Jubilee Year of Mercy – February 2016: Confession, Sacrament of Mercy

Year-of-Mercy-English-CLEAR“Through the ministry of the Church, may God give you pardon and peace…”

Each time the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance is celebrated, the priest begins the formula of absolution with these words. They express the profound reality that is taking place. First, there is the recognition that the Church mediates God’s loving activity of forgiveness of sins. Jesus intentionally created the Church to extend his victory over sin. Second, this Sacrament, like all the others, begins with God’s initiative. Long before we recognize our need for God’s mercy, he is already calling us to him, extending his offer of grace.

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Presentation B.V.M. School Open House

Presentation BVM SchoolPresentation B.V.M. School will host an OPEN HOUSE on Sunday, January 31, 2016 from 9:30am to 12pm.

Come and visit our school and see all we have to offer your children.  Presentation B.V.M. School provides an excellent education and affordable private Catholic School education from pre-school to grade 8.

Registrations for the 2016-17 school year are now being accepted.  Those registering will need the following:

  • Birth certificate
  • Baptismal certificate
  • School records
  • Immunization records, and
  • Registration fee of $150

Please spread the word to anyone you know who is looking for a quality education

Presentation B.V.M. School offers a nurturing, faith-filled environment rooted in strong Catholic traditions.

The Giving Tree Thank You

Giving TreeThank you to everyone who participated in Saint Joseph Parish’s Giving Tree this year.  Your generosity was overwhelming.  We brought all of our gifts to the Pro-Life Union Office.  Edel Finnegan, Executive Director of the Pro-Life Union, was very grateful for all of our donations.

Baby Bottle Campaign Thank You

We are so grateful to the people of Saint Joseph for their gift of $270.65 during our recent Respect Life Activities.  This support provides housing for expectant mothers and their children through maternity homes, including Guiding Star Ministries; enables us to organize prayer, witness and education events for thousands of people; and supports our efforts in public affairs to protect the dignity of life.  Through their gifts, the parishioners of Saint Joseph are building a Culture of Life in the Philadelphia area.

Thank you for all of the work you do to assist us in our mission for life!

Pro-Life UnionEdel Finnegan
Executive Director
Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia

Anne Hinnegan
Member Services

Theresa Leinker
Director of Development

Save the Dates: Sunday Video Series

The Prayer and Worship Committee will be sponsoring the following videos immediately following the 10am Mass on the Sundays noted below.  The videos will be shown in the Parish Community Room.  Save the dates!

THE MYSTERY OF GOD: WHO GOD IS AND WHY HE MATTERS
Bishop Robert Barron
Parts 1-3 – Sundays, February 14, 21 and 28

JOSEPH OF NAZARETH
Parts 1 & 2 – Sundays, March 6 and 13

FAUSTINA: THE APOSTLE OF DIVINE MERCY
Sunday, April 3

THE MYSTERY OF GOD: WHO GOD IS AND WHY HE MATTERS
Bishop Robert Barron
Parts 4-6 – Sundays, April 10, 17 and 24

DIVINE MERCY 101
Father Chris Alar, MIC
Sunday, May 22

Food Bank Collection

CanWe continue to collect non-perishable food items for the Food Bank at St. Helena Parish.  Donations of canned food items are greatly appreciated.

There is also a great need for:

  • Peanut butter and jelly
  • Macaroni and cheese
  • Rice
  • Pasta
  • Apple juice
  • Canned beans (baked, kidney, etc.)
  • Instant plain oatmeal
  • Low salt soup
  • Powdered milk
  • Canned evaporated milk

Please, no opened or dented/damaged items.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and love of neighbor!


CCD: In Case of Inclement Weather…

In the event of inclement weather, an e-mail notification will be sent to this e-mail address by 8 am on Sunday to alert you if CCD class has been cancelled.  Please be sure to check your e-mail before leaving your home.  There will be no phone call notifications.  If you need an e-mail notification sent to a different e-mail address or if you need an alternate notification, please be sure to contact Bill Boyce now and provide that alternate e-mail or alternate arrangement.

