Email Newsletter August 2010

ST JOSEPH PARISH

EMAIL NEWSLETTER

AUGUST 2010

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

If I had to pick one reason why people fail to accomplish their goals, it’s because they don’t believe in themselves. I think believing in yourself is more important than talent, or opportunity, or money, or anything else. Many things in life, such as a poor educational system, poor parenting, or poor neighborhoods can be overcome, as has been shown many times. Failure to believe in oneself is one obstacle that cannot be overcome without a drastic change in attitude, not matter what advantages are handed to you.

There is a young man who plays center field for the Atlanta Braves named Rick Ankiel who began his professional baseball career pitching in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He was an excellent pitcher, and was dubbed a ‘prospect’, which means the club had high hopes for him to make it big pitching in the major leagues.

As luck would have it, he made the major league club one spring and he was pitching great, and one day he just lost it. No one knows how or why, but all of a sudden he couldn’t get the ball anywhere near the plate. The catcher had trouble even reaching some of his pitches, and he threw several wild pitches that went all the way to the backstop. All of a sudden his pitching career was over.

What Rick did at this point is just amazing. He would not give up his baseball dream. He went back down to the lowest level of the minor leagues, and totally remade himself. Through hard work and belief in himself he made himself into an excellent hitter and fielder, and eventually made it back to the major leagues.

I believe the main reason he made it all the way back was not because of talent or opportunity, it is because he believed in himself and wanted to make it back.

What a great inspirational story for all of you struggling in life, and especially for all you kids. Don’t give up on your dreams. Work hard, have fun, be kind, forgive others, and believe in God. After all, God believes in you and loves you very much. He believes in you and loves you so much he sent his Son to suffer, die, and rise, so you might not perish but might have eternal life. If God believes in you that much, shouldn’t you believe in yourself?

HOW WEALTHY ARE WE?

From the standpoint of material wealth, we Americans have difficult
realizing how rich we are. Robert Heilbroner, who has written dozens
of books on the subject of the economy, suggest that we go through a
little mental exercise that will help us count our blessings. Imagine
doing the following, and you will see how daily life is for more than
a billion people in the world.

1. Take out all the furniture in your home except for one table and a
couple of chairs. Use blanket and pads for beds.

2. Take away all of your clothing except for your oldest dress or
suit, shirt or blouse. Leave only one pair of shoes.

3. Empty the pantry and the refrigerator except for a small bag of
flour, some sugar and salt, a few potatoes, some onions, and a dish
of dried beans.

4. Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, and remove all
the electrical wiring in your house.

5. Take away the house itself and move the family into the tool shed.

6. Place your "house" in a shantytown.

7. Cancel all subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and book clubs.
This is no great loss because now none of you can read anyway.

8. Leave only one radio for the whole shantytown.

9. Move the nearest hospital or clinic ten miles away and put a
midwife in charge instead of a doctor.

10. Throw away your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, and
insurance policies. Leave the family a cash hoard of ten dollars.

11. Give the head of the family a few acres to cultivate on which he
can raise a few hundred dollars of cash crops, of which one third
will go to the landlord and one tenth to the money lenders.

12. Lop off twenty-five or more years in life expectancy.

By comparison how rich we are! And with our wealth comes
responsibility. We should use it wisely, not be wasteful, and help
others.

GENTLE THOUGHTS FOR TODAY

A penny saved is a government oversight.

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.

The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.

Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words 'The' and 'IRS' together it spells 'Theirs...'

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, think of Algebra.

RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS

Or RCIA for short is a program for those people who would like to become full members of the Catholic Church. There are three groups of people who would be in this program; 1) baptized Catholics, who, for whatever reason, never received the sacraments of Eucharist and/or Confirmation; 2) Christians of other faith traditions who would like to convert to Catholicism; and 3) unbaptized people.

RCIA is a program of faith sharing and community building that begins in September and ends with the reception of the sacraments at the Easter Vigil, which is April 23rd of next year. They meet on Wednesday evenings to learn about the catholic faith and on Sunday during the 10 am mass for scripture sharing.

Some of you reading this newsletter may have never received confirmation as a teenager. You may be an active member, or only a part time participant. This is an opportunity for you to be updated on your faith, and a time of grace and blessing as you grow in your faith. If you have not received this sacrament, I strongly urge you to consider this program.

