This year Christmas is on a Monday. On the Saturday just before Christmas we’ll have our normal 5:30pm Vigil Mass for the 4th Sunday of Advent. On Sunday, Christmas Eve, we’ll have our normal 9am and 11:30am Masses for the 4th Sunday of Advent, and that Sunday evening we’ll have a 5pm Christmas Vigil Mass and a 10pm Christmas Night Mass. On Christmas day, Monday, we’ll have a 9am Christmas Morning Mass and a 11:30am Christmas Day Mass. 

We are coming to the end of the liturgical calendar—next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year. Advent is the time when we await the coming of Christ at Christmas, reliving that period before the Incarnation when humanity still awaited the coming of salvation.

We are coming to the end of the liturgical calendar—next Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year. Advent is the time when we await the coming of Christ at Christmas, reliving that period before the Incarnation when humanity still awaited the coming of salvation.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving this week! This season is always busy, but make sure to give thanks to God for all the blessing He has given this year. If the year has been good to you, then make sure to give thanks to God for all those good things that came your way. If the year has been difficult, also make sure to give thanks to God for helping you through those difficulties. Gratitude is essential to happiness—those who fall into resentment and anger never achieve inner peace or joy but rather are consumed by their resentment. So let us find the joy and peace of gratitude and thanksgiving this Thursday. 

This Wednesday we’re celebrating the NYC Gold Mass at St. Joseph’s for the first time. It celebrates those working in the sciences. The Mass will be at 7pm and will be followed by a talk by Fr. Ambrose Little OP entitled “Demonstration and Certainty in Thomistic Philosophy of Nature.” Please come and invite all those you know in the sciences. 

This Tuesday we celebrate All Dominican Saints and on Wednesday All Dominican Souls. Dominicans always celebrate these feasts a week after All Saints and All Souls Days. It’s good to pray for those we’ve loved who’ve passed on and you can always have a Mass offered for your loved ones. Just contact the parish office to have a Mass offered. It’s a great way to help those we’ve loved.

This week we celebrate All Saint's Day! This November 1st we celebrate all the saints God has raised to glory. They are proof of God’s work in our world—evidence that God will act in our lives to bring us the holiness, joy, and peace all hearts desire. Their victory is Christ’s victory, which is offered to all of us.

This Friday we have the final talk of our three Fall Thomistic Institute talks. Dr. Bronwen McShea will talk about “Forgotten Lay Patronesses of the Church.” She’ll share some really great stories about fascinating women in Church history. It will be in McGuire Hall and the doors open at 6:00pm, the talk starts at 6:30 pm. It’ll be a great talk!

This Friday, 10/120, we have the second of our three Fall Thomistic Institute talks. Dr. Joe Zalot will talk about “Deciding to Die Well.” We’ll all face death at some point and we have to deal with it throughout our lives. This talk will help prepare us for how to handle it well when that cross comes our way. The talk will be held in McGuire Hall and the doors open at 6:30pm and the talk starts at 7pm. It should be a great talk!

This Friday, 10/13, we have the first of our three Fall Thomistic Institute talks. Dr. Michael Root will talk about “Purgatory: Good News for Most of Us.” It will be in McGuire Hall and the doors open at 6:30pm, the talk starts at 7pm. It should be a great talk!

This Saturday, 10/14, ArtHouse2B will host a Catholic art exhibit at St. Joseph’s. the doors open at 7pm and the exhibit will be in McGuire Hall. I’m hoping that St. Joseph’s can become a hub of the Catholic art scene in NYC and this event is an effort in that direction.

We stand between two feast days related to angels: last Friday was the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael and this Monday is the memorial for Guardian Angels. We don’t often think of angels anymore, but they do play an important role in our lives. 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 men. Thus St. Gabriel played an important role during the Annunciation, when he spoke with Mary and announced God’s will that Mary become the mother of His Son, Jesus. 

Fr. Jonah and I are planning a lot of new and exciting ministries for this year. We’re working on a homeless outreach program, an evening evangelization ministry, a catechetical ministry run by the friars to help people go deeper in the Faith, new music and art ministries, and many others that we hope to start up throughout this year. We’ll make sure to publicize them as they start so you’ll be able to take part. Many of our already established ministries have restarted as well so make sure to stay abreast of all the great things happening in your community at St. Joseph’s!

September is always an exciting month as people return to the city and St. Joe’s fills up again. Welcome back to everyone who’s been away! We’re planning a lot of new and exciting things for this year so make sure to stay abreast of what’s happening here either through the bulletin or signing up for our weekly Flocknote email (you can do so on our website). Also, make sure to check out our new perpetual adoration chapel!

Summer is over and now the parish season begins again in earnest! RCIA and CCD start—so if you know a child in need of religious instruction or sacramental preparation, or an adult who would like to become Catholic, now is the time to contact the parish and get the ball rolling. 

Tomorrow we celebrate Labor Day and the importance of manual labor. As Christians we honor those who work with their own hands—St. Joseph himself was a carpenter. Have a great Labor Day holiday!

Fr. Jonah here, filling in for Fr. Boniface, as (at the time of this writing) he is away on retreat. RCIA—the initiation process for those entering the Church—begins early next month, so if you know anyone interested in becoming Catholic (or if you need any of the sacraments of initiation, like Confirmation), have them contact the parish office to get connected with the program. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will move many to enter the Church this year!

The adoration chapel continues to grow as hundreds have signed up for adoration slots. My hope is that in the coming months we’ll fill all the adoration slots and have continual prayer in the center of our city. It will be transformative for all those who chose to spend time with our Lord. Please consider signing up if you haven’t already—take part in this great mission.

Today is my five-year anniversary as pastor of St. Joseph’s! It’s been a great five years and I’m honored to have been able to serve you this past half decade. I look forward to many more years to come at St. Joseph’s!

Today we celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord. Normally today would be the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, but because it falls on a feast day of our Lord, Transfiguration trumps the normally scheduled Sunday. This feast is special to our parish because of our fresco of the Transfiguration in the church. It’s the oldest true fresco in the United States! May God’s light shine in our hearts this Feast of the Transfiguration!

I’ll be on vacation this week and next but will be back in time for the Cardinal’s blessing of our new perpetual adoration chapel on 7/30. I won’t be writing letters while away but will resume when I return.