Parish Notices for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

1. We wish everything good to our young friends who have received the first communion today. May god bless them, and they remain open for his presence and graces.
2. Today we have a cake sale for the installation of the air-condition in St. Jude’s Chapel in Mt. D’or. Please enjoy lovely baking and contribute towards the upgrading of our buildings.
3. The St. Joseph/Mt. D' Or Social Justice Group invites all to observe Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day by attending a Parenting Skills workshop on Sunday 22nd June, after the 8.30 am Mass in the parish hall. The presenter is Marina Torres, a Development and Education Specialist and member of the parish. This will be followed by light refreshments.
4. The Solemnity of Corpus Christi is on Thursday 19thJune. Celebration of Holy Mass at 8.30am followed by a procession through the streets of St. Joseph with the Blessed Sacrament and ends with Benediction in the Church. Holy Mass will also be celebrated Wednesday 18th June @ 6.30pm, the eve of the Solemnity.
5. The Masses in the coming days will be celebrated: On Monday and Tuesday at 6 am. On Wednesday at 6.30 pm, On Thursday of the Corpus Christi at 8.30 am. On Friday at 7 am.
6. The next meeting of the parish council will take place on Monday 23rd of June. If you have any new ideas, things to discuss, please share them with the members of the council.
7. The new date for the 5K Run & Walk is Sunday 6th July. And the new starting point will be at the St. Charles Borromeo R.C. Church beginning at 6AM and ends at the WASA Grounds where the Suburban Vicariate Sports Day will be held. Registration exercise is ongoing and the cost of registration is still $40.00.

 Blessings to ALL our parishioners this week!

2014 Confirmation Photos

On Sunday June 8th (Pentecost Sunday), 45 Candidates from the St. Joseph/Mt. D'or Parish Community received the Sacrament of Confirmation. Bishop Robert Llanos served as both Chief Celebrant & Homilist with parish priest Fr. Karol Wielgosz con-celebrating and Deacon Jeffrey Supersad. HERE are some pictures that were taken during this special mass.Congratulations to the newly confirmed. May the Holy Spirit bless and strengthen your lives.

Parish Notices for the Solemnity of Pentecost

1. The next Our Lady of Fatima, Laventille Devotions is on Sunday 8^th June, 2014. Interested persons who would like to attend, please added you name to the Devotions list located at the Catholic News stand. Cost of transportation is $25.00. 
2. The Sacrament of Confirmation will be administered to young members of our parish tomorrow (today)  Sunday 8^th June @ 11am. We pray that God will bless them as they make this significant step in their spiritual lives. Members of our community are all invited. 
3. On the next Sunday, 15^th of June, we will have a cake sale for the airconditioning of St. jude’s Chapel in Mt/ D’or. Please support this our undetaking … and enjoy the art of baking of our parishoners. 
4. The Solemnity of Corpus Christi is on Thursday 19^thJune. Celebration of Holy Mass at 8.30am followed by a procession through the streets of St. Joseph with the Blessed Sacrament and ends with Benediction in the Church. All are invited. Holy Mass will also be celebrated Wednesday 18^th June @ 6.30pm, the eve of the Solemnity. 
5. Great News. The 5K Run & Walk is back on! The new date – Sunday 6^th July. The new starting point will be at the St. Charles Borromeo R.C. Church beginning at 6AM and ends at the WASA Grounds where the Suburban Vicariate Sports Day will be held, immediately following the race. All are invited! Cost of registration is still $40.00. Please register early.

Blessings to ALL our parishioners this week!  

A Day of Prayer for Christian Unity

A Day of prayer for Christian Unity takes place tomorrow evening (Friday June 6th) and last year the parishes of St. Joseph R.C. and Holy Saviour Anglican hosted a joint celebration which was held at St. Joseph R.C. Church. This year, Holy Saviour Anglican Parish will host the joint event and it will be held at 6PM at their church in Frederick Street, Curepe. Ministers from various Christian denominations will all be present and we look forward to you being part of this wonderful day of unity among of brothers and sisters in Christ. This year's theme focuses on 'Is the Christ divided?' 
Following the event, there will be a special agape!
PS: There will be NO Friday evening mass tomorrow (Friday June 6th) at St. Joseph RC Church.

Synod Recap!

