St. Joseph Roman Catholic Parish OVER A CENTURY OF CATHOLIC PRESENCE PARISH SERVICES Parish Office Hours (Temporary): Weekdays: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Parish Registration: New parishioners are welcome. Please call the parish office to register. Please inform us if you move. R.C.I.A. Adults inquiring about the Catholic Church with a desire to become Catholic are invited to call the parish office for information about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Parish Organizations: Servants of Mary (Woman s Group), Adult Choir, Children s Choir, Ministry to the Poor, Ministry to the Sick & Elderly, RCIA Team, Food Pantry, Hispanic Ministry, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Home School Association, Athletic Association, Catechetical Instruction. Sponsorship: To act as a Godparent for Baptism or sponsor for Confirmation, the sponsor must be a baptized Catholic, confirmed, had communion, and live a morally good life; if married, done so within church law. Ordinarily the sponsor must be at least 14 years old. A Christian who is a non-catholic may be a witness for Baptism together with a Catholic sponsor. Rev. James W. McGuffey Pastor Rev. Msgr. Pafonuti Wassef Parochial Vicar Rev. Sean G. Winters In Residence Deacon Ramon Torres Hispanic Ministry Deacon George Kimball Permanent Deacon Mrs. Roseann Johnson Principal Mrs. Marcelle Doherty Coordinator of Religious Education Pastoral Assistant Dr. Thomas Juneau Director of Music CONFESSIONS Saturday: 11:00 AM MASS SCHEDULE 5:00 (Saturday evening) Sunday: 8:00, 10:30, 12:00 and 1:30 PM (Spanish) Weekday: Monday to Friday: Saturday: 8:30 AM St. Peregrine Mass for the Sick Second Thursday of the month-7:00 PM SACRAMENTS Baptism: The Rite of Baptism is celebrated on the second weekend of the month: Saturday at 1:00 PM. Please arrange for the obligatory preparation session by calling the parish office. Pastoral Care of the Sick: The Holy Eucharist and the Anointing of the Sick are available to the sick and shut-ins upon request. First Penance, First Eucharist, Confirmation: Children are expected to receive a Catholic upbringing in their family life, to worship regularly at Sunday Mass, and to receive ongoing religious education in the years preceding the reception of these sacraments. Matrimony: Specific times are set for the celebration of marriage during the year. To allow ample time for preparation, please contact the parish office at least one year before the intended wedding date. Holy Orders or Religious Life: If you are considering serving God as a priest, deacon or religious, you may contact your parish priest, deacon or religious: or phone the Office of Vocations at 732-562-1990 Ext. 1700 for additional information. Mailing Address: Parish 55 High Street, Carteret, NJ 07008 School 865 Roosevelt Avenue, Carteret, NJ 07008 Parish Office....................... 732-541-8946 Parish Office Fax................... 732-541-0500 Religious Education/Pastoral Office.... 732-969-8767 School............................. 732-541-7111 St. Vincent de Paul Society............ 732-541-6003 Parish Website...... www.stjosephparishfamily.com PREP Website.............. www.stjosephprep.net School Website..................... www.sjps.net
SECOND IN ORDINARY TIME JANUARY 20, 2019 9:30 AM January 20 Choir, Church MONDAY January 21 Parish Office Closed 7:00 PM 7:45 PM WEDNESDAY 7:45 PM THURSDAY 6:30 PM 7:30 PM FRIDAY 6:30 PM 8:00 PM SATURDAY 7:00 AM January 22 PREP, school Baptism Class, Church January 23 PREP, school January 24 GIFT Program, Church Hall St. Vincent de Paul meeting, Church Hall Room January 25 A/A, Alanon, Alateen, Church Hall January 26 January 27 Catholic Schools Week Mass, Church The Parish Office will be closed on Monday, January 21, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. WORLD YOUTH DAY IN METUCHEN SATURDAY JANUARY 26, 2019 The Diocese of Metuchen s Office of Youth Ministry will be hosting a Youth Day at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, 105 Summer Road, Three Bridges, from 3:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. This will be an evening filled with fun, food, music, prayer, and reflection as our local Church celebrates our youth in union the Universal Church. All 8th - 12th graders are invited to come with their parish! For information, email John Glynn, jglynn@diometuchen.org Bishop Ahr High School s 6th Annual Polar Plunge sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians The more cash, the more teacher s splash! Sunday, January 27, 1:00 p.m., at Sea Bright Municipal Beach by Tommy s Tavern, Sea Bright, NJ. To register to participate or to make a donation, visit www.bgahs.org/polarplunge. Saint Joseph School OPEN HOUSE Sunday, January 27th, 2019 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Come and meet the faculty and staff and see what St. Joseph School has to offer. Mission Statement The school community of St. Joseph gathers together in Christ to explore the richness of our faith, in our study of the created world and our part in it. We educate our students to become