In the Pines September & October 2019

St. Joseph’s Church Charlton MA 10 H Putnam Road Ext P.O. Box 338

Charlton City, MA 01508 508-248-7862 www.stjosephscharlton.com

Lord Jesus Christ

Son of the Father send now Your Spirit

over the earth. Let the Holy Spirit live in the hearts

of all nations, that they may be preserved from degeneration,

disaster and war.

May the Lady of All Nations, The Blessed Virgin Mary,

be our Advocate. Amen

Legacy of Hope Capital Campaign to benefit the needs of the

Diocese and of the Parish will take place this Fall

Our goal is $824,734.00 of which we have already received $132,000.00 from 11 parish donors

Our hope is to elicit 500 families to assist us. We expect to fund a new organ and pay down our parish debt

A brief video presentation will be shown at Mass the weekend of September 14 th & 15th

More information will be forth coming

PLEASE KEEP THIS END EAVOR IN YOUR PRAYERS

“Many Hands

Make The Burden Light”

Change is not just a part of life, it is Life

It is amazing how time flies. The summer days are waning, the end is nigh for the school

vacation, our own parish is prepping for yet another year in the CCD program some of our

younger ones are getting ready for the new adventure: First time in college. Since I love rhythm

and rhymes, I thought I would encapsulate the changing of the seasons with the words of a

poet yet to be born: “The spring has sprung, the grass has grown, the summer is summing, the

falling of the fall, is in the offing, the wintry winter will come, cold as hell.” For most of us,

we’ve been here before but for some reason, the more it changes the more it stays the same.

There is a reason why they say that the only thing that is constant is change. One wonders,

what is it about change and the anticipation, which comes with it that makes for a perfect

recipe for anxiousness? The fear of the unknown elicits all sorts of emotions, which inevitably

lead to psychological, spiritual, and even physical destabilization.

The summer of 2019 will be etched in my memory for the longest time ever due to the change it

brought in my ministry. After five years of living and serving in Worcester, I was beginning to

get quite comfortable and even a little complacent. I had met families, made friends, and

carved out a comfortable niche as far as my horarium was concerned. Consequently, when the

news came that I was going to be moved, my inner being was startled. I knew the day would

come but for some reason I underestimated the effect it would have on me. The anger, the

tears, the restlessness, and a whole cocktail of emotions introduced me to a side of me that I

wasn’t sure existed. All of a sudden, the well meaning support from family and friends who

reached out during this time of transition only exasperated the situation. In the end I found

myself begging not to have a farewell party, I could not say goodbye.

One evening, I found myself standing by the shore, staring blankly into the ocean and

wondering about the next chapter. During that time I reflected on the various images, sayings,

and stories about departure. Shakespeare says, “Parting is such a sweet sorrow.” I revisited

that famous story about the ship that departed from the shore with sorrowing company saying

‘there she goes,’ just in time for the welcoming crowds on the other side of the shore saying

‘here she comes.’ I even sang to myself that poignant song by Jim Reeves, “This World is Not

My Home.” All these memories, encumbered by the loud sounds of airplanes hovering over the

waters of the ocean, only served to dampen the spirit. As the waves began to get stronger and

the setting sun died away, I was distracted by something: An empty stomach. To put it mildly:

As long as I can remember I have always had a long and lasting relationship with food and

drink. I walked back to the street. There was a Chinese restaurant nearby; I had been there

before. I knew that the service would be quick. The meal came with a fortune cookie which

read: “Change is not just a part of life, it is life! It was time to move on.”

Let us Pray:

“O Lord grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change; courage to

change the things we can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a

time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as we would have it; trusting that He will

make all things right if we surrender to His Will; and that we may be reasonably happy

in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.”

(Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr).

We Remember - We Glor i fy - We Bel ieve

While trying to think of something to write about the above title popped in to my mind so now I’m thinking - fine, I have a title but what do I do with it now? The above words actually come from a song. If you take a while and think about it, you can walk down a pathway with them. Start with a memory - for example, being this time of year with all the fruits and vegetables coming in, I can remember a big. double cherry tree that stood between our yard and my aunt and uncle’s yard next door. If we could climb the tree and pick the cherries, Aunt Josephine could turn them in to glorious cherry pies. We could continue to believe that as long as the cherries kept coming so did the pies. There are also other things we remember that are not so happy but that still taught us to believe. For instance, some have experienced the loss of a loved one and remember this daily. However, we continue to glorify God because He experienced the same things we do. He came to lead us on the path of life; and so we continue to believe that He is there for us in good times and in bad. Try it for yourself some time and recall something that happened in your life and think about where it has led you. Everything we encounter takes us a little further along the path. As we journey along we will discover soon enough that there is no straight path to eternity. Just when we think we are headed in the right direction the road will fork out in various directions, or we may even hit a road block. If you are as good at directions as I tend to be, then it can be quite a challenge. However, as we walk upon the path of life we will someday be able to recall all the memories we made along the way. Each memory we make is there for a reason. A memory will bring with it a lesson learned and a chance to glorify and acknowledge our God who watches over us. Let us continue along our path as: We Remember. We Glorify. We Believe.

