October: Month of the Holy Rosary!

October is a few days away and it is also a month that is solely dedicated to the Holy Rosary. The Holy Rosary is a very powerful form of prayer. St. Francis de Sales says "The Greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary". A famous exorcist priest in Rome, Fr. Gabriele Amorth said during an exorcism, it was revealed that Satan himself yelled out that every 'Hail Mary' that is said with faith, it feels like a hammer pounding his head. Now that we understand the magnitude of the Holy Rosary, let us give respect where respect is due. 

Throughout all the weekdays in October beginning Friday the 4th and ending on the 31st, each day within that time frame, there will be a particular reflection on the decade of the day that is posted here on the Parish Blog Spot and on the Parish Facebook Page. The official schedule is posted below. Also, October is a very significant month in our parish calendar; the Feast of St. Jude is celebrated on the 28th. As such, 9 days leading up to the feast day, the Parish Blog/Facebook page will also include the novena prayer for that day in addition to the rosary reflection. Join us as we pray the Holy Rosary together and honour a great Saint.

THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES
Friday 4th: The Annunciation
Monday 7th: The Visitation
Tuesday 8th: The Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ
Wednesday 9th: The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple
Thursday 10th: The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

THE LUMINOUS MYSTERIES
Friday 11th: The Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan
Monday 14th: Jesus' Self-Manifestation in the Wedding Feast of Cana
Tuesday 15th: The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
Wednesday 16th: The Transfiguration
Thursday 17th: The Institution of the Holy Eucharist

THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES
Friday 18th: The Agony in the Garden
Monday 21st: The Scourging at the Pillar
Tuesday 22nd: Jesus is crowned with thorns
Wednesday 23rd: Jesus carries the cross
Thursday 24th: Jesus dies on the cross

THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
Friday 25th: The Resurrection
Monday 28th: The Ascension
Tuesday 29th: The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles
Wednesday 30th: The Assumption
Thursday 31st: The Coronation of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven

Jesus Explosion: Revival Recap!

The Jesus Explosion Revival 2013 took place last Sunday at its normal venue, Preysal High School, Couva, and as usual, it did not disappoint! The day kicked off with Holy Mass with Fr. Ian Taylor and joyful singing done by his parish's youths. In Fr. Taylor's homily, he made reference to the popular Siparia devotions and pointed out that there exists 'religious pluralism'. He later made a link with the same Siparia devotions and the 'Madonna Murti' adding that those devotions incorporate both Hindu and Catholic devotions which is deemed 'confusing'.
Following Holy Mass, Fr. Cornelius Phillip from Mt. Lambert parish graced the stage to do an encore talk on repentance, similar to what he spoke about at the JE Weekend in July.
As he ended his talk, he welcomed some newly confirmed youths from his parish to join him on stage to end his segment with song. The group that joined him calls themselves W.O.W. which stands for 'Wonders of Worship'.
In the second half of the day's programme, following the lunch interval, the San Raphael and Preysal youths merged with G.R.A.C.E. Music Ministries for their praise and worship session and they were joined by the W.O.W. youths.

Sr. Janet Chinnia presented the afternoon's first talk taken from Acts 19:2, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" Her talk focused on receiving the Spirit of God in a personal way. Subsequent to her empowering talk, the Holy Spirit Invocation was next and at this point all youth and young adults were invited on stage to be prayed with and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Fr. John Theodore, was on deck to deliver the final talk of the night which was solely based on the Eucharist since his talk was followed by the Ministry with the Blessed Sacrament. In his talk, he emphasized that the Eucharist is 'the bread of life' and 'if Jesus is the Bread of Life we must feed on him.  That means, we must come to Holy Mass all the time since the Holy Eucharist satisfies all the time.' Before he ended his talk, it would not be fitting if Fr. John did not mentioned Mary. As such, he ended by saying that 'Mary is the remedy of all our miseries'.

Ministry with the Blessed Sacrament closed the day's festivities and this session gives everyone a personal moment with Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament.
The curtains have closed on another Jesus Explosion. See you guys next year!

Memorial of Padre Pio

Padre Pio, also known as St. Pius of Pietrelcina, was a priest in Italy who is now venerated as a saint in the church. Padre Pio is well known to have received the stigmata. On June 16, 2000, he was canonized by Pope John Paul II (now Blessed John Paul).
The stigmata on Padre Pio’s hands and feet became visible and a wound in his side bled for the rest of his life.

There is so much to learn about the great Padre Pio so below is a list of his admirable ministries and gifts from God.

Early life and the Stigmata
Born of agricultural worker parents in the village of Pietrelcina, northeast of Naples, He joined the Capuchins, taking the name Pius and was ordained a priest in 1910. He began to experience pains and what he called “invisible stigmata”. During military service in World War I, he was sent on convalescent leave. In 1918 he contracted double pneumonia and was sent to a monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo, near Foggia, where he stayed for the rest of his life.
The stigmata on his hands and feet became visible and a wound in his side bled for the rest of his life. The Capuchins made no attempt to hide his condition. The Vatican had him examined and he had to say Mass in private for a number of years.