responsible, spiritual young adults who are respectful of themselves and others and who use their gifts and talents to make positive contributions to our church and world. CATHOLIC SCHOOL TUITION ASSISTANCE - 2019-2020 ONLINE APPLICATION PROCESS OPEN Families interested in applying for tuition assistance to attend an eligible Diocese of Metuchen Catholic elementary or high school may do so now. The application process is online through FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment. Online applications must be completed (including supporting documentation) by no later than March 31, 2018. Applications are available in English and Spanish. Families that need assistance completing the online application, or need access to the technology to apply, may attend one of two Application Workshops that are scheduled for January 23 and February 7 at Perth Amboy Catholic School, 500 State Street, Perth Amboy from 2 to 4 pm, and from 6 to 8 pm. A Spanish translator will be available.
READINGS First Reading - Isaiah 62: 1-5 Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11 Gospel - John 2: 1-11 A VISIBLE GOD We find it difficult to convey ideas to people unless we can actually show them something, demonstrate what we mean. God, who is invisible and truly beyond human understanding, apparently faces the same difficulty. People want to see, not just listen to an idea. So God gave us Jesus Christ, God made visible in the world. During these past weeks we have seen how Jesus was revealed as an infant to the shepherds and the magi, and then began his adult public life at his baptism by John. Today s Gospel reading tells us of his first sign, providing wine for the wedding guests at Cana. Of course, even Jesus, God made visible, was not always easily understood in his own day, nor is he even now. So we have to ponder what we see: the poverty and simplicity of his birth, his humility and openness before John the Baptist, his kindness and compassion toward people in their ordinary problems, such as running short of wine at a wedding. Yet it is in coming to know Jesus that we come to know God. Copyright J. S. Paluch Co. SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THE WEEK MONDAY Heb 5: 1-10; Mk 2: 18-22 Day of the Prayer for the Protection of Unborn Children WEDNESDAY Heb 7: 1-3, 15-17; Mk 3: 1-6 THURSDAY Heb 7: 25-8:6; Mk 3: 7-12 FRIDAY Acts 22: 3-16 or 9: 1-22; Mk 16:15-18 SATURDAY 2 Tm 1: 1-8 or Ti 1:1-5; Mk 3: 20-21 Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Cor 12:12-30, Lk 1: 1-4; 4; 14-21 OFFERTORY COLLECTION January 13, 2019 $5,773 $5,752 (2018) Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind. - Hebrews 13:16 MASS INTENTIONS AVAILABLE for Friday Evening Mass During Lent On Friday evenings during Lent, Mass will be celebrated at 7:00 p.m. We are now accepting intentions for these Masses. To reserve a Mass for a special intention or in memory of a loved one, please stop by the Parish Office. Among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us. Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this. Precisely because this involves the internal consistency of our message about the value of the human person, the Church cannot be expected to change her position on this question It is not progressive to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life -Pope Francis Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium #213-214 We Are Updating Our Armed Services Prayer List If you have a member of your immediate family currently serving our Country in the Armed Services and you would like them to remain on the current list -or- be added to the list, please notify us. The current list will be replaced with the updated information in February. Serviceman/woman: Requested by: Relationship to Parishioner: Please complete this form and place it in the collection basket or the Parish Office mail slot by February 4 or call the Parish Office at 732-541-8946. Thank you. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION, is held each Thursday, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., in the Church Chapel. Eucharistic Adoration is the practice of placing the consecrated bread or host on the altar so that the faithful may join in prayer and worship before the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Praying before the Eucharist can be a time of reflection, adoration, and growth in true love for God and others. The Eucharist draws us closer to God, nourishes our own life and spirituality, and impels us to be witnesses of God's love in the world
