ST. JOSEPH PARISH
EMAIL NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2010


WHAT IS A SACRAMENT? Since we are exploring sacraments in greater detail in our WhyCatholic? Program, I thought I would write a little about the definition of a sacrament. Some of you reading this newsletter will be of a certain age to remember the Baltimore Catechism. We first learned our religion with this catechism, which was a series of questions and answers that we memorized. There were some very good definitions in this book, including the one for a sacrament. According to this catechism, a sacrament is an ‘outward sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace.’ What is a sign? A sign is something that points to a greater reality. A good example is the American flag. Our flag is more than a stars and stripes, but is a reflection and a reminder of all we stand for and have fought for. Volumes could be written about the flag. We believe that God’s grace is mediated to us through the things of the world, just as the flag, made out of things of the earth, mediates faith in our country to us. Each sacrament has an outward sign: water for baptism, bread and wine for mass, oil for the anointing of the sick, and so on. Even after it is consecrated, the bread still looks like bread, tastes like bread, fells like bread, but is the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. The bread and wine both point to, and actually are, what they symbolize. What is ‘instituted by Christ?’ Sacraments are what God wants for us to guide us on our way, to strengthen us, to encourage us, to forgive us, so we can live a peaceful, faith filled life now, and be with him forever. Although it may be difficult to trace all 7 sacraments specifically to the gospels and to an intent by Jesus to authorize them, we feel that the Holy Spirit guides and nourishes the church, and through that, we learn what God wants for us. What is ‘to give grace?’ The purpose of all sacraments is to give grace, that is, to put us in touch with the living and loving God. You may remember a time(s) when you went to confession, or attended mass, for example, when God touched your heart and moved you in some way. That is God’s grace mediated through the sacrament. If you would like to learn more, I suggest you join a WhyCatholic? Group.


CHRISTIAN SERVICE COMMITTEE. Do you like to help others? Do you want to make a difference in someone’s life? The Christian Service Committee is looking for a few new faces! Our main projects throughout the year include the CROP Walk, Thanksgiving Baskets, Nursing Home holiday gifts, and the Giving Tree Christmas gift collection. We meet about 10 times a year, with fall being the busiest time of the year. We’d love to have you join our group! If interested, please contact Lois Moeller at 973-696-4049. Share the good feeling of fulfillment we experience! The next committee meeting will be Monday, October 18th at 7:30 pm in room 10. All are invited and very much welcome to join us.


STRENGTHENING YOUR MARRIAGE. There are a lot of stresses on marriage and it’s difficult to maintain a good marriage because people are so busy. It seems like we barely have time to do everything we need to do. So, doing something to bolster your marriage seems too time consuming, even if it is valuable and necessary. There is something easy you can do – pray together, if only for a few minutes a day. Ask for God’s blessing on your marriage and to reveal His will for you in your life and in your marriage. Prayer helps us put things in perspective and reminds us that God will be with us that day, no matter what happens. Whatever God brings us to, he will get us through. I would also suggest a website, foryourmarriage.org. There are articles about dating, the empty nest, church teachings, careers, and many more marriage issues. There is also a newsletter you can subscribe to. It is a good site that can help strengthen your marriage.

MARRIAGE PRAYER
(Adapted from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers, p. 260):

Almighty and eternal God,
you have so exalted the unbreakable bond of marriage
that it has become the sacramental sign
of your Son’s union with the Church as his spouse.
Look with favor on us
whom you have united in marriage,
as we ask for your help
and the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We pray that in good times and in bad
we will grow in love for each other;
that we will resolve to be of one heart
in the bond of peace.
Lord, in our struggles let us rejoice
that you are near to help us;
in our needs let us know
that you are there to rescue us;
in our joys let us see
that you are the source and completion of every happiness.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.


STRAIGHT AND NARROW. We are very happy to welcome the Gospel Choir from Straight and Narrow to our 12 noon Mass on Sunday, October 10th. They are terrific singers as well as wonderful and faith filled people struggling with addiction. I hope you can join us for Mass and lunch afterwards in Halloran Hall where you will get a chance to talk with the choir. We will be doing a second collection to assist them, so if you can’t be there and would like to help, you can either donate money or toiletries. We are looking for shampoo, deodorant, razors, shaving cream, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss and body wash. Due to the high alcohol content, please do not include mouthwash or aftershave.

THREE TREES. Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, 'Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.'

Then the second tree said, 'Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.'

Finally the third tree said, 'I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the Hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.'
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, 'This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter’, and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, 'This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.' The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the Woodsmen said, 'I don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this one,' and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree.

The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said 'Peace' and the Storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

May your day be blessed. And until we meet again, may God cradle you in the palm of His hand.


