Calendar

Upcoming Parish Events and Activities are summarized on the monthly calendar.

February 2012  

• February 2 is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as “Candlemas.” This feast occurs exactly 40 days after Christmas. Forty days after his birth, Jesus was presented in the temple by his parents, Joseph and Mary, according to Jewish law. There he was acknowledged by Simeon and Anna as the “light of revelation to the Gentiles,” hence the tradition of blessing candles on this day. At the beginning of Mass, all present hold candles, symbolizing how the light of Christ which dawned at Christmas, is now entrusted to us…placed in our very hands… to be shared with the world! Our Mass for this feast day will be at the usual 8:00 am daily Mass time.
• February 3 is the feast of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr. This feast day is commemorated with a blessing of the throats because legend says that he cured a young boy choking on a fish bone. The blessing of throats is not just for throat ailments, but for protection against all diseases. It is not just for the sick, but for everyone. Traditionally, two candles from the feast of Candlemas are used. They are crossed and tied together, sometimes with a red ribbon, signifying that Blaise was a martyr. The minister touches the unlit candles to the throat of the person to be blessed while saying: “Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every  disease of the throat and from every other illness: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The person receiving the blessing responds “Amen.” At the Church of Saint Joseph, the blessing of throats is offered not only after the daily Mass, but also after the Masses on the weekend of February 4–5.
• February 10 is the feast of Saint Scholastica. Saint Scholastica was the twin sister of Saint Benedict, the father of Western Monasticism. From a young age, she expressed a deep desire to dedicate her life to God through the monastic vows of obedience, poverty, chastity and stability. She founded and supervised a monastery of nuns near her brother’s monastery at Monte Casino.
• February 11 is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. On May 13, 1992, Pope John Paul II, knowing that many pilgrims and visitors to Lourdes have reportedly been healed by intercessions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, proclaimed the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes as “World Day of the Sick”. In observance, the Church of Saint Joseph will offer an Anointing Liturgy on Friday, February 10 at the usual 8:00 am daily Mass time. If you plan to be anointed, please contact the parish office at 363-7505, ext 100 or parish@churchstjoseph.org.
• February 22 is Ash Wednesday and the first day of the Lenten season. Ashes from burning the palms of the previous year are used to mark our foreheads with a cross. We are reminded of the need to be penitent for our sins and to be redeemed by the mercy of God. During Lent, we are invited to give alms and to pray and fast.

December  2011        

• December 8 is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a holyday of obligation. We celebrate Mary’s total freedom from original sin from the moment of her conception.
• December 12 is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  In 1531, Mary appeared to Juan Diego, a humble peasant, on the hill of Tepeyac outside Mexico City. In appearing to Juan Diego, Mary showed herself to be the “Mother of the Poor.”
• December 25 is the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas). We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
• December 26 is the Feast of Saint Stephen, the First Martyr. Stephen was among the first seven deacons chosen to help the apostles in their ministry. He has been described as a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit. Stephen became the first martyr when he was arrested and tried by the Sanhedrin for blasphemy.
• December 27 is the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist. Saint John is called the “beloved disciple” because of the close relationship he had with Jesus. Not only did he write the Gospel of John, he is believed to have also written three epistles and the book of Revelation. Based on his account of the Gospel, we know that John was present at the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, the foot of the cross and the upper room.
• December 28 is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs. This feast commemorates the male children executed in Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus Christ, on order of Herod the Great, who hoped that Jesus would be among those killed.
• December 30 is the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This feast fosters devotion to the Holy Family as a model for all family life.

November  2011        

• November 1 is the Solemnity of All Saints and a holyday of obligation. This is a day that honors the holy men and women of every time and place. We believe that the saints show us how to live and we ask for their intercession to help us on the way to salvation.
• November 2 is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, also known as All Souls Day. The belief that our prayers can be of assistance to the dead is a treasured tenet of our Catholic faith. We offer our prayers that those who have gone before us may share in the Resurrection.
• November 20 is the feast of Christ the King. Jesus reigns by taking upon himself the lowliest service and calls us to reign with him through our service of the poor.
• November 24 is Thanksgiving Day. We are asked to open our hearts to the needs of others as we give thanks for the good things God has given us.
• November 27 is the first Sunday of Advent. It is also the first day of the Church’s liturgical year. The revised edition of The Roman Missal will be implemented at this weekend’s Masses.

October  2011  

• October 18 is the feast of Saint Luke, evangelist. Luke was a physician and artist who lived in Syria. He completed the Gospel according to Luke and Acts of the Apostles in about 80 or 90 AD. He was highly educated, a gifted writer and a knowledgeable historian.
• October 28 is the feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, apostles. Saint Simon the Zealot preached missions throughout Persia and Egypt. Saint Jude, known as Thaddeus in both the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Mark, is the patron saint of hopeless causes. He engaged in missionary work in Mesopotamia and Persia. Both of these saints were martyred in Persia. 

September  2011

• September 7 is the feast of Saint Cloud.  Born in 522, Clodoald (later known as Saint Cloud) was the first saint among the princes of the royal family in France. After his brothers were assassinated, he renounced all claims to the throne, lived as a hermit and devoted himself to the service of God. He built a monastery in St. Cloud, France and died at the age of 36.
• September 8 is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast honors Mary’s birth. We remember not so much what Mary did, as what God did for her.
• September 14 is the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This feast commemorates the miraculous finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. We focus on the cross as the instrument of death that has become the source of life.

