St. Joseph Catholic Church

Tomorrow, Thursday 12/8, is the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation. All are invited to join us for Mass at 8am in the Mission or 7:30pm in the Church.

Be sure to stop by for a fun day at the Holiday Boutique happening now until 3 pm!

Christ is Risen! Alleluia! As Pope Francis said in his 2013 Easter message, "Let us accept the grace of Christ's Resurrection!" Happy Easter!

Holy Saturday Don’t miss it We shall also be united with him in the Resurrection. This is the nightthe Easter Vigil begins with these words. This is the night when we hear the story of our faith, the elect enter the waters of Baptism, and the catechumens are confirmed in the Spirit. It is the best over-the-top liturgy of the church year when all the stops are pulled out and we hear in the Eucharistic Prayer: Remember those who have been baptized and confirmed today ...as members of your family. Help them to follow Christ your Son with loving hearts. Celebrate the Easter Vigil with your community of faith in person or in spirit, and ask for the grace of a more loving heart. Today’s readings: Vigil: Genesis 1:1--2:2; Genesis 22:1-18; Exodus 14:15--15:1; Exodus 15:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18; Isaiah 54:5-14; Isaiah 55:1-11; Baruch 3:9-15,324:4; Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28; Romans 6:3-11; Mark 16:1-7 9 (41)

Friday of the Lord’s Passion (Good Friday); Day of fast and abstinence - Were you there? [H]e said, ‘It is finished.’ And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. Poet Emily Dickinson ponders the sufferings of Christ in bursts of words and quirky dashes that suggest her overwhelming awe and empathy: To know He sufferedwould be dear /To know if any Human eyes were near/To whom He could entrust His wavering gaze /Until it settle broadon Paradise. Dickinson tries to put h...erself in the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion to understand how she would feel and how her reactions would compare to those of Jesus. Meditate on the Passion narrative, and consider where you will want your gaze to be at the hour of your death. Today’s readings: Isaiah 52:1353:12; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:119:42 (40).

Thursday of Holy Week - Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper We’ve got a mandate Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’... You may have heard of Holy Thursday being referred to as Maundy Thursday. Maundy refers to the act of foot washing, and the word is taken from the Latin mandatum, or command. Recall that as he washed their feet on Holy Thursday, Jesus gave his followers a new commandment, enjoining them, and all of us, to serve one another just as he had served in the humblest of ways. There are many ways to be of service and today is a great day to start. Roll up your sleeves and get your hands wet! Today’s readings Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15 (39).

Wednesday of Holy Week - Change the world with love Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, ‘Surely it is not I, Rabbi?’ He answered, ‘You have said so.’ The Wednesday of Holy Week is sometimes called Spy Wednesday, an allusion to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. This betrayal would be followed by other disloyalties toward Jesus by the disciples. As painful as the story is, in the end love has the final worda word so powerful as to transform the world. How might we return anew... to this word when insecurity, anger, or fear may tempt us to be less compassionate and caring toward others? During Holy Week and throughout the year, how can we embrace love and help transform the world? Today’s readings: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Matthew 26:14-25 (259)

Tuesday of Holy Week - Let love have the final word I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord, and my God is now my strength. The more I meet people, the more convinced I am that we must only work on ourselves, to grow in grace. The only thing we can do about people is to love them, Dorothy Day once wrote to a friend. Lent is an open invitation to take a long, loving look at the gifts and challenges of our everyday lives and to discover grace therein. This week, as East...er approaches, we are invited to see how God seesto see our shortcomings and to recognize our true motivations and to still choose love. When all is said and done in your life, what will be the final word? Why not make it love? Today’s readings: Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33, 36-38 (258)

Monday of Holy Week - A time for extravagance Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil and anointed the feet of Jesus A well-known passage from Ecclesiastes assures us human history is composed of balanced elements that can’t be denied. There’s a time for birth and also for death, for war and for peace. If Lent is a season of self-denial, Holy Week seems to launch us into the zone of extravagance. Mary of Bethany pours out a year’s wages on the feet of Jesus with her expen...sive oil. After 40 days reflecting on almsgiving, we may wonder at this use of resources. The right thing to do is not always the obvious thing. Today’s readings: Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-11 (257)

Holy Week Mass Schedule Daily Mass - 3/21, 3/22, 3/23 at 8am in the Mission Holy Thursday - March 24... Morning Prayer - 9am in Mission Mass of the Lord's Supper - 8pm in Church Adoration - after 8pm Mass in Mission Good Friday - March 25 Morning Prayer - 9am in Mission Stations of the Cross - 12pm in Church Our Lord's Passion with Veneration of the Cross - 8pm in Church Holy Saturday - March 26 Morning Prayer - 9am in Mission Easter Vigil - 8pm in Church Easter Sunday - March 27 7:30am, 9am (with Children's Participation), 11am, 12:30pm, 4pm (Mandarin)

January 1st, 2016, is the feast of Mary the Holy Mother of God, a holy day of obligation. All are invited to join us for the Vigil Mass on December 31 at 5:30pm or our Mass on January 1 at 10:00am in the Church.

The fullness of grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course of human history." - Pope Francis during his Year of Mercy homily.