A PRAYER Dear God, I love You! I give You my heart. Mary be near me, as each day I start. My angel protect me and guide me on my way Bless my mother and father and help them each day. Amen.

Shining Light This month’s Shining Light is our choir director, Jan Mathieu. Jan grew up in Southbridge attending Mass at St Mary’s Church. Jan started working in music ministry in her early teens at Sacred Heart Church also in Southbridge. She then began singing and playing guitar at St Mary’s Church. She has been living in Webster since 1981. In 1987 Father Holland called her to ask her to sing and play guitar at the 4:30PM Mass here at St. Joseph’s Church in Charlton and has been here ever since. First and foremost, Jan wanted to say, “The real shining lights are all of the singers and musicians in the music ministry of St Joseph’s Church that give so generously of their time and talent.” What Jan loves most about St. Joseph’s Church is the loving

friendly atmosphere and the faith and love that Father Bob brings to the parish. She also said the parish is such a caring community and that we are taught to be the hands of Christ for others.

Jan owns a landscaping business with her friend Kathy Nelson. Together they give of their time and talent to the Earth Ministry, beatifying our parish grounds. When she has free time, Jan teaches music and loves gardening and helping people.

When Jan was asked to give advice to the parishioners of St Joseph’s Church she said, “Take care of the people around you as if they are your family, because they are”.

One of the things that seminarians are frequently asked to speak on is

vocations. My first visit to Saint Joseph’s Parish was for this purpose, in the

spring of 2017. At the time I was studying and living at Saint John’s Seminary

in Brighton, and the seminary had an annual ‘Omnes Gentes’ weekend, in

which the seminarians would speak at various parishes in Massachusetts

(‘omnes gentes’ means ‘all nations,’ referencing our Lord’s command to “go

and make disciples of all nations”).

While I wasn’t able to make a similar appeal during my time here this

summer, I found it very edifying that Saint Joseph’s has so many young people

participating in the life of the parish. I had the pleasure of accompanying the

group from the parish to Steubenville East, and so much of the conversation

we had with the teens that weekend had to do with vocation.

It’s important to remember whenever we discuss ‘vocation’ that, in one

sense, there is one vocation that everyone shares; this vocation is referred to as ‘the universal call to

holiness.’ The success of any other vocation, be it married life, priesthood, or consecrated life, all de-

pend on how faithfully one follows this call, by which God calls all men and women to union with himself

through Jesus Christ.

Today we frequently hear of the “priest shortage” in the Church, and how this will affect the pas-

toral ministry of the Church in the future. While this is a serious problem, resolving it isn’t a matter of

just talking about it more.

Good priests come from families built on good marriages, and from good parishes. Moreover,

good priests come from our families and parishes: This is something that sometimes scares us. His Ex-

cellency, Bishop Reilly, the previous Bishop of Worcester tells the story of going to a very large parish

where he was confronted about why the parish only had one priest assigned to it, when previously two

priests had always been assigned to the parish. One parishioner asked, angrily, “Why haven’t you sent

us another priest?” The bishop responded, “Because you haven’t sent me one!” When we pray for an in-

crease in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, we should be bold enough to pray that God

calls such vocations from our own families and our own homes.

In my time at Saint Joseph’s parish, I’ve been amazed by the dedication of the parishioners here. I

have great hope that parishes like Saint Joseph’s will provide many holy priests for the Diocese of

Worcester. Please pray for me in my formation, and pray for more vocations from this parish.

Peace, Lucas

The Worcester County House of Correction will hold a Benefit

Concert to help in building a "Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel" at the

Curtis Performance Hall of Assumption College on 500

Salisbury St. in Worcester on Saturday, September 14th

at 7:00 pm. One of the featured performers is our own Josh Dougherty who plays for our Sunday 5:00 pm

Mass. Tickets: $25.00 and can be purchased at Eventbrite.com: Worcester-prison-ministries or on Facebook at worcesterprisonministries.

Worcester Prison Ministries, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to offer

religious services and guidance to the inmates housed at the Worcester County House of Correction (WCHC) located in West Boylston, MA.

