charger but "riding on an ass" to show that he was the humble servant of all men, he clearly foresaw the sufferings and torments that would be his in that city, before the week was out. Among those who waved palm branches to honor him and who sang aloud: "Hosanna to the son of David, Hosanna in the highest," there were perhaps some who, urged on by the leaders, would be shouting the following Friday, "away with him, crucify him," and "we have no king but Caesar." Such was the fickleness of human nature then. Unfortunately it has not changed much, if at all, in the two thousand years that have since elapsed. We are still fickle when it comes to choosing between Christ and the possessions of this world. Yet he knew all of this, and was still willing to carry the cross for us who are such unworthy mortals!
This very thought should put us all to shame, for what repayment does the very best of us make for the incredible love he has shown for us? We grumble and complain when some small cross is laid on our shoulders; we are full of laments if life is not running smoothly for us; we cannot understand why God should let certain things happen to us, his friends! But see for a moment what the lot of his beloved Son was on earth. Born and reared in extreme poverty; insulted and offended by those he wanted to teach; quickly forgotten by those he benefited by his miracles; hounded by his enemies and betrayed by one who had been his disciple for over two years and who had sat at table with him that same night; deserted in his moment of trial by those very ones who had sworn undying allegiance to him. Then followed the torments wished on him by his enemies—those he had come to save; the mock trial and illegal condemnation; the scourging at the pillar; the crowning with thorns; the carrying of the cross and finally the three hours of intense torture and agony while his body hung on the cross! The next time we are tempted to grumble and complain about our sad lot. Let us look thoughtfully at a crucifix for a few moments!
"He who loves his life loses it," this is a truth stated by Christ at the solemn moment when he was speaking of the purpose of his own painful death. He died so that we might live, not for sixty or even a hundred years on earth, but forever in heaven. We can, we know, lose the eternal life Christ won for us if we are too attached to our transitory, earthly life. If we love our own comforts, pleasures, temporal gains, our own worldly will, more than we love our unending, happy future, then we are loving our earthly lives wrongly, and we are gravely risking the loss of the future, true life.
If, on the other hand, we do our best to be faithful servants of Christ, we shall always judge all our actions with eternity in view. We can use the things of this life which God gives us, and still be close followers of Christ. The lawful possession of the goods of this world, the enjoyment of the licit pleasures of life, are allowed to the fervent Christian. If these possessions and pleasures are accepted with Christian gratitude, they will become stepping-stones that will help us across the river of life to our everlasting home beyond.
Each one of us should look fervently and devoutly on the crucifix today, and try to compare our willingness to suffer those crosses sent to us by God, with the crushing cross and passion our Savior Jesus Christ gladly accepted for us and not for his own sake. Do not let the conclusion you draw stun you into inactivity, but rather let it shock you into a new outlook on life; a new resolve to serve, follow and imitate our loving Christ more closely in future. So may it be for all of us.
Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.
Below are the family videos for this week
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Religious Education Video |
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Click the links below to follow Follow |
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Calling all Gardeners, Crafters, & Kids!
We have some extra terra cotta pots here that need a good home. The sizes are 6”, 8”, 10” & 12”. Any pots left after Easter will be donated to
St Vincent De Paul.
Please call the parish office if you can use them!
815-725-1527 God Bless~
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Please continue to pray for our parishioners that are in need of prayers at this time
If there is someone you would like to add to the prayer list please
contact the Parish Office at 815-725-1527 or email parishsec@stpauljoliet.com
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March 19
Ron Smith
March 20
Cora Family and
Rosemary Zielinski
March 21
Gerry Rodeghero 8 AM
Judy Hadala 10 AM
March 22
Intention of the Celebrant
March 23
Nancy Louck
March 24
Intention of the Celebrant
March 25
Margaret Berens
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Matthew Hencinski February 7, 2021 |
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Good afternoon! The Catholic Ministries Annual Appeal (CMAA) is well underway and the Development Office is committed to helping you succeed in reaching your goal. To continue providing you with materials to promote the CMAA, we created a series of 1-minute vignettes. These short videos are a fun, innovative way for our parishes and schools to promote the CMAA and encourage parishioners to participate if they have not yet given to the 2021 CMAA.
To witness how gifts to the Catholic Ministries Annual Appeal (CMAA) help our ministries, view the following 1-minute vignette about the Catholic Schools Office. Testimonials from Dr. Michael Boyle, Superintendent, and Mrs. Barnes, a parent, share how thankful they are for all the CMAA does to help children in our Catholic Schools:
To make a gift to the CMAA, click on the following link:
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Pope Francis Tweet
of the Week
To experience Lent in hope means receiving the hope of Christ, who gave his life on the cross and was raised by God on the third day, and always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who calls us to account for our hope.
****Defence and defense are both correct ways to spell the same word. The difference between them, the fact that one's spelled with a “c” and the other with an “s”, comes down to the part of the world in which they are used. In the United States, people spell it with an “s”—defense.*****
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Song of the Week
King of Kings
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Please click the link below to register for mass. Be sure to select the time that you wish to attend. You will receive a confirmation email upon registering to confirm your spot.
Check our Parish Website for all current information. Click the link below
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