Merry Christmas! I pray that you have a blessed Christmas, and that Jesus brings you many blessings this Christmas season! As we celebrate the coming of Our Lord, God taking a human nature to Himself in order to save us, let us give thanks for the manifold gifts He gives us. His grace provides us with faith and hope that overcome the sufferings of this world, and his grace strengthens us to love again in this world grown cold. Let us take heart and live those great gifts of faith, hope, and love. Through them we encounter Christ, and by them He leads us to our true homeland in heaven.

Next week is Christmas! It falls on a Sunday this year and the parish schedule for the Christmas Masses is below (and our website).

Your generosity has been a real gift and has helped rebuild St. Joseph’s these past four years. We have restored the church building, built a parish hall, and are about to complete the first perpetual adoration chapel in Manhattan. The Holy Spirit has certainly been active at St. Joseph’s and the parish will continue to flourish because of the work we’ve done together.

I hope that everyone’s Advent is off to a good start! This Thursday we have a Holy Day of Obligation: The Immaculate Conception. We’ll celebrate our usual Holy Day of Obligation schedule—7 pm Vigil Mass (Wednesday), 12:10 daily Mass, and 7 pm evening Mass on the day of (Thursday). We’ll have music at the 7 pm Thursday Mass.

Advent begins! This season is one of watchfulness, vigilance, and prayer, as we await the coming of our Lord on Christmas. Let us spend this special time in spiritual practices—let us be spiritually watchful and vigilant. We won’t notice Christ’s coming if we aren’t paying attention! Just as the three magi of Epiphany knew of Christ’s coming only through diligently watching for signs in the heavens, so we too should keep our eyes on God to discern His coming. Let us be prepared with our lamps alight as Christ comes to call us to Himself—to bring us with Him to our true homeland in heaven.

Today we celebrate the last week of the liturgical year—Christ the King Sunday is the final week of the year, so next Sunday, the First Sunday of Advent, is the beginning of a new liturgical year. We begin the year awaiting Christ’s coming at Christmas, and we end it celebrating His kingship over all creation.

Advent is only two weeks away—it’s hard to believe it’s already almost here. Advent is a time to ready ourselves for the coming of our Lord at Christmas, so it’s a time of spiritual preparation. It can be seen as a mini-Lent, a time for greater prayer and some penance. Consider upping your prayer schedule for this Advent and giving something up as a penance to help focus on the spiritual meaning of this Season.

The ministries in our new parish hall are really taking off! There is so much going on that we can no longer announce everything for each upcoming week at Mass—the announcements would be far too long! In lieu of long announcements every week at mass, we’ll instead post upcoming events for the week in the poster stand in the middle of the narthex. Upcoming events will also be included in the bulletin and on the website. We will still announce at Mass new or special events. I hope to see you at some of the ministries here!

This Tuesday is All Saints Day, a Holy Day of Obligation. The evening before All Saints Day was once called All Hallowed Eve (hallowed meaning holy one, as in “Hallowed be thy Name” in the Our Father). Now in our secular age it’s called Halloween and has no real connection to All Saints Day as such.

As a holy day of obligation, we would normally host a vigil mass for All Saints on Monday night; however, because the Halloween parade makes the church inaccessible that evening, we’ll instead only have public All Saints Masses on the day itself. Thus, on 10/31 we’ll have the 12:10 daily mass (not an All Saints Mass) but no vigil mass, and on 11/1 we’ll have a 12:10pm All Saints Mass and a 7pm All Saints Mass.

We’ve begun using our new giving system, GivingFire, at St. Joe’s. We encourage everyone who regularly attends St. Joseph’s to sign up for online giving on our webpage (www.stjosephgv.nyc/donate). You can also put checks in the basket at Mass or in the collection boxes in the narthex; if your name is on the check we will make sure that the donation is included in your tax letter at the end of the year. If you give cash, you can put it in an envelope with your name on it if you want that donation included in your tax letter at the end of the year. You can also donate with a credit card through the kiosk in the narthex of the church.

