SAINT JOSEPH CATHOLIC PARISH September 4, 2016 Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Canonization of Mother Teresa When Mother Teresa is canonized on September 4, she will be most remembered for her selfless charity. Mother Teresa worked with the poorest of the poor in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, serving lepers and others who would otherwise suffer without care. Her services were given freely, and her example was followed by the sisters in the order she founded, the Missionaries of Charity. Her canonization is an important event for Catholics and all people around the world. Here are 3 reasons why. 1. Mother Teresa has inspired thousands of followers in several different nations as well as individual acts of kindness around the globe. She has been mentioned as a charitable inspiration by world leaders. Her order has 19 mission homes in Kolkata, as well as several others around the world. The Missionaries of Charity also operate a school, care for ex-prostitutes and run soup kitchens. 2. Another reason why Mother Teresa is important is not one that is normally advertised. Mother Teresa had grave doubts about God and her relationship with Him. She questioned his presence, saying on numerous occasions she did not feel it at all. Mother Teresa said she felt this way because she saw so much suffering in the world, which is a common problem for many who question the existence and nature of God. What is important is not that she doubted, but that she lived a faithful life in spite of her doubts. Mother Teresa knew that regardless of God's presence, there was a form of right and wrong that had to be obeyed. She knew that right required charity. She demonstrated that a person can live a faith-filled life even when filled with doubts. 3. Her message is universal. No matter what religion a person is, or if they don't believe at all, Mother Teresa's life message is to embrace suffering, especially that of the poor. One of the great tragedies of our time, and indeed of all time, is that we tend to shun the suffering or at least avoid interacting with them. Yet suffering is often intensified by solitude and assuaged by company. Even a small kindness can have a tremendous impact on a person's suffering. People have abandoned suicide plans, have changed faiths, and have gone on to do great things because of small gestures of kindness. Every human being suffers and understands suffering. Every human being also understands kindness and compassion. Mother Teresa is important because she lived her life in such a way as to inspire kindness. Few people do this, and for this reason it is important to hold up her example for all to follow, Catholic or not. reprinted from Catholic Online
Mass and Reconciliation *All at Epps Bridge location unless otherwise noted Saturday Vigil/Sábado de Vigilia 5:30 PM 7:30 PM (Español) Sunday/Misas Dominicales 8:15 AM (Prince Ave) 10:00 AM (Nursery provided) 11:45 AM (Nursery provided) 1:30 PM (Español) 6:00 PM Daily Masses/ Misa Diaria Monday Saturday/ Lunes - Sábado 8:30 AM (Prince Ave) Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament/ Adoración al Santísimo Fridays: 9:00 AM -6:00 PM (Prince Ave) Hora Santa 7:30 PM (Prince Ave) Reconciliation/Confesiones Saturday: 9:00 AM-(Prince Ave) or by appointment Contact Us Clergy Rev. David McGuinness, Pastor Rev. Paul Moreau, Parochial Vicar Rev. Mr. Jim Gaudin, Deacon Rev. Mr. Scott Medine, Deacon Parish Office Hours: 9:00 AM- 4:00 PM Monday-Friday 958 Epps Bridge Parkway Athens GA 30606 Phone: 706-548-6332 Fax: 706-354-1783 Email: secretary@stjosephathens.com Sacramental Emergencies 706-461-6331 St. Joseph Catholic Parish School/ Escuela Católica de la parroquia de San José 706-543-1621 Archdiocese of Atlanta/Arquidiócesis de Atlanta 404-920-7800 Stewardship In thanksgiving for all God has given us, we offer our time, talent and treasure Focus on Our Nursery Ministry Who doesn t love the sweetness of a child? And we are blessed to have so many here at St. Joseph s! Unfortunately, there are many times when an hour at Mass proves too much for them to handle. Ready at the rescue is our Nursery Ministry! Located upstairs in the PreK classroom at St. Joseph School, children ages 6 months to 4 years old may be left during our 10:00 AM and 11:45 AM Masses. Two nursery volunteers, for a maximum of 12 children, are available to watch your child as they play, sing and participate in other age appropriate activities. Parents provide a snack and sippy cup, and a diaper bag for those not potty trained. There is a strict label system to ensure children leave with the right person. Each family gets a label with parent information. Then one half is left with the child, while the parent gets a stub. These must be matched before children are released. Fortunately we have the same wonderful caretakers for years who have good relationships and know the families well. If you would like to participate in this important ministry, please contact Jenny Williams for more information: collard.williams@gmail.com DATE 5:30 PM $1.107.00 7:30 PM $ 859.00 8:15 AM $2,592.00 10:00 AM $2,983.00 11:45 AM $980.00 1:30 PM $1,296.00 6:00 PM $1,693.26 Miscellaneous $220.00 Total Offertory $11,685.26 Weekly Budget $16,600.00 Difference -$4,914.74 Improvement Fund: $4,259.05 Grand Total $15,944.31 The Bible instructs us to tithe 10% to the church. Our parish recommends that you give 5% to St. Joseph, 4% to other charities and 1% to the annual Archdiocesan Appeal. We depend on your generosity to cover the cost of our running our Parish. Just like you do at home, our budget covers the cost of things like utility bills, all administrative expenses and liturgical expenses. Currently we are drawing from our improvement fund to cover our weekly budget. For those who prefer online giving, go to our website at www.stjosephathens.com and follow the links to Donate Online. You may securely pay using a credit card or a Pay Pal account.