At San Giovanni Rotondo
People for whom he prayed left donations. A new hospital complex was built and the place became a centre of pilgrimage and healing.

Bilocation
A story of his being in two places at the one time is told by his superior, Padre Carmelo da Sassano. There was  a concert one evening in the monastery. During the intermission Padre Pio folded his arms on a chair in front of him and rested his head. No one disturbed him and when the intermission was over Padre Pio sat upright and gave his attention to the rest of the performance.
Next day Padre Carmelo called to see a sick villager. He found the patient fully recovered and the family delighted as Padre Pio, they said, had visited them the night before. Padre Carmelo said that wasn’t possible, as Padre Pio had been at the concert. But the family insisted he had come and when asked at what time, Padre Carmelo recognised it was at the time of the intermission.

Confession
Penitents came from all over the world to confess to Padre Pio. It wasn’t always a comfortable experience. Sometimes he would reveal hidden sins to them. And if he discerned that someone was not sincerely repentant, he would shout out at them to leave the confessional. This usually provoked a crisis for the penitent, who would later return to Padre Pio with true repentance.

His Death
On the fiftieth anniversary of the day he received the stigmata, while Padre Pio was saying Mass, people in the congregation noticed that the stigmata had vanished. He died the next day.

Praise from Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1999 and canonised him in 2002. He praised, not the “gifts” of Padre Pio, but “how he poured his charity like balm on the sufferings of his brothers and sisters.”

Parish Notices for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1. Preparation for First Communion and Confirmation has resumed. We would like to pray for our catechists and young friends who participate in these programmes. This year, there are many children participating in these classes. As such, we need more catechists.  So those who were recently confirmed and would like to assist as catechists by making the meetings more attractive and reaching every child individually. If you are interested in please contact Father or Deacon Jeffrey.
2. We would like to remind you about our need for the psychologists who would join our counselling programme. This is much needed service and so we need more people to assist in this important programme.
3. During our Pastoral Council meeting we discussed another way in which we can serve our society here in St. Joseph. We would like to organize legal aid assistance. So we are inviting the lawyers of our community if they would like to help us, by giving advice and help in the field of law.
4. Our brothers & sisters from St. Saviour Anglican have organized another charity programme – medical help. They are looking for the help of nurses and doctors. We would like to recommend this way of service and building better ecumenical relationships. Please contact Father if you would like to know more.
5. Remembering our loved ones! A reminder about our November tradition of Masses for our deceased brothers and sisters, Longing for the day once again when we will be together.  We shall pray for and with them for the mercy of God to be with all of us. The best thing we can do is to offer the mass. Envelopes for the November masses for Dead can be collected on the ‘catholic news’ stand.
6. We have received our new baptism font. We are trying to make our church more beautiful. Little by little, we are trying to restore the interior of our church. So if you have any old photographs of the church, particularly the interior of the church, we would like to borrow it, so that we may put everything back to its original place. 

Blessings to ALL our parishioners this week!

Feast of St. Matthew

Today (September 21st), the church celebrates one of the twelve apostles and the author of the very first Gospel, St. Matthew. He was a tax collector and a native Jew and then later called by Jesus to be one of the four evangelist. Today, St. Matthew is known as the Patron Saint for Accountants and Bankers.

God of mercy, You chose a tax collector, St. Matthew, to share the dignity of the apostles. By his example and prayers, help us to follow Christ and remain faithful in Your service. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

St. Matthew, Pray for Us!

Presenting His Lordship Bishop Llanos

Back in July, The Holy Father elected our very own Msgr. Robert Llanos to be the new Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain. On Saturday, September 14th of September, all was made official when he was ordained before his fellow brother priests, the neighbouring bishops of the A.E.C., the clergy and the laity. That day was also a significant day in the Catholic church, since it was the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross so it was quite appropriate to have the ordination fall on that day. The special mass took place at Our Lady of Fatima, Curepe at 9AM.

So many are wondering what is the role of an Auxiliary Bishop. The Auxiliary Bishop is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop requests some assistance in the administration of the Archdiocese since the diocese is so extensive that it requires the labour of more than one bishop to administer the needs of the church. 

When Archbishop Harris was appointed , he was appointed Coadjutor of the diocese, this time around, Bishop Llanos holds the title of being the Auxiliary Bishop. The primary difference is that the Coadjutor has the Rite of Succession. This means that when Archbishop Gilbert left, Archbishop Harris immediately became the new leader of the local church. The Auxiliary, on the other hand, does not have the Rite of Succession. As such when Archbishop Harris resigns as the Archbishop of POS, Bishop Llanos may not automatically be entitled to that position. In a press conference back in July, when His Grace made the public announcement of the New Auxiliary-elect, he clearly stated that "When he leaves, another scrutiny will be done to decide who will be Archbishop." However, Archbishop Harris is being hopeful adding that the possibility is high for Bishop Llanos to take the position when that time comes. 

THE PARISH OF ST.JOSEPH/MT.D'OR WISHES TO CONGRATULATE THE MOST REV. ROBERT LLANOS ON BEING ORDAINED THE NEW AUXILIARY BISHOP. MAY GOD BLESS HIM.

Jesus Explosion Revival: This Weekend!