We’re introducing a unified giving system called GivingFire. We’re asking everyone to reregister their online donations on GivingFire. You can use the QR codes in the church, or go to our webpage, to do so (www.stjosephgv.nyc). I know this is an annoyance, but it will greatly improve our systems and help us to better serve you. No longer will you receive separate tax statements depending on different methods of giving, and the whole process will be more secure and help us better keep track of the giving systems and better serve the parish.

This weekend we have Gifts from Bethlehem at St. Joseph’s. They support Christians in the Holy Land, who are persecuted and in need of support. We should remember to pray for and to help Catholics and other Christians throughout the world who face oppression. Catholics in China, Nigeria, throughout the Middle East, and in many other regions are facing persecution today. We are joined to them in the Body of Christ, the Church: let us remember them in our prayers.

I’m often asked how people can find out what’s happening at the parish, especially with all the new ministries. The best places for information are the parish website (www.stjosephgv.nyc) and the Sunday bulletin. Also, we send a weekly Flocknote email which contains upcoming events (a new feature!) You can sign up for Flocknote and register at St. Joe’s on the website too—something we strongly encourage everyone attending St. Joe’s to do so that we can better serve you.

I’m sure you’ve noticed how long the Mass announcements at have become! The reason is that many of our new ministries founded since the opening of McGuire Hall are now restarting after the summer. There are many ministries that are open to parishioners and it may be difficult to remember what they all are or what they do. The best place to explore the options is our parish webpage, which contains information on every ministry and contact information if you’re interested in joining. I’d encourage everyone to consider joining a group—it’s a great way to meet fellow parishioners and to grow in your faith, as well as build up community here.

Tomorrow St. Joe’s Men’s Group restarts for the Fall. After our series on historical battles and what they teach us about defeating vices in our lives, this Fall we’re going to talk about the virtues that strengthen and sustain us. All men are invited to join us on Monday the 19th at 7pm in McGuire Hall.

Reform Wellness will be hosting its NYC Advent Retreat, “An Invitation to Christ-Centered Wellness,” at St. Joseph’s. It’ll be on December 10th and starts at 9am in McGuire Hall and ends with our daily 12:10pm Mass. Here’s a description of what the retreat will be about:

“The brokenness of our humanity is never an obstacle for Christ; instead, it is an opportunity for restoration and reformation. When we empty ourselves of all that holds us back from seeking deeper relationship and healing, we create space for the Divine Healer to fill us with life in abundance. We invite you to join us for a one-day retreat to encounter the Divine Physician through the sacraments. All are welcome!”

I hope that everyone has a blessed Labor Day! It’s good to remember the nobility of labor–a dignity that was recognized within Christianity. In the ancient pagan world manual laborers were considered lesser in dignity than those wealthy enough to not have to work, such as nobles. However, Joseph was a carpenter and Jesus would have learned that trade as a child. We even have the feast day of St. Joseph the worker. That Jesus would take up manual labor reveals that it is not undignified work and that labor has a value that the ancient pagans missed. Let us not forget the dignity of all workers, even the humblest, this Labor Day.

This week classes begin again at NYU so we’ll be seeing students returning to the NYU Catholic Center and to St. Joseph’s on the weekends. It’s exciting to see the parish year get rolling again! The parish will begin filling up again and ministries will begin to come back online.

 Our summer brothers and deacon have now gone back to DC to continue their studies and we’re again a community of 5 friars. We’re in the quiet days of August, but we are preparing for the work of this upcoming parish year—restarting various ministries, such as RCIA for people entering the Church, Religious Education classes, and many others. In other words, it’s a slow news week. But there are many good things we’re looking forward to this year at St. Joseph’s!

Tomorrow is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (into heaven). Normally, on this solemnity there is an obligation for all Catholics to attend Mass; however, because it falls on a Monday this year there is no obligation. Therefore, our only Mass that day will be our 12:10pm daily Mass. The Catholic Center will have Mass at 5:15pm on Monday.