Parish News Altar Flowers This week s altar flowers from Petals on Prince were given by Edith and Barry Hollander in memory of the Hollander and Portier families. Britney Delgado Gail Lopez Gabriela Salazar Ladies Tea: Save the Date! Columbiettes Auxiliary 6514 will hold its Annual Ladies Tea on Sunday, September 25 at Thompson House and Gardens in Bogart. Tickets will go on sale after all Masses on September 10/11 and September 17/18. Ticket sales are limited to 80...Make plans to get yours early, before they are sold out! For information, please email Helena Lemons at tara1rab@gmail.com. Kroger Plus Card Don t forget to renew your Kroger Plus Card and donate your rewards to our parish! Capital Campaign Special Prayer Request For the Parish! The ACC Commission will be voting on the proposed development of the Prince Avenue property on Tuesday, September 6. This approval and subsequent sale of the church property is vital to our campaign to build a new church here on our Epps campus. We ask that you join us in prayer, asking for guidance for our commissioners as they make this important vote and for our continued mission of building a new church to serve the Lord. Almighty Loving God, Master Architect and Builder, Cornerstone of our faith, Interfaith Hospitality Network St. Joseph s parish actively participates, along with 20 other Athens area churches to provide temporary shelter and social services to homeless families. Families are housed consecutively in church facilities, and volunteers from the churches provide meals, supervision, transportation, companionship and support to homeless children and their parents. Volunteers from St. Joseph have been providing these services in cooperation with First United Methodist Church, which offers its facilities, for six years. There is a great need for new volunteers to help provide this service to families in critical need. We have a group of 30+ volunteers from St. Joseph who have faithfully given their time and energies to provide the support and assistance to the families sometime during the week that we are scheduled four times a year. Each week requires at least 35 volunteers to provide the evening meals, evening time with the families, overnight supervision, transportation morning and evening, and weekend supervision at the Day Center on West Hancock Ave. Volunteers from First United Methodist share the load. At this time in the life of our parish we turn to You with grateful hearts, for what we have, and with anticipation for what is yet to be. Bless us with the resources to complete our new church. You called us to build Your kingdom and more will come to our faith at the larger church. Bless us with Your presence now and through the years. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel and Saint Joseph, Father of the Holy Family. Amen After each mass on the weekend of Sept 10-11 there will be a sign-up table outside, with current volunteers to answer questions on the portico at Epps Bridge and on the porch after 8:15 Am Mass on Prince Ave. We will schedule a two hour required training session for new volunteers day and time to be announced. Volunteering to serve the families who are in crisis and without a home is a wonderful opportunity to serve Our Lord by serving our brothers and sisters who are temporarily homeless and in great need of our help and support. Volunteers report that they receive much more than they give.