We are blessed to be have students attending our CCD program from a variety of locales both near and far.  Therefore, weather conditions at your home may be different than those at the Church, so please use your best judgment when making your decision as to whether you should be venturing out.  The safety of our families is our utmost concern.

Please remember that the hill going down from the upper parking lot to the lower lot and to Meadow Lane can be very icy even with little precipitation, so please do not try to navigate down the hill.  Drop your children off once you turn into the parking lot and then drive across the upper lot toward the convent and then exit back on to Waters Rd.

Thank you for your cooperation.  Please be careful!

Divine Mercy Chaplet

Divine Mercy ImageThe recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is held in Church every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:15am and on Sunday at 10:45am unless otherwise noted.  This prayer uses traditional rosary beads to meditate upon and ask for the infinite mercy of God that was poured out upon the world through the passion of Jesus Christ.

The prayers of the Chaplet were given by Jesus to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) with  the promise of many powerful graces as a fruit of this prayer.

To learn more about the Chaplet and our Archdiocesan celebration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, click here.

Congratulations, Mary Russell!

Our High School CCD Catechist, Mary Russell, will receive the Our Lady of Guadalupe Award at the annual Archdiocesan Mass for Religious Education.  The Mass will be this Sunday, January 17 at 2pm at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

The Our Lady of Guadalupe Award is an archdiocesan award given to catechists who have served 15 years in parish religious education.  Congratulations, Mary, and thank you for your faithful service to the young people of our parish!

Family Life Ministry: Pizza and Movie Night

The Family Life Ministry invites you to a Pizza and Movie Night!  It will be held on January 16th following the 5:15pm Mass at Presentation B.V.M. Church.  Pizza, juice and coffee will be provided after Mass in the Presentation B.V.M. Church Hall!

The movie “Night at the Museum” will be shown at 6:30pm.  Donations of baked goods for dessert will be appreciated.

Please join us for an evening of food, fun and fellowship!

Pastor’s Corner: All Talk> Where Will the Light Come From?

We are now continually offered various visions of a future America from a host of imaginations – Republican and Democrat. They are offered in good will and with well founded hope that they can actually be elected to bring those visions to fruition. These visions are offered from the candidates’ experience and their love for our country.

Ultimately, it will be up to the voters to make a choice among these good people. How will we listen to them  in order to make the best choice? Will it be from a purely partisan viewpoint? Will we hear from the prejudice of our own expectations? Or will we listen to these possibilities from the perspective of the Wisdom of God as expressed first from the Scriptures, and then, from the teachings of the Church over two thousand years?

As voters, we must supply a light to read the plans offered by each candidate. Through the prism of Scripture and faith we can see the real value of the presentations and discern what will be the most important steps to be taken, and by whom. We cannot make the mistake of relegating Scripture and the moral teachings of the Church to the privacy of a humble, individual opinion. Nor can we seek to impose such views on anyone. As our Holy Father, Francis, has insisted – we must propose them to others as the truest way for mankind to reach its highest levels of development and reciprocal care. And the proposal must always be couched in a credible witness to the Gospel of Jesus – a life dedicated, in fact, to the Gospel! Without this, our words will ring hollow and be seen for what they are – superficial and hypocritical. That will gain nothing for anyone. We must bring the light of commitment to the teachings of Jesus if the truth will be known and voters will be able to see a new direction offered, not by candidates, but by God, Himself.

Jubilee Year of Mercy – Jesus Christ, Mercy Incarnate

Year-of-Mercy-English-CLEARWhat is mercy? It is “heartfelt sympathy for another’s distress.” Mercy is a generous readiness to help others even if they have brought their troubles on themselves. Even more, mercy is loving compassion that is willing to forgive insults and injury.

God is just, but we have the courage to ask him to help us in our misery and forgive us our trespasses because we know that he is “slow to anger and abounding in mercy” (Psalm 103:8). God does not treat us as our sins deserve, but invites us to repent and assures us of his willingness to forgive.

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