Upcoming Feast of St. Joseph

The Feast of St. Joseph will be celebrated on Sunday 17th March. Many activities are planned for this grand occasion. Procession with the St. Joseph Statue through streets of St. Joseph, Archbishop Harris will celebrate Mass in the Park, followed with a bring and share picnic after the Mass, entertainment and activities for the whole family and presentations by students of schools in our community. With this in mind we are pre-ordering T-Shirts and Polo Shirts. You will be informed of the cost next weekend, however please leave your contact info and the size and type of shirt, so we can estimate how many shirts to order.

Confirmation This Sunday!

This Sunday morning at 11am the Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred on 43 young members of our community by Archbishop Harris. All are invited to pray and support our young members as they take this important step in their faith life.

Pope Benedict XVI's Message on the Feast of the Holy Family

BENEDICT XVI (December 28,  2011)
 “Our continuing catechesis on prayer leads us, during this Christmas season, to reflect on the place of prayer in the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth. In the home of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we learn to contemplate the mystery of God’s presence and to grow as faithful disciples of Christ. The Gospels present Mary as the supreme model of prayerful medition on the mysteries of Christ’s life; in praying the Rosary, in fact, we unite ourselves to her contemplation of those mysteries in faith and hope. Saint Joseph fulfilled his vocation as the father of the Holy Family by teaching Jesus the importance of quiet fidelity to work, prayer and observance of the precepts of the Law. Jesus’ unique relationship with his heavenly Father was reflected in the prayer life of the Holy Family and stands at the heart of all Christian prayer. May the example of the Holy Family inspire all Christian families to be schools of prayer, where parents and children alike come to know that closeness to God which we joyfully celebrate in these days of Christmas.”

The Story of Christmas

Found this cute video produced in New Zealand about children trying to explain how God decided to organized the first Christmas.

Below is the Nativity Story that they performed last year

Hope You all Enjoy & Merry Christmas to all !!!

CCSJ 's Message On Green Living

The Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) of St. Joseph/Mt. D’Or Parish, Trinidad has become one of the newest groups in the parish, taking off successfully in 2012. The group is committed to promoting work which addresses social and environmental justice issues. Social justice issues include a focus on welfare and the poor. Work surrounding environmental justice issues is often overlooked and so the CCSJ appreciated the theme for respect for life week as it provided a platform to show just how the CCSJ incorporates environmental justice issues in its mission. This is in keeping with Catholic Social Teaching which encourages us to be stewards of God's creation with love and wisdom. The central message of Catholic Social Teaching on the environment is that mankind was commissioned by God to act as steward for the earth's resources, and guardian of God's "creative work".

The Catholic Church has been communicating its position on environmental conservation through some major global forums and through the work of different groups and organisations in the Church throughout the world. The late Pope John Paul II left us with numerous readings on the subject. He taught that it is man's responsibility to "defend and promote life, to show reverence and love for it is a task which God entrusts to every man, calling him as his living image to share his own lordship over the world ..." (Evangelium Vitae, Section 42 (1995).

The ecological crisis is a moral issue. Environmental and social justice issues cannot be divorced especially in the case of the poor. In the past the Church has taught that "the whole human race suffers as a result of environmental blight, and generations yet unborn will bear the cost for our failure to act today. But in most countries today, including our own, it is the poor and the powerless that most directly bear the burden of current environmental carelessness."

As in the case of the poor "their lands and neighborhoods are more likely to be polluted or to host toxic waste dumps, their water to be undrinkable, their children to be harmed". They are "caught in a spiral of poverty and environmental degradation, poor people suffer acutely from the loss of soil fertility, pollution of rivers and urban streets, and the destruction of forest resources. Overcrowding and unequal land distribution often force them to overwork the soil, clear the forests, or migrate to marginal land. Their efforts to eke out a bare existence add in its own way to environmental degradation and not infrequently to disaster for themselves and others who are equally poor."