Faith Formation Are you interested in the Catholic Faith? St. Joseph Catholic Church will soon begin a new journey in faith to share the richness of the Catholic Church and our parish family. We invite you to learn what the Church teaches and to be introduced to some of our parish members. These sessions are also opportunities for you, and those you may wish to invite, to ask those perplexing and difficult questions that you may have about the Church. These gatherings are for inquirers and are open to people who are unbaptized as well as those who are baptized Christians from Protestant or Evangelical backgrounds. The first session will take place on September 6 from 6:00-7:30 pm in Rm. #253 at our Epps Bridge Parish Center. For more information, please call Vivian at 706-548-6332 or email rcia@stjosephathens.com. That Man is You Join this Catholic Men's Program focusing on the role of men in their families and the church, beginning September 7 th, each Wednesday from 6:30-7:30 AM: Room 255 at Epps. Coffee and Donuts served 6:15 am- 6:30 am; no childcare is available. Please call JR Allred 504-717-0496 or email at aoa0610@gmail.com for more information. Parents of RE Students Did you know we offer classes for you during RE? Please join us Wednesday night, from 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm while your children are in class. Parent classes will begin on September 14th.Classes in Spanish will meet in the Fellowship Hall and focus on Discipleship. Classes in English will meet on the track above the gym and begin the "Catholicism" DVD series. There is no charge for parent classes; however, attendance is limited to registered RE families. Babysitting is NOT provided. Join us! St. Joseph Parish Day of Pilgrimage- On the occasion of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, St. Joseph Parish invites everyone to participate in A Day of Pilgrimage to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers on Saturday, October 15, 2016. The pilgrimage, under the spiritual direction of Fr. David McGuinness, includes the Holy Mass in the Abbey Church or Crypt Chapel, a tour of the monastery, passing through a Holy Door of Mercy, catered lunch, and midday prayer followed by the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The pilgrimage will conclude with recitation of the Divine Mercy chaplet. More information will follow.
Monday, September 5 *8:30 AM Mass Protection of Religious Freedom The Parish Office will be closed on Labor Day (September 5) and all activities are canceled except for daily Mass. Tuesday, September 6 *8:30 AM Mass Thayer Bowles (D) 6:00 PM 11:45 Choir practice-chapel 6:00 PM RCIA- Rm 253 6:30 PM Children s choir practice 7:00 PM Confirmation Info Session- Youth Room /Fellowship Hall 7:45 PM ESP Capital Campaign Rm 253 Wednesday, September 7 6:00 AM That Man is You Rm 255 *8:30 AM Mass All the Souls in Purgatory 10:00 AM St Joseph Charities-Prince Conference Rm 6:15 PM RE Classes Session One 7:45 PM RE Classes Session Two Thursday, September 8 *8:30 AM Mass Eloy, Jose Manuel, Alberto Alarcon (D) 9:00 AM Altar Society-Prince 10:00 AM St. Joseph Charities Board Mtg-conference room 6:00 PM 10:00 Choir practice-chapel 6:00 PM Columbiettes Business Mtg-Rm 255 7:00 PM 7:30 Choir practice Prince 7:00 PM Home Group Kickoff-Fellowship Hall 7:45 PM Grupo Mariano Rm 254 7:45 PM CRSP #17 Formation Mtg-Rm 253 Week at a Glance Friday, September 9 *8:30 AM Mass Kurian Kamicheril (D) 9:00 AM Exposition of Blessed Sacrament-Prince 9:30 AM Scripture Reflections- Conference Room 7:30 PM Hora Santa Prince Saturday, September 10 *8:30 AM Mass Peggy Rose Viera (D) 9:00 AM Rosary- Prince 9:00 AM Confessions Prince Conference Room 9:30 AM Altar Society Español- Epps Chapel/Altar 10:00 Marriage Prep Rm 253 10:00 AM EMOHC Fall Training-Gym, Fellowship Hall, Sacristy. 4:00 PM 5:30 Choir practice-gym *5:30 PM Mass St. Joseph Parish *7:30 PM Mass Donna Mandujano (I) Sunday, September 11 8:00 AM Liturgy of the Hours Prince *8:15 AM Mass Charlotte Boroski (I) *10:00 AM Mass Richard Sorrell (D) 11:00 AM Misioneros Mtg-Prince *11:45 AM Mass Carl Yeater (D) (SJS School Mass) *1:30 PM Mass Guadalupe Garcia (D) 3:00 PM RCIT SJS Library 3:00 pm RCIA-Fellowship Hall 3:30PM Litugy Committee Meeting Rm 255 *6:00 PM Mass Ami Willis (I) 7:30 M Parish Council Rm 255 Daily Feast Days and Mass Readings Monday,September 5 1 Cor 5:1-8/Lk 6:6-11 (437) Tuesday, September 6 1 Cor 6:1-11/Lk 6:12-19 (438) Wednesday, September 7 1 Cor 7:25-31/Lk 6:20-26 (439) 35 Thursday, September 8 The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mi 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28-30/Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23 (636) Pss Prop Friday, September 9 Saint Peter Claver, Priest l 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22b-27/Lk 6:39-42 (441) Saturday, September 10 1 Cor 10:14-22/Lk 6:43-49 (442) 11 Sunday, September 11 Ex 32:7-11, 13-14/1 Tm 1:12-17/Lk 15:1-32 or 15:1-10 (132) Pss IV Reflection on Last Week s Readings There are those who give, but only on condition that they receive something in return, and receive it immediately. There are those who give on condition that they receive something in return later on and with a handsome profit. And there are those who give without expecting anything in return now or ever. The latter are imitating the generosity of God, who bestows his love on good people and bad, and grants mercy to saints and sinners.