WOMEN’S CORNERSTONE RETREAT 2010. Cornerstone is a friendly gathering of women who participate in a renewal process to deepen their faith and relationship with God. The team is made up of women who have experienced Cornerstone on the past. Both team members and candidates come from Our Lady of Good Counsel and St. Joseph’s Churches. Team members will share their faith through talks and will assist with liturgy, decorations, meals, etc. The retreat begins on Friday, November 12th at 7:00 pm at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Pompton Plains and ends Saturday, November 13th following a 6:30 pm Mass and reception. During the weekend, there will be an opportunity for sharing, time for reflection and prayer, as well as small group discussions. No one is forced to participate, but it is requested that you remain open to the Holy Spirit as you experience the program. Comments from women about Cornerstone: “It reminded me of the power of women. Sharing with other women was a wonderful experience. Brought me to a spiritual place that has been missing in my life. This experience reminded me to use the gifts that God gave me to help others. Reminded me that I don’t have to be in control – God is in control. Gave me some peace.” Cornerstone applications will be in the vestibule of Church. Please register before October 31st because only 24 women can be accommodated. If there are any questions, call Jeannine Missbrenner @ 973-835-0508, Jackie Hahn @ 973-248-1884, Gerri Westdyk @ 973-839-2140, or Bonnie Ann McLain @ 973-628-1367. Dress is casual. The atmosphere is prayerful and relaxed and the camaraderie is wonderful. All women are invited to experience a weekend of sharing and community with other women. This is an extraordinary opportunity to discover the bounty of God’s gifts for you!

CROP WALK. The Crop Walk will be held on October 24th beginning with registration in Halloran Hall 1:30 pm and then a 3 mile walk (approximately) around town. Most of the Churches (Catholic and Protestant) from Boonton to Lincoln Park to Kinnelon participate. This walk has been around over 20 years and has raised over $250,000.00 in that time to assist in feeding the hungry. I certainly plan to participate. We will need walkers, sponsors, and bakers. More information to follow in the bulletin.

DAILY FORGIVENESS. I once visited on online greeting card website to send an electronic anniversary card to some friends. As I was glancing through the website's menu of choices, I noticed they had a separate category of cards devoted to "Forgiveness." Most of these cards were humorous ones intended to be used for relatively minor hurts. "Forget about it," "Don't worry about it" were the sentiments of two cards. Another expressed forgiveness by saying, “Everybody is a work in progress."

Curiously, forgiveness cards were categorized right along with birthday and get well cards. That is, they were what could be called "occasional cards." You don't send a "Get Well" card just any old time, but occasionally you need such a sentiment and that's when you purchase and send just such a card. So also you may not need a forgiveness card very often, but once in a while such a thing may be handy.

Seen this way, forgiveness becomes a "now and then" matter. But it is precisely such an understanding of forgiveness that the New Testament calls us to resist. Forgiveness is an ongoing necessity, and so the church will never be done with needing it. Maybe that is why in that most famous of all prayers, the Lord's Prayer, Jesus puts the need to forgive hard on the heels of the request for daily bread. Have you ever thought of that? The request for bread and the plea for

forgiveness are yoked with the word "and." "Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive the sins of others." You say these two petitions in the same breath. Why is that important? Because perhaps it is Jesus' way of telling us that there is a connection between daily bread and forgiveness--we need both every day
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations



FINANCES. Last Sunday I spoke at all the masses during the time for the homily about our finances. I thought I would include something in this edition of the newsletter for those who weren’t at Mass last weekend.

We are doing well financially. Our bills are paid, we made about $29,000 more than we spent, and we have money in the bank. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity. I am glad that all of you are good stewards with your time, talent, and treasure.

We are the only parish I am aware of that does no second collections for themselves. All our second collections go outside the parish. I know of one parish that has 2 collections every weekend, and of another that sometimes has 3 envelopes on a weekend. I know of other parishes that have to do lots of fundraising just to pay their bills. Thank God we don’t need to do any of that.

If you like the way things are going financially, and if you like the fact that I only talk about money once a year, then I ask you to consider increasing your contributions to St. Joseph’s. Seems strange that I am asking for an increase, but I am a little concerned because our collections have been down consistently since the summer started. We are down almost $4,000.00 in the last quarter (7/1-9/30). There are many reasons for that, including people who have moved away, people who have died, unemployment, underemployment, not coming to mass every week and not making up the money, to mention a few.

I don’t want to bring in the tithing company we had a few years ago, or start second collections, or do any more fundraisers, because I know you understand the treasure part of stewardship (we should be able to survive financially on one weekly collection) and because you always respond to a need when asked to do so. As I was writing this, I stopped and increased my own donation to St. Joseph’s using ParishPay, as I promised in my homily. I won’t tell you the amount, because that’s not important. Nor am I going to ask you for a specific dollar amount or a specific percentage contribution, because that’s not important.

What is important is that you prayerfully consider increasing the amount you contribute and to make up for the weeks you aren’t here for Mass. If you can’t afford it, don’t increase the amount you contribute. I don’t want it if you can’t afford it. However, if you can, I would greatly appreciate the extra donations. I say all this because I don’t want to wait until our finances are in a critical stage before I do anything about it.

I sincerely hope that this is the last time I need to ask for money. Again, thank you for your generosity; I am very grateful to all of you for all you do to make this parish the best ever!
May God bless you abundantly.



Fr. Phil