(These quotes were taken from the Renewing the Earth article which draws on two other articles: An Invitation to Reflection and Action on Environment in Light of Catholic Social Teaching A Pastoral Statement of the United States Catholic Conference
November 14, 1991 and Pope John Paul II, The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility, nos. 1, 15, December 8, 1989)

Pope John Paul II further added that, man has been called to "till and look after the 

garden of the world (cf. Gen 215) [therefore] man has a specific responsibility towards the environment in which he lives, towards the creation which God has put at the service of his personal dignity, of his life, not only for the present but also for future generations" (Evangelium Vitae, Section 42 (1995).

Whether poor or not, environmental issues affect our health and in turn our life. This is why we found it fitting to have as part of our activities for Respect for Life Week in October 2012, a lecture on diabetes, a lifestyle disease affecting many. We also held a talk on organic planting that also aimed to send home this message. As stewards, we not only care for the environment and all of God's creation, but we should also show appreciation for the gift of life by trying to live healthy lives. Our speaker, Mr. Nicholas Roberts exemplified the life of a true steward of the environment and has proven to be an inspiration to us all through his two projects on organic home farming/gardening and collection of plastics, bottles and more, for reuse and recycling.  He does composting using garden waste from gardeners in his neighborhood and uses it to grow his organic produce. His garden is a model of how material can be reused to serve as vessels for plants.

In the pursuit of environmental justice, this kind of action should be encouraged and supported. Pope John Paul II says it best in his Liturgy of the word celebrated in Zamosc, Poland on June 12, 1999: "Only those who till the land can really testify that the barren earth does not produce fruit, but when cared for lovingly it is a generous provider".

The Catholic Committee for Social Justice, St. Joseph/Mt. D’Or Parish, St. Joseph, Trinidad, would like to share this message to encourage Catholic green living for environmental justice. Please receive this message with and open heart and an open mind and let us pray towards greater environmental justice in the world today.

Writer

Juliana Sherma Foster

Announcements

4^thSunday of Advent Year C – December 23, 2012

1.      Contributions for the Archbishop’s Appeal – Cathedral Restoration Fund continues. Persons or families desirous of contributing to the fund on a monthly basisare reminded to use the specially marked envelopes and place in the collection basket.

2.      The collections for Christmas and Easter at all parishes in the Archdiocese of Port of Spain are pooled together in a common fund called ‘Clergy Pool’. It is from this pool priests and administrators serving in the rural, urban and city parishes receive a monthly stipend of 2100 TT. So please use the specially marked envelopes and please give generously.

3.      We invite all who hold the leases for the plots in the Catholic Cemeterys in St. Joseph to present themseves (with said leases and ID documents) in the Parish Office between 14^th of January and 17^th of May 2013 in order to review the leases and to be informed about policy regarding the upkeep of the parish cemeteries.

The consequence of not applaing with this request is termination of the lease.

4.      The 2013 Catholic Almanacs are on sale at the Catholic News Stand and cost $3.00.

Schedule of Masses For Christmas & New Years

Masses during the Holy Time of Christmas 2012:

24^th Dec (Mon.).: Christmas Eve: 6.00 PM – St. Jude Chapel, Mt. D’or.

25^th Dec (Tue).: Christmas: 0.00 AM (Midnight Mass) and 8.30 AM – St, Joseph RC Church

26^th Dec (Wed.).: St. Stephen (Boxing Day): 7.00 AM – St. Joseph RC Church

27^th Dec (Thr.).: St. John: 7.00 AM - St. Joseph RC Church (blessing of the wine)

28^th Dec (Fri.).: Holy Innocents: 7.00 AM and 6.00 PM – St. Joseph RC Church (blessing of the children)

29^th Dec (Sat.).: Vigil of the Holy Family: 5.00 PM – St. Jude Chapel and 6.30 PM – St. Joseph RC Church

30^th Dec (Sun.).: Holy Family: 6.00 AM and 8.30 AM – St. Joseph RC Church

31^st Dec.: New Year Eve: 6.00 PM – St. Jude Chapel, Mt. D’or

1^st Jan. 2012: New Year’s Day: 0.00 AM and 8.30 AM - St. Joseph RC Church