The other 2 categories of people in this program are not with us on Sundays, for obvious reasons. How are they to know about this program? You can tell them! How exciting? What a great way to live out the Great Commission given by Jesus just prior to his ascension to baptize, evangelize, and teach. And it is so easy. All you need do is tell someone about this program, and encourage them to attend. If they are interested, have them call Linda Boyle at (973) 696-1164.

BLOGSPOT

We now have a parish "blogspot" on the Internet. I will be using it for the bible studies and the newsletters for now, and anything else that may come up in the future. There are people who search the Internet for things like this, and it is a natural and easy way to reach out to them. It is also a way to archive these 2 writings, so they are available down the road or if you want to share them with anyone (please feel free to share this blog with anyone at any time). You can get to the blog through our website: go to www.stjosephsonline.org, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on ‘Parish Web Blog’ or go directly to the blog at www.stjoelp.blogspot.com.

IMMIGRATION

Due to the recent controversy concerning the immigration laws in Arizona, many of you may be wondering about the Church’s stance on immigration. While it is a difficult and complex issue, the following News Release dated July 29, 2010 from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops may help explain the church’s stance on this issue:

USCCB Migration Chairman Lauds Court Decision Regarding Arizona SB 1070, Urges Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

WASHINGTON— As chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration, Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City applauded the July 28 decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton to halt some of the most controversial provisions of Arizona SB 1070 from going into effect the next day. Bishop Wester lamented the status quo on immigration as “unacceptable” and called for the Federal government to act immediately on immigration reform.

"It is the right decision,” Bishop Wester said. “Any law that provides legal cover to profiling affects all members of our communities, including legal residents and citizens. It is a very slippery slope. What is needed now is for Congress and the Administration to live up to their responsibilities and address this issue by passing immigration reform."

The U.S. Catholic bishops believe that any comprehensive immigration reform bill should contain the following elements: a legalization program that gives migrant workers and their families an opportunity to earn legal permanent residency and eventual citizenship; a new worker visa program that protects the labor rights of both U.S. and foreign workers and gives participants the option to earn permanent residency; reform of the U.S. family-based immigration system to reduce waiting times for family reunification; and restoration of due process protections for immigrants, including asylum-seekers. In the longer term, policies that address the root causes of migration, such as the lack of sustainable development in sending nations, should also be part of the equation.

The Bishops website is comprehensive and has a wealth of information on almost any topic affecting church life. Their website is: http://www.usccb.org/.

USED FURNITURE

The Father English Center will pick up used furniture, baby furniture or baby items such as strollers, cribs, etc. Call Carlos or Maritza at (973) 881-0127 between 8:30 and 9:00 am or 1:30 and 4pm to make a pick up reservation.

USED CLOTHING

You are all familiar with Straight and Narrow, the drug and alcohol rehab center in Paterson. They take donations of both men’s and women’s clothes. Many of their clients come directly from jail and have only the clothes on their back. Since they have no source of income, how are they to buy clothes? Donations of dress clothes are also important: when they are nearing the end of their stay, the clients need to dress nice for job interviews. If you would like to donate, please call Fr. Phil at the rectory, and he will bring the clothes to Paterson for you.

BLOOD DRIVE

SJP will be holding a blood drive in cooperation with Community Blood
Services on Sunday, August 15th from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm in Halloran Hall.

The facts speak for themselves:

Every 2.5 seconds someone needs blood.

Less than 5% of the population donates blood yet 70% will receive a
transfusion sometime in their lives.

Each year nearly 4 million Americans would die without life-saving
blood.

Donating blood is one of the best ways people can help. It must be
done all year, not just when tragedy strikes.

Donor Guidelines: Bring ID with signature; weight over 100 lbs; general
Good health.

There is a cholesterol screening done with every blood donation. For
more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact Lorraine
Thierry @ 973.696.4411.

WON’T YOU HELP SAVE A LIFE BY
TAKING TIME TO GIVE BLOOD?

FOR PET LOVERS

Lucky Dog....

Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like it even if you don't and you may even decide you need one!

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.' Lucky was a real character.

Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.

Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease......in fact; she was just sure it was fatal.

She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her....what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through.

If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him! The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.

Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap.

Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned!

While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life.

He had covered her with his love.

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky. He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Remember....live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget.... the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.

If you see someone without a smile today give them one of yours! Live simply. Love seriously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

A small request

All you are asked to do is keep this prayer circulating, even if it is only to one more person, in memory of anyone you know that has been struck down by cancer or is still fighting their battle.

Dear God, I pray for the cure of cancer. Amen.

May God bless all of you in abundance for all you do to build up our parish and to spread our faith.


Fr. Phil