Category: Shrine News

“We desire to be able to welcome Jesus at Christmas-time, not in a cold manger of our heart, but in a heart full of love and humility, in a heart so pure, so immaculate, so warm with love for one another” – St. Teresa of Calcutta

Dear Friends of St. Joseph,

The month of December is always a month of contradictory experiences; on one hand, we are blitzed by offers from many branded lifestyle necessities. On the other, God grants an offer to everyone – a free salvation – by sending His only begotten Son in the form of human flesh in this snowy winter, a time when Santa Claus is singing “Jingle Bells” and children are waiting for their Christmas gifts.

We also celebrate another important event in this month – the feast of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception. It was on December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX declared that at no moment in Mary’s life, contrary to us who have a human nature tainted by original sin because of the fall of Adam and Eve, was she under the dominion of sin. She was conceived without original sin and freed from its influence even in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. From the very first moment of her life, the Blessed Virgin Mary and our Mother too, was in the original state of the fullness of grace. She was in the state of the original blessing. In other words, she was conceived immaculately in the womb of her mother without the stain of sin.

We also celebrate in this month the birth of our Founder, St. Louis Guanella, on December 19th. He was a holy soul, one who had a special love for those who were physically and mentally disabled.

In addition, on December 28th, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents, the first martyrs for our Lord Jesus. It’s the time we need to pray especially for the unborn in our country. As we begin the new liturgical season of Advent, a preparation to welcome for the coming of the newborn child Jesus, let’s prepare ourselves more generously to receive the child Jesus – to allow Him to be born in our hearts.

St. Augustine says, “Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; where your treasure is, there is your heart; where your heart is, there is your happiness”. So let us always try to find Jesus as the true treasure, the one who is the ultimate source of happiness for our lives. May this Holy Christmas bring love, peace, and joy to dwell in our hearts, our families, and the community in which we live.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

&

A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2019

With Love and Prayers,

Fr. Leo Joseph SdC

Dear Friends of St. Joseph,

The month of November always calls us to remember two important events in the
whole year. The first day of the month we honor All Saints Day. When we are baptized
we become saints; that is, we become holy. In baptism, we begin the process
of becoming holy; that is, of being like God. The path towards holiness will be a
period of trials. By turning to the Lord in these trials, one will grow in holiness and
holiness leads to sainthood. The saint’s favorite food is the Holy Eucharist. The
saint’s favorite dress is the armor of faith. The saint’s favorite past time is doing anything
with the immense love of God. The saint’s favorite symbol is the Holy Cross.

The second day of the month we commemorate All Souls Day. It is a dogma of our
faith that the suffering souls are relieved by the intercession of the saints in heaven
and by the prayers of the faithful upon this earth. To pray for the dead is, therefore,
an act of charity and of piety, certainly obligatory for a Christian who professes
to have charity in his heart. We read in Holy Scripture: “It is a holy and
wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their
sins.” (2 Macc 12:46). Hence, it is our primary duty to pray for all the departed
brothers and sisters.

We also celebrate in this month the Feast of Our Lady of Divine Providence. It is
one of the most important feasts to the Servants of Charity. St. Louis Guanella beautifully
says, “If you receive with two hands from providence, you must give with
four hands to the poor of providence.” Throughout his life St. Guanella always depended
on Divine Providence and extended charity worldwide.

Finally, we conclude this month and also the Church liturgical calendar by celebrating
the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ ‘King of the Universe’. Thus, the month
of November is always a holy month to be observed. Throughout this month of
November, let us strive to become more holy and lets us also pray for the departed
brothers and sisters every day in the holy mass.

Happy Feast of All the Saints!

With Love and Prayers,
Fr. Leo Joseph SdC

 

The Pious Union of St. Joseph publishes a bi-monthly pastoral magazine, The Voice of Providence, which fosters devotion to St. Joseph and News of the Guanellian Family. Words of encouragement and support for people encountering suffering and death are illuminated by the charism, spirit and mission of Blessed Louis Guanella. Stories proceeding from the heart of his mission of charity and his Congregations: the Servants of Charity, Daughters of St. Mary of Providence, Guanellian Cooperators and the Pious Union of St Joseph.

[flipbook pdf=”https://www.piousunionofstjoseph.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/naath_v31n2.pdf”]

The Pious Union of St. Joseph publishes a bi-monthly pastoral magazine, The Voice of Providence, which fosters devotion to St. Joseph and News of the Guanellian Family. Words of encouragement and support for people encountering suffering and death are illuminated by the charism, spirit and mission of Blessed Louis Guanella. Stories proceeding from the heart of his mission of charity and his Congregations

You can read Magazine here :

[flipbook pdf=”https://www.piousunionofstjoseph.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/book4.pdf”]

The Pious Union of St. Joseph publishes a bi-monthly pastoral magazine, The Voice of Providence, which fosters devotion to St. Joseph and News of the Guanellian Family. Words of encouragement and support for people encountering suffering and death are illuminated by the charism, spirit and mission of Blessed Louis Guanella. Stories proceeding from the heart of his mission of charity and his Congregations: the Servants of Charity, Daughters of St. Mary of Providence, Guanellian Cooperators and the Pious Union of St Joseph.

 

[flipbook pdf=”https://www.piousunionofstjoseph.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/book4.pdf”]