The transition from the old to the New Year can be a time for reflection on the past along with hope for the future.  As we look back on the previous year, we are reminded of the many challenges the Church and the world are facing right now.  Still, amid these trials, we can place our trust in God and have hope for good health and peace in the world, for the Church, for our own lives, and for the welfare of our families.

It is very fitting, then, that the New Year is celebrated in union with the Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God, a holy day that celebrates her divine motherhood of our Savior.  We can learn to have unconditional trust and hope in our Lord, even in times of doubt and fear.  Mary is with us, our “Queen of Peace.”  Accordingly, New Year’s Day is also celebrated as the “World Day of Prayer for Peace.”

In his encyclical of this year, Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis spoke to the need for a neighborly approach to charity that fosters prayer and peace in our hearts and in our communities: “A truly human and fraternal society will be capable of ensuring in an efficient and stable way that each of its members is accompanied by God and neighbor at every stage of life, not only by providing for their basic needs, but by enabling them to give the best of themselves ….”  Caring for those in need is not only at the heart of the Gospel message, it is a Divine command.

I wish you all a New Year filled with hope, peace, and charity, brotherhood and sisterhood among us, and health and happiness in the Lord.

With prayerful best wishes,

Fr. John Mahoney

Dear Parishioners and friends,

Jesus was born in a manger to reveal God’s extraordinary message of love, hope, joy, and peace.  He asks us to accept one another, to be reconciled to one another, and to have love for one another.

“I have come so that you may have life,” Jesus says, “and so that you may have life in abundance.”  By his coming at Christmas, Jesus promises that our salvation has been achieved, that we have been saved from slavery to sin, and that now, as God’s adopted children, we will never wander in darkness but will walk always in the light of Christ.

Each of us has been entrusted with a special gift, a sacred responsibility: to show others how the mystery of God is unfolding in our midst.  We are called to go out into the world and share the message of God’s love with all humankind.

We pray, then, as we approach the Christmas holy days, that the Christ child will penetrate our hearts and souls, so we may change our lives to become peacemakers, to love others, and to love God above all things.

With gratitude for all you have been and continue to do to engrace St. Joseph’s parish community, please know that I am praying for God to bless you with peace, joy, hope, and love.

A blessed Christmas to each of you,

Fr. John Mahoney

At one time or another, we’ve all found ourselves lost in a desert. Things have not worked out as planned. We’ve made mistakes.  We’ve been let down and used. We don’t know where to turn or who to trust. But if we listen hard enough, we hear a “voice” crying out to us, a voice that speaks in the oasis of our hearts, directing us to a new spring of hope. A loving spouse, a wise teacher, a generous neighbor, a conscientious boss — all can be that “voice of one crying the desert” that leads us to hope and even to a sense of rejoicing. 

We walk a lot of crooked roads in our lives: relationships that for some reason have become strained; demands on our time that have distracted us from being present for those we love; attitudes of privilege that have brought strife to others because of their race, gender, culture, or creed. Daring to believe we can make a difference, we start “straightening” those crooked roads, making an entryway for reconciliation, peace, and healing.

The coming of Christ calls us to the work of making a straight road for him, of transforming the barren deserts around us into harvests of justice and peace, of reflecting the light of his forgiveness and mercy in our midst. We are all called to this kind of “prophetic” work begun by John the Baptist at the Jordan River – to use whatever skills and resources we possess to bring hope into prisons of despair, joy into deserts of sadness, and love into broken hearts.  Such accomplishments are always cause for rejoicing!