A PROFOUND ESSAY ON GOD by Danny Dutton, age 8 for his class assignment "Writing an Essay on God" "One of God s main jobs is making people. He makes these to put in place of the ones who die, so there will be enough people to take care of things here on earth. He doesn t make grown ups. Just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn t have to take up valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that up to mothers and fathers. I think it works out pretty good. "God s second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, as some people like preachers pray other times besides bedtime. God doesn t have time to listen to the radio or TV on account of this. As he hears everything, not only prayers, there must be a terrible lot of noise going on in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off. "God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere. Which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn t go wasting His time by going over your parents head and asking for something they said you couldn t have. "Atheists are people who don t believe in God. I don t think there are any in our town. At least there aren t any who come to church. "Jesus is God s Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and doing miracles and trying to teach people about God who didn t want to learn. They finally got tired of His preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind like His Father, and told his Father that they didn t know what they were doing and to forgive them, and God said OK. His Father appreciated everything He had done and all His hard work on earth, so He told Him He didn t have to go on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Father out by listening to prayers and seeing which things are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important, of course. You can pray anytime you want. They are sure to hear you because they ve got it worked out so one them is on duty all the time. "You should always go to Sunday school because it makes God happy, and if there s anybody you want to make happy, it s God. Don t skip Sunday school to do something you think will be more fun, like going to the beach until noon. If you don t believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can t go everywhere with you like camp, but God can. It s good to know He is around when you re scared of the dark or when you can t swim very good and you get thrown in real deep water by big kids. But you shouldn t just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime he pleases. And that is why I believe in God." Children have such a simple way of saying the most profound things. Isn t he right when he says that we shouldn t always think of what God can do for us? What have we done for God lately? The Diocese of Metuchen has begun a major effort to make people in Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties aware of the outstanding Pre-K and Kindergarten programs offered by our schools. They feature certified teachers, a foundation in faith, and pricing competitive with independent preschools. We invite you to learn about a Catholic school near you! Visit metuchencatholicschools.org/schools or call 732.562.2446 to learn how Catholic schools in the Diocese of Metuchen offer students a SMARTER START in school and in life!
SATURDAY 8:30 AM 5:00 PM 12:00 PM 1:30 PM MONDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 11:30 AM FRIDAY SATURDAY 8:30 AM 1:00 PM 5:00 PM 12:00 PM 1:30 PM January 19 Members of the Perpetual Mass Guild Students, Faculty and Staff of St. Joseph School and PREP January 20 Packiam Family Lydia Violante Peter Policastro Parishioners of St. Joseph Parish January 21 Corcoran Family January 22 Nick Romano Jr. January 23 Msgr. Donald Endebrock January 24 Sr. Maria Tamayo Eucharistic Adoration January 25 Souls in Purgatory January 26 Theddora Malabuyoc Baptism Blessing at Mass John R. Sabol January 27 Mary Ellen Barsback Students, Faculty and Staff of St. Joseph School Michael Hughes Parishioners of St. Joseph Parish PRAY AND FAST FOR VOCATIONS Almighty and eternal God, in Your unfailing love You provide ministers for Your Church. We pray for those whom You call to serve the Church as priests. Inspire in them a generous response. Grant them the courage and vision to serve Your people. May their lives and service call Your people to respond to the presence of Your Spirit among us that, faithful to the Gospel and hope of Jesus the Christ, we may: announce glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives, set prisoners free, and renew the face of the earth. Amen. Vatican II and the Church of the Third Millennium Join Fr. Gregory Uhrig on three consecutive Wednesdays (January 23 & 30 and February 6), from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, 146 Metlars Lane, Piscataway, for an exploration of the enduring power of Vatican II s teachings in our day. The course is based on a video series entitled Vatican II and the Church of the Third Millennium with Dr. Richard R. Gaillardetz, Ph.D., this course will offer an opportunity to reflect on and discuss the challenges facing the Catholic Church today. There is no charge to attend and no registration is required. For more information, please contact Fr. Gregory Uhrig at 732-529 -7933 or email guhrig@diometuchen.org CANDLE INTENTIONS ~ JANUARY 20-27 The St. Joseph Church Sanctuary Lamp burns in loving memory of Madeline Russo; requested by her son Anthony. The Pieta Lamp burns in loving memory of Camille & Weston Curto; requested by Maryann & Bill Boone. NOTE: TEMPORARY PARISH OFFICE HOURS Weekdays: 9:00AM to 3:00PM