Who can be a Godparent? Ministerio Hispano Parroquial de San José The role of a Godparent in the Catholic church is an important one. They are not merely ceremonial giftgivers, nor are they required to physically adopt a child in the event of a parent s death. Choosing godparents should be done based on their spiritual maturity and eligibility in meeting the Church s guidelines: you must be a practicing Catholic, and have received all the initiation sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation. You must live a life of faith in agreement with the Church s teachings, and be familiar with the faith in order to catechize the baptized person and ensue their spiritual wellbeing, which befits the role to be undertaken. Godparents are to be one man and one woman and if married, married in the Catholic faith. A non-catholic person can be chosen as a "witness", but there must be at least one active Catholic Godparent as well. A person who wishes to be a Godparent must provide written verification of eligibility from their home parish that they are an active parishioner. This is determined by the Pastor of the church, based on documentation of your tithe envelope that you are registered and attend Mass regularly. If you are selecting Godparents for the Baptism of a child, or if you have been asked to be a Godparent, it is important to contact the Parish office several months in advance of the baptismal date to obtain an official Sacramental sponsor letter from the Pastor. Reflexión de la Semana Pasada Hay los que dan, pero sólo a condición de que reciban algo a cambio, y de inmediato. Hay quienes dan con la condición de que reciban algo a cambio, más tarde y con una buena ganancia. Y hay los que dan sin esperar nada a cambio, ni ahora ni nunca. Estos últimos están imitando la generosidad de Dios, que otorga su amor de la gente buena y mala, y le concede merced a los santos y pecadores. Por favor, notifique a la Oficina de la Iglesia Si tienen conocimiento de algún feligrés enfermo, estancia en el hospital, fallecimientos, etc. De manera que podamos incluirlos en nuestra lista de oraciones. 706-548-6332 o secretary@stjosephathens.com Necesita hablar con el Padre Paul? Llame a la Oficina Parroquial para pedir cita. Teléfono: 706-548-6332 Caridades de San José Necesita ayuda económica para pagar servicios de utilidad o con la renta? Las Caridades de San José puede ayudarle. Para pedir una cita: Llamar solamente los días Lunes y Miércoles de 10:00 am-12:00 pm Al Teléfono: 706-549-4208 Educación Religiosa : Padres de familia de las clases del catecismo Sabe que ofrecemos clases para usted durante las clases del catecismo de sus hijos? Las clases de español serán en el Fellowship Hall y se basará en el Discipulado. Las clases de Inglés serán en el hall encima del gimnasio y se basará en la serie de DVD " Catolicismo. " Estas clases son gratis, sin embargo, la asistencia se limita a las familias que solo tienen niños registrados en las clases del catecismo. NO se proporciona cuidado de niños. Calendario Lunes, 7:00 pm Grupo Carismatico (Prince Ave en el Santuario) Viernes, 7:30 pm- Hora Santa (Prince Ave en el Santuario) La oficina parroquial estará cerrada el 5 de septiembre y se ha cancelado todo tipo de actividades excepto la Misa diaria.
Kids Page Can you match the following biblical writers with their occupation? Ezra David Ezekiel Paul Amos Luke Tentmaker Shepherd Tree trimmer Doctor Priest in exile King Scribe If you have trouble check these references: Ezra 7:1-6; Ezekiel 1:1-3; Amos 7:14; Acts 18:3 and Colossians 4:14