On Sunday, June 1st, The St. Joseph/Mt. D'or Synod Team hosted its first out of three priorities all in the aim to Regenerate our Moral & Spiritual Values in our Society. For this particular priority, the team welcomed the very dynamic and versatile Preysal Prayer Group as they presented on the topic 'Reverence in the Church'. The event started at around 4PM where a powerful Praise & Worship session got the evening underway, which was followed by dialogue done by two young leaders of the group, a skit which focused on the many bad habits of church-goers, an open discussion and ended with a reverence-themed calypso and praise and worship.

The group presented to an intimate crowd which was very interactive. The skit, which seemed to have captured many's attention portrayed images that we often see occurring in our churches today and which leaves a bad impression. The Preysal Youths showcased images such as parishioners that are ever so faithful to their seat which they have sat in for years and not wanting to surrender it for the sake of another, young ladies dressing in short skirts, altar servers wearing Mohawks and ear rings (particularly the male altar servers), parishioners chewing gum at church and those that are always on their cell phones. Finally, the one image that had everyone shocked was the image of parishioners wearing jeans to attend masses. Following the skit, the congregation was given the opportunity to ask questions, make comments, and give any form of feedback. One of the most popular comments which was brought forth was the biblical reference made from Joel 2:13 , which reads 'Rend your heart and not your garments'. Many people turn to this particular bible verse for some form of consolation towards their church attire. However, when this bible verse was explained in a thorough manner, what was stated was that 'rend' means 'to tear' and so, whenever one does anything that is offensive to themselves and to God, they would tear their hearts in grief, in other words they are encouraged to make a true confession from the sin they have committed. Another, highlighted point was the notion of people wearing jeans to attend mass. One argued that jeans are not terrible once they are neat, however, many others counter-argued in saying that as long as they are coming to church, they are coming to receive a King and so, they are like princes and princesses. As such, they would dress in that manner and this point seemed to have to agreed with almost everyone. Finally, the point of tattoos and ear rings was mentioned. The bible states in Leviticus 19:28, "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or tattoo yourself, I am the Lord". Even though this was featured in the Old Testament readings and the church is not under the Old Testament principle, it raises eyebrows because it leaves people wondering if this particular bible verse is applicable in our New Testament times. Janet Chinnia, the leader of the Preysal Prayer Group, defended this bible verse in saying that, "Even though this bible verse is under the Old Testament principle, we as Christians should be mindful that our bodies are the temple of God and should be kept in a manner of reverence." She also pointed out that many times, during her ministry, she has seen that people fall into a spirit of affliction because of the tattoos they possess. As regards to the ear rings for males, it was noted that ear rings on men insinuate homosexuality and while one would argue that pirates used to wear them in earlier times, it was reminded that pirates were also men who raped, stole and killed and by wearing ear rings, it would mean inviting those types of spirits into them.

The Synod event turned out to be very interesting, engaging and eye-opening and the parish community wishes to thank the Preysal Prayer Group for presenting. God be praised. Some photo highlights can be found after the jump:

-- Brent Durham, 2014

Parish Notices for the Ascension of our Lord

1. Tomorrow (today) is the Big Day. Regenerating the Moral and Spiritual Values in our Society concerns everybody. The Synod Team has invited the very dynamic and versatile Preysal Prayer Group to present on the topic: Reverence in Church. Tell your friends and bring a friend. Sunday 1^st June from 4pm to 6pm. 
2. The Sacrament of Confirmation will be administered to young members of our parish next Sunday 8^th June @ 11am. We pray that God will bless them as they make this significant step in their spiritual lives. Members of our community are all invited. 
3. The Solemnity of Corpus Christi is on Thursday 19^thJune. Celebration of Holy Mass at 8.30am followed by a procession through the streets of St. Joseph with the Blessed Sacrament and ends with Benediction in the Church. All are invited. Holy Mass will also be celebrated Wednesday 18^th June @ 6.30pm, the eve of the Solemnity. 
4. Great News. The 5K Run & Walk is back on! The new date – Sunday 6^th July. The new starting point will be at the St. Charles Borromeo R.C. Church beginning at 6AM and ends at the WASA Grounds where the Suburban Vicariate Sports Day will be held, immediately following the race. All are invited! Cost of registration is still $40.00. 

Blessings to ALL our parishioners this week!   

Corpus Christi

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