Author: Fr. Mahoney (Page 38 of 71)

Dear Parishioners and Visitors,

“Now the Passover of the Jews was near.”  As Christians prepare for Palm Sunday and Holy Week, followers of the Jewish faith tradition prepare for the beginning of Passover at sundown on Wednesday, April 5, 2023.  There are many traditions that led to the Jewish use of unleavened bread, or matzah, during this feast.  One of the most interesting is the usage of the Hebrew term “the bread of poverty” for matzah.  This hard, flat bread is said to remind the Jewish people of what it was like to be poor captives in Egypt and to promote humility and a greater appreciation of the gift of freedom.  Food for thought for one and all—and for gratitude!

      Here is more food for thought:  Although the term, “the Jews” as it is used in the Gospels may be interpreted by some disparagingly, the Church’s unique relationship with the Jewish people is grounded in a shared heritage, making it unlike any other dialogue with another religious tradition.  It cannot be forgotten that Jesus himself, as well as the earliest apostles, were Jewish. The Second Vatican Council relied on the Apostle Paul’s imagery to describe the familial bond: “Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles” (Nostra Aetate, 4).  

     The Church recognizes that God’s covenant with the Jewish people continues to be valid. Recently, the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews has even stated, “That the Jews are participants in God’s salvation is theologically unquestionable, but how that can be possible without confessing Christ explicitly, is and remains an unfathomable divine mystery” (“The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable”, 36).

     Wishing you the blessings of Holy Week and a deeper understanding of our “shared heritage” with all of God’s children,

Fr. John Mahoney

From the proceeds of the poor box donations, the   Parish Outreach Committee  agreed to donate $1000  to Catholic Relief Services.  CRS is a reputable Catholic agency, known for helping the poorest of the poor — people affected by war and natural disasters, migrants and refugees, and victims of persecution and political instability.  Without doubt, these individuals could use your spiritual support, too, so please include them in your Lenten prayer.

Dear Parishioners and Visitors,

I am the light of the world … so that the works of God might be made visible.

As you may have noticed, the project of repairing and reinstalling the three stained-glass windows in the church has been completed.  The windows were damaged by the January 2022 windstorm, and were diagnosed by professionals as suffering from age, gravitational pull, and reverberations from the swinging bell in the bell tower above.  As memorial donations given to Saint Joseph Church in the early 1900s from the families of the loggers who worked at Camp 11, from the parish’s Young Ladies Sodality, and from the Rosary Sodality, they are an indispensable part of the church’s patrimony (i.e., they are governed by stipulations of Church Law) and constitute a significant component of the Catholic history of the Lincoln-Woodstock area.  Despite the original $22,800 estimate, the final cost to repair and reinstall the windows was $32,600, due to additional framing needed to support the windows and the increased costs of materials.  However, with donations totaling $28,800, plus a $5700 grant from Bishop Libasci, the project has been completed under budget.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the donors who contributed to the restoration and reinstallation effort over the past year.  The donations ranged from a $109 contribution given from the quarterly interest payment from someone’s IRA, all the way up to a $25,000 donation given “In Memory of Clemente and Pilar Tiampo and the Tiampo Family.”  Last year, Clemente passed away and his wife, Pilar, turned ninety.  In the 1970s, the Tiampo family skied Loon Mountain and have fond memories of worshiping here at St. Joseph Church.  Many thanks, too, to Mike Cummings, of our PFC, and to Jim and Kristy Tiampo for their roles in arranging for this gift!  

Please remember the Tiampos and all the donors in your prayers.  No matter where your contribution falls on the spectrum of donations, please know that it is appreciated one hundred percent! 

With prayerful best wishes,

Fr. John Mahoney

Did you merely “watch”  Holy Mass today?  Or did you worship God in Spirit and truth as He wishes – by full, conscious, and active participation?

How to worship God as He wishes is one of the   significant parts of the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in today’s gospel.  As Catholics, we worship God principally by following the command that Jesus gave us at the Last Supper to “Do this in memory of me.”  In other words, God Himself has taught us how He wishes us to worship Him.

Church teaching instructs that the Catholic Faithful worship God by participating at Holy Mass as a right and duty by reason of their baptism, and that they do so by their “full, conscious, and active    participation” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 14).  This means that one’s heart, mind, and soul are awake, alert, and engaged at the sacrifice of the Holy Mass, as opposed to merely attending or “watching” from the church pews without responding as the Church asks.  

The liturgical directives in the General Instruction to the Roman Missal stress the importance of the Catholic Faithful engaging “dialogically” at Holy Mass with the Priest-Celebrant.  There are certain acclamations and responses that belong solely to the Faithful.  These include the singing or recitation of the Mystery of Faith, the Great Amen, the conclusion of the Our Father (“…for the Kingdom, the power and the glory …), and the Lamb of God.  The Priest-Celebrant is directed to sing or recite, with the Faithful, the Holy, Holy, Holy (the Sanctus) and the “Lord I am not worthy…”.   Because there are acclamations and responses at Holy Mass that belong to the people, for the priest to say or sing them as well diminishes the dialogical and shared responsibility intended by the Sacred Liturgy. 

In order to ensure that you have obeyed fully and fruitfully the meaning of the Third Commandment by worshiping God in Spirit and in truth, please bring your best gift to the altar with your full, conscious, and active participation at Holy Mass.

With prayerful best wishes for a grace-filled Lent,

Fr. John Mahoney

Although exchanging the sign of peace at Holy Mass was discontinued when the pandemic struck, its restoration has been delayed for another reason. In the recent issue of Parable, Bishop Libasci explains that a clearer and theological understanding of the rite is needed by the faithful of the Diocese. He writes, “We’re not just saying, ‘Hi.’ We are really supposed to be ratifying our belief in the new creation we have become and the new creation standing before us: God’s children adopted through baptism and saved for eternal life.  As soon as we can get this message out and rediscover the true meaning, we’ll let you know when and how best to offer the sign of peace.”