August  2011

• August  6 is the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.  The glory of Christ on the mountain top offers us a glimpse of the glory in which the Church will one day share. In Christ’s Transfiguration we see “a body like our own” shining with glory, and recognize that we are called to share that glory. We can do that by listening to Christ’s word and by receiving Eucharist.
• August 15 is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this solemnity, we profess our belief that Mary has gone before us, body and soul, into heaven.

July 2011

• July 1 is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. It was in the 17th century that devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus began to take shape and it was added to the liturgical calendar in 1856. There are two aspects to the solemnity. The first is thanksgiving to God for the infinite love of Christ, represented by his heart on fire with love. The second is reparation for that love rejected by human beings, represented by the pierced heart, surrounded with thorns.
• July 11 is the Feast of Saint Benedict. This saint is considered the father of Western monasticism. Living as a hermit, he attracted other men to his way of life and eventually laid out the fundamentals of monastic life, including the day-to-day operation of a monastery.  These fundamentals are known as The Rule of Saint Benedict.

June 2011

• On June 6, we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. We are reminded that although Christ ascended into heaven, he has not abandoned us, but has gone to prepare a place for us.
• June 12 is Pentecost Sunday. The Easter season ends with the great solemnity of Pentecost. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, coming to rest on them in “tongues as of fire.” When the Holy Spirit came in transforming power upon the disciples, the life of faith that we know, began. We know that the Holy Spirit dwells within us.
• June 19 is The Most Holy Trinity, a solemnity that has been on the Church’s universal calendar for nearly seven hundred years. We know that God gives us life and holiness through his Son, by the working of the Holy Spirit. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself.”
• June 26 is The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ. Today’s solemnity is an expression of our faith in the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

May 2011

• May 1 is Divine Mercy Sunday. Since 2000, the second Sunday of Easter has also been known as Divine Mercy Sunday.  Saint Faustina Kowalska of Poland is the saint of the Divine Mercy. To her, Christ revealed himself with white and red rays streaming from him, recalling the blood and water that flowed from his pierced side as he hung upon the cross.
• May 3 is the feast day of Saint Philip and Saint James, apostles. Both saints died as martyrs, shedding their blood for the sake of the Gospel.
• May 14 is the feast day of Saint Matthias, apostle. Saint Matthias was chosen as an apostle to replace Judas.
• May 30 is Memorial Day.  It is a day to remember those who have died in the service of their country.
• May 31 is the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast commemorates Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, who was six months pregnant. Mary was already pregnant with Jesus, and Elizabeth’s unborn child leapt in her womb at the nearness of Jesus.

April 2011

• On April 13, Communal reconciliation services with an opportunity for individual confession will be held at 4:30 and 7:00 pm in the church.
• April 17 is Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he was greeted with royal acclamations. The crowd waved palm branches and shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David”. They were able to recognize that the humble figure that rode on a donkey was their promised King, the Lord, that rode within their midst.
• April 21 is Holy Thursday. On this day, we celebrate Christ’s institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood.  This day is also called Maundy Thursday because Jesus gave a command (mandatum) to his followers to be an example of service to others.  Jesus did so by washing his apostle’s feet and we observe this ritual during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper to encourage us to serve others, just as Jesus did.  The Mass begins with the tabernacle entirely empty and enough hosts are consecrated to be given as Holy Communion during the Good Friday service. After Communion, the tabernacle is emptied and the altar is stripped bare. The Blessed Sacrament is taken to the lower level of the Saint Joseph Lab School in a solemn procession and worshipers may remain for Eucharistic Adoration until 9:30 pm.
• April 22 is Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion. On this day, we relive the passion and death of Jesus.  During the Good Friday service, we listen to the passion account in John’s Gospel, venerate the Cross and receive the Eucharist. It is a day of fast and abstinence from meat.
• April 23 is Holy Saturday. The Easter Vigil service, which celebrates the Word of God, focuses on the symbolic shift from darkness to light, from sadness to joy, and from despair to hope.  The service begins in darkness with each person holding an unlit candle. Once the fire is lit and blessed, the paschal candle, “The Light of Christ”, is lit and then the flame is passed from one person to the next, recalling that Christ is the Light of the World. During the Liturgy of the Word, we relive salvation history and Christ’s redemption. At the Easter Vigil, the Catechumens and the Candidates for Full Communion who have prepared for the Rite of Christian Initiation are received into the Church. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is a joyful celebration of Christ’s Resurrection and its renewing power in the Church.
• April 24 is Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of the Lord. This is the first day of the 50-day celebration of the Easter season. Christ has risen! Alleluia, Alleluia!

March 2011

• March 9 is Ash Wednesday and the first day of the Lenten season. Ashes from burning the palms of the previous year are used to mark our foreheads with a cross. We are reminded of the need to be penitent for our sins and to be redeemed by the mercy of God.  During Lent, we are invited to give alms, to pray and to fast.
• March 19 is the Feast of Saint Joseph. Today’s solemnity focuses on Joseph in his role as husband of Mary, and foster father of the Lord.
• March 25 is the Annunciation of the Lord; a day on which we celebrate the conception of Jesus Christ in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

2012 Monthly Calendar

February

 January