This Concert Fundraiser is our Kick-off event to raise $500,000+ to build a

Ultreya – 1st Friday of the month – 7:00 pm Mass at St. Josephs in Charlton

U P C O M I N G W E E K E N D S For Men… October 10-13, 2019 For Women… October 28-28, 2019, November 14-17, 2019

www.fourthday.org be in touch with Pat Lawrie at 508-344-5426 for details

DIOCESAN CHARISMATIC

PRAYER MEETING

IN THE CHRUCH HALL

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 TH

FROM 3:00—4:30 PM

ALL ARE INVITED

takes place at the 10:00 AM Mass Children ages 3 – 7

are encouraged to attend

FIRST LIGHTS (Grades K - 5)

Coordinator: Sister Agnes Patricia (508-248-7862) sisteragnespatricia@yahoo.com

We welcome one and all Students, Parents and Teachers to a new year of 1st Lights.

classes begin the week of September 15th

Some important dates to remember are:

S u n d a y, O c t o b e r 6 t h F I R S T L I G H T S M A S S Followed by a Pancake Breakfast to kickoff the Helping Hands for Emily Project

S u n d a y, O c t o b e r 2 7 t h A L L S A I N T S DAY P R O C E S S I O N

F r i d a y, J a n u a r y 1 7 , 2 0 2 0 FA M I LY M O V I E N I G H T

F r i d a y, M a r c h 6 , 2 0 2 0 L E N T E N M E A L

S a t u r d a y a n d S u n d a y, M a r c h 7 t h & 8 t h , 2 0 2 0

C U P C A K E W E E K E N D

First Communion First Communion Rehearsal Saturday, May 2, 2020 Saturday, April 25, 2020

E d g e N e w s C o o rd i n a t o r S a n d ra B u r o n m r s b e d g e 2 0 1 8 @ g m a i l . c o m

Edge Year Kick Off

Sunday, September 15th

3:30-5:00 PM Followed by Mass

W h a t i s E d g e ? Our Edge program is a Catholic youth ministry/religious education program designed to meet the educational, spiritual, emotional and social needs of middle school youth. The Edge students meet on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:00 PM.

EDGE FALL DATES TO REMEMBER: SEPTEMBER

Tuesday, September 17th Edge Social “Welcome Back and Review” Tuesday, September 24th Edge Night “Sixth Commandment: Integrity”

OCTOBER Tuesday, October 1st Edge Night “Seventh Commandment: Respect” Tuesday, October 9th Edge Night “Eighth Commandment: Honesty” Tuesday, October 15th Edge Night “Ninth Commandment: Dignity” Tuesday, October 22nd Edge Night “Tenth Commandment: Enough”

Tuesday, November 5th Edge Night “Guided Meditation”

EDGE DROP OFF AND PI CK UP PLAN:

Those with last names beginning with A-M please use front entrance

Those with last names beginning with N-Z please use the back entrance

Fun and Food Contests and Prizes

CORE MEMBERS

NEEDED

If you are interested please contact Sandra

UPCOMING EVENTS September 15 Kick off

September 22

November 3, XLT/Illuminate

Laura Chagnon was attacked and left for dead. Five weeks in a coma and awaking a legally blind quadriplegic. Her life changed for the better. Come and SEE.

W e d n e s d a y ,

S e p t e m b e r 1 1 Parent information

and

registration night

6:30 PM

in the Church Hall

S u n d a y ,

S e p t e m b e r 1 5 Life Teen Kickoff

Sunday,

September 22

Life Night

will be at Saint Mary’s in

Uxbridge AMPLIFY

Sunday,

September 29

We Begin teaching

Social Justice

Sunday,

October 13

No Life Teen

Columbus Day

St. Joseph’s Church 10 H. Putnam Ext.

P. O. Box 338 Charlton City, MA 01508

Return Service Requested

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID

CHARLTON CITY, MA PERMIT #5

The Worship of God Weekend Masses

Saturday at 4:30 PM and Sunday at 8:00 AM, 10:00 AM & 5:00 PM

Confessions are Saturday at 3:45 PM.

THE LINE TO HEAVEN Every minute someone leaves this world behind.

Age has nothing to do with it. We are all in this the line without realizing it.

We never know how many people are before us. We cannot move to the back of the line.

We cannot step out of the line. We cannot avoid the line. So while we wait in line -

Make moments count. Make a difference. Make the call. Make priorities. Make the time. Make your gifts known. Make a nobody feel like a some-body. Make your voice heard. Make the small things big. Make someone

smile. Make the change. Make yourself a priority. Make love. Make up. Make peace. Make sure to tell your people they are loved.

Make waves. Make sure to have no regrets. Make sure you are ready.