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Throughout Church history church bells would ring the Angelus tone to remind people when to pray the Angelus. Often people working in the fields would hear the bell and then take a break from their work to pray the Angelus. If you don’t know the Angelus look it up online—it’s a wonderful and short prayer you can add to your prayer routine. 

Today we celebrate Christ’s baptism of repentance by John the Baptist in the Jordan river, when Christ joined Himself to us even in penance and from which His public ministry would begin. 

Epiphany means appearance since the arrival of the Magi represents the appearance of the Messiah to the gentiles and their incorporation into the covenant. Two other appearances are now joined to the coming of the Magi: the Baptism of the Lord and Miracle at Cana.

Merry Christmas! Today we celebrate the birth of our Savior! Into the darkness of this fallen world the light of God has entered and offered salvation to each of us. Born today a mere baby, the King of Kings has come to save us from the tyranny of Satan and from death itself.

We are on the cusp on Christmas! As a preparation consider going to confession if it’s been awhile. The entire Archdioceses of New York and Brooklyn are hosting Reconciliation Monday tomorrow, where every parish in the city, including St. Joe’s, will be open for confessions from 11am-1pm and from 6pm-8pm. 

This Christmas falls on a Saturday and the Sunday after is the Solemnity of the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph). Both Christmas and the Sunday after are Holy Days of Obligation. That means that everyone must attend Mass twice that weekend. 

This Wednesday is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a Holy Day of Obligation. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is the patroness of the United. We’ll have a Vigil Mass at 7pm the night before (Tuesday, 12/7), the normal daily Mass at 12:10pm the day of (Wednesday, 12/8) and an evening Mass at 7pm the day of (Wednesday, 12/8).

Christ is truly coming – let us be ready to go out and meet him with our lamps alight. Christ is where we will find true joy. 

We have slowly been returning to pre-pandemic routines here at St. Joseph’s. In two weeks (2nd Sunday of Advent) we are going to print the music again for the Sunday Masses.

We’ve been working with a logo designer to create a new logo. We wanted something that both felt like it had been around forever (like our parish) but also didn’t feel dated or antiquated. The result is below. I’ve also attached a letter to our parish from the designer that explains the symbolism of the logo (it’s below).

Because of purgatory we can still help the dead: our prayers can speed their journey through purgatory and help them reach their eternal home in heaven. It’s a spiritual act of mercy to pray for the dead and All Souls Day reminds us of its importance. 

The last Church Council, Vatican II, boldly proclaimed the universal call to holiness: all of us are called to be saints in heaven. Tomorrow’s feast can be ours if we follow God’s grace in our lives– we can be one of the saints we celebrate tomorrow. Let us say yes to God’s call! Let us travel together to heaven.

The construction work is almost done, and it’s currently usable – we’re now holding RCIA, Religious Ed, In Vino Veritas, and a couple other ministries in the new hall. Currently the staff at St. Joseph’s and I are creating rules for the use of the space, and policies to help new ministries start and flourish here.

This Tuesday we celebrate a Memorial to a New York saint – St. Isaac Jogues, SJ. He was a Jesuit missionary in the northern New York area and ministered to the Iroquois, Huron, and other tribes in the early 17th century.

I have a number of people interested in starting various ministries and I’m looking forward to helping these ministries start. There will certainly be more coming and I hope that we can build up the community here at St. Joe’s.

This Thursday we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. As a Dominican parish we are especially united to the rosary – for 800 years Dominicans have been preaching the rosary. It’s a powerful prayer and I encourage all to pray it daily. It’s spiritual power is why Dominicans wear a rosary on their left hand side – the side on which knights would wear their swords. The rosary is our spiritual weapon, protecting us during spiritual battles. 

God created angels as pure spiritual beings, meaning that they don’t have physical bodies. But they are powerful – more powerful and intelligent than humans. They see God directly and can intercede with God for us. They also carry out God’s will, acting as intermediaries between God and man.

Jesus gave His Church this great commission just before His Ascension into heaven. It is His last command to His disciples and is why our parish exists. The Apostles went out to all the world, preaching Christ and building communities founded on the way of life Christ has given us, based on the grace Christ makes available to us. The Church of St. Joseph exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ within our city. We are all called to be disciples– to grow in holiness and to invite others to share in what God has given us.

Today Religious Education for children and the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults begin. If your children need religious education (ie: are not going to Catholic schools), it’s not too late to sign up. Also, if you know someone who desires to become Catholic, or you still haven’t received the sacrament of Confirmation, it’s not too late to join RCIA. 

Next Sunday RCIA begins. RCIA stands for the “Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults” and it’s for adults, baptized or unbaptized, who want to enter the Catholic Church. It’s a class that teaches them about the teachings of the Catholic Church and forms them to live the Catholic spiritual life. RCIA meets after the 11:30 am Mass every Sunday and runs to Easter.