February 25, 2024
second Sunday of Lent
by Fr. Boniface Endorf, OP
Dear St. Joseph Parish Family,
Dominican Discourse will continue this Monday at 7:30 in McGuire Hall. A friar will speak for about 15 minutes about a topic that interests him and is related to our Faith, followed by a discussion of the topic. It will meet every Monday at 7:30pm in McGuire Hall, and will conclude at 8:30. It’s open to everyone so I hope to see you there.
Now that Lent has begun, we’ll host Stations of the Cross every Friday in Lent at 7pm in the church.
Next weekend, the 3rd Sunday of Lent, we’ll hold our annual Cardinal’s Appeal Commitment weekend. This fundraiser helps support the Archdiocese of New York. Specifically, it funds the operations of the Archdiocese, helps struggling parishes and Catholic schools, helps train diocesan priests (not Dominican friars though), and supports the many ministries and charitable works of the Archdiocese. Please consider giving to the Cardinal’s Appeal. Make sure to mark St. Joseph’s as your parish when giving. The Archdiocese also considers how many people give in each parish, so even small gifts help.
Mass Tidbit:
After praying the Our Father, the celebrant prays: “Deliver us, Lord, we pray from every evil, graciously grant us peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.” We pray to be free from evil and sin, so that we may experience, through God’s mercy, the peace He promises us, especially as we await His return and the fulness of our salvation. Here we sum up the Christian life: seeking to be free from what harms us so that we may find the joy and peace God wants to give us. God’s grace makes that possible and so we pray for His kingdom to come, where God’s love and mercy are fully realized.
The people respond: “For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever.” This line is the one we spoke about last week, that was transposed from the liturgy into some versions of the Bible after the Our Father. Here we see it in its proper place: as a response to the priest’s prayer for salvation and peace, stating the grounds for our hope: that God’s kingdom has come in Christ and that God’s power will make His glory present in us through our salvation.
God Bless,
Fr. Boniface
