St. Joseph Parish/St. Michael Mission

Get Ready for a Inspiring Weekend: Welcoming Cross Catholic Outreach!

This weekend, we have the incredible privilege of hosting Father Williams, who will be speaking at all Masses about this massive global movement! Cross Catholic Outreach breaks down walls, linking parishes just like ours directly to the heroic priests, sisters, and lay leaders serving on the absolute frontlines of poverty in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Americas.

Come prepared to be inspired, generous in your response, and look for the donation envelopes! Be sure to stick around after Mass to say a warm hello!

Today the Gospel reading is the Beatitudes. Each Beatitude begins with "Blessed are..." Not "Blessed will be..." Not "Blessed were..."

Are.

The people many of us walk past, drive by, dismiss or argue with. - Jesus is telling us that they're already blessed. Right now.

This should change how we see everyone around us. The challenge of the Beatitudes isn't believing Jesus. It's seeing people the way He does.

What if the thing you're most ashamed of is actually the key to your freedom? Confession isn't a courtroom. It's a hospital. Today is the feast of Saint Francis Caracciolo, who survived a serious illness and spent the rest of his life in that confessional. He was so eager to hear confessions that he wrote to a friend about how he could barely wait. It's said he could already read the hearts of those who came to him.

He knew what we spend a lifetime avoiding: the heaviest things we carry aren't physical. They're the secrets locked away in the dark, convinced that if anyone really knew, they could never love us.

But when the priest raises his hand and says: "I absolve you of your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." ?? There is nothing quite like that moment.

St. Joseph Church | Sat 2-3 PM
Our Lady of Mercy | Tues 5:30-6:15 PM | Fri 5-6:15 PM | Sat 3-4:30 PM
Sacred Heart Anderson | Sat 2-3 PM

For a priest, distributing the Eucharist is the absolute peak of their ministry.

That radiant smile on Father Eric captures a profound reality: in this moment, he acts in persona Christi - in the person of Christ. It isn't just a solemn ritual, but a moment of pure joy. He is serving as the hands of Christ, sharing what Catholics hold to be the ultimate expression of God’s love with the people he shepherds.

Love. Handed over.