St. Joseph Feast Day Changes

Take note of the changes below:

Condolences

The parish of St. Joseph/ Mt. D'or extends condolences to the parish and family of the late Fr. Reginald Hezekiah, past parish priest of Tunapuna.
Eternal rest grant upon him O Lord, May he rest in peace. Amen

Mark your Calendars!

The Solemnity of the Annunciation

Mary, in her selflessness, opened herself to the grace of God through the archangel Gabriel because through her faith, she knew that it was a divine message from God. She listened, received and responded and in so doing, she shows us the way to respond to God's call in our own lives. God desires to have a relationship with each one of us and we are therefore invited to surrender ourselves to the holy will of God by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour not just once but daily.
March 25 is normally the date when we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. However, due to the calendar this year, since this Solemnity clashed with Good Friday, preference was given to Good Friday, leaving today (the first open day outside the octave of Easter) free to celebrate the Solemnity.

The full meaning of Mary's cooperation in God's plan has inspired some of the most profound reflection in the Christian tradition. As well it should. She freely chose to say YES. Our first reading at Mass today is taken from the messianic Prophet Isaiah, and places the event within the fulfillment of God's plan and the answer to His promise to Israel. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us!" (Isaiah 7). 

 The encounter between Mary and the Angel opens up the meaning of our own lives, by shedding light on our call to participate in God's loving plan. In the midst of all of the challenges we face as Catholic Christians in a Culture which has forgotten God, we are invited to celebrate God's loving plan - and to remember the great liberating promise of the Gospel is intended for all men and women. We are the bearers of Good News in an age of bad news.

The little Virgin of Nazareth teaches us how to live our Christian life. When the Angel of the Lord appeared, bearing the message and calling her to a special mission, she said "YES."  We must say "Yes" as well and believe that "nothing is impossible with God." 

Let's consider her response to the message: "I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be to me according to your Word."  It is in these words that we can discover the heart of every Christian vocation.

Mary´s "Yes" is called the Fiat:  in Latin, "Let it be done." Mary´s Fiat was spoken from a heart filled with love for God. In a Biblical context, "heart" is a word that means much more than the fleshy organ at the center of our chest cavity. It refers to our center, the core of each of us, the place where our deepest identity is rooted, and from which our fundamental choices about life are made.

Mary´s words proceeded from her humble, surrendered heart. This young woman was not full of herself, not self-protective, not cynical; she was emptied, in order to be filled. She was therefore able to completely surrender herself in love, to Love, and be filled with His Life for others. 

The encounter between Mary and the Angel opens up the meaning of our own lives, by shedding light on our call to participate in God's loving plan.

 

Divine Mercy Sunday

O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, we trust in you!

Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, a day which Pope John Paul II (Now Saint John Paul II) declared when he canonized Sr. Faustina a saint. 

In his writings on Mercy, Pope John Paul described Divine Mercy as he answer to the world's problems and the message of the third millennium. When he canonized Sr. Marie Faustina Kowalska, the nun associated to the with the message of the Divine Mercy, he did it in Rome and not in Poland where Sr. Faustina was originally from because he knew that the Divine Mercy was for the whole world. When Pope John declared this day a feast day, he described it as "the happiest day of my life".

Today, the Divine Mercy is given as a gift for salvation for the whole world.

Jesus Christ himself appeared to Sr. Faustina as in the image above and instructed her to paint this image. The image denotes two rays shining from him heart which symbolizes the blood and water gushing from his heart onto the whole world for salvation. 

May the Divine Mercy of Christ make us more like him. 

Happy Easter

EASTER BLESSINGS TO ALL FROM THE ST. JOSEPH/MT. D'OR PARISH COMMUNITY.

Easter Triduum: Day 3

The hours are counting down when the tomb will open and life will re-enter the body of Jesus. One of the many purposes of Jesus' death was so that he would descend to Hades to free the souls and reopen the gates of heaven, after they were closed when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Here, we have full evidence that Jesus' death had purpose. Now, this is day when we count down the hours to his resurrection.
Our liturgy tonight will bring to a close the Easter Triduum which began on Holy Thursday evening with the Lord's Supper. As you may have recalled, there was no final blessing on the Holy Thursday and Good Friday liturgies. There will be a final blessing at the end of this liturgy. The liturgy is divided into four (4) sections:

1. The Service of Light: This is where we will light the pascal candle for the first time and that light will spread to the faithful present where we will reflect on Jesus as the 'Light of the World'. 
2. The Liturgy of the Word: This is where we will listen to all the marvels of God and what he has done for his people since the beginning of time. 
3. The Liturgy of Baptism: As we are reborn into the newness of Christ through his resurrection, we also take the opportunity to renew our baptismal promises. This year, our parish will not have any baptisms since our RCIA programme has now adapted a two (2) year period, so we will have baptisms next Easter.
4. The Liturgy of the Eucharist: Now that Christ has conquered death and is now alive, we enjoy his presence which he gives to us every week through the Holy Eucharist. That is why we eat of Christ, The Resurrected on this night. Here we bring to an end our three day mass.

In St. Joseph, we will celebrate our Easter Vigil at 8PM. Please remember to walk with your candles.