St. Joseph and Our Lenten Journey
3/10/2010
As Catholics, we are blessed with a rich heritage of prayers, devotions, and traditions. We are especially reminded of this during the Holy Season of Lent, when the Church asks us to seek ever more diligently an interior conversion of heart, mind and soul by greater use of fasting and abstinence.
The penitential days and times in the universal Church are weekdays of the season of Lent and every Friday of the whole year. Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Bishops, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday.
This year, the Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19, occurs on a Friday, thus it is not a day of abstinence from meat. In this we have a beautiful reminder of the importance of St. Joseph, the Patron of our Cathedral, Diocese, and the Universal Church. Joseph, the pure spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster-father of our Lord, was the descendant of the royal house of David. He remains a perfect example of self-giving penitence, for truly he was poor in measure of worldly possessions, yet profoundly rich in grace and merit.
Let us continue on our Lenten journey with the powerful intercession of St. Joseph in mind and prayer. As we go about our daily routines, let us remember to take time for our Lord in the Holy Mass, Stations of the Cross, the Holy Rosary, and special acts of kindness toward the poor; remembering that fasting and almsgiving are for the conversion of not only our own soul, but the salvation of all.
For more info please see
Canon Law 1248-1252. Pray the Novena to St. Joseph!
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The Bishop's Bulletin
March
2010
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This months Bishop's Bulletin is available online. Click to see this months
featured articles. The Bulletin is available in its entirety to download in pdf
format.
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Ministry
Calendar
 Find and add local events
throughout the diocese. Anything from Marriage Encounters to Youth Events.
Parishes, feel free to add your events to the calendar. |
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Bishop's Homily
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Sunday, March 14, 2010
A young man leans against a tree as the night shadows begin to fall. He looks expectantly, wistfully, fearfully at the house. Should I go in, he wonders. What would happen? Inside the house a table lamp is turned on. A mother glances out the window. As dusk falls she remembers her son coming home about this time, anxious to eat. She sighs, wonders where he is, how he is since he and his father fought so bitterly and he left. The father enters the room. They look at each other. The silence between them screams. He knows what she is thinking. He quickly turns on the TV to break the emptiness. He wonders why his son treated him that way, his former son that is.
Who could that angry young man be? Who could that aching mother, that sad father be? Could they be you or me? Expressions of anger, divisive disagreements and sinful behaviors have implications beyond the moment, on those who strike out, on those who are struck, and on those who care about them both. The antidote is forgiveness. But forgiveness is a great challenge for most of us. C.S. Lewis said, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.” Forgiveness is hard if it is to be sincere.
The parable in the Gospel reading can encourage us as we struggle to forgive or to have the courage to seek forgiveness, reconciliation among ourselves and with God. This parable is a story of love, a father’s love, our Father’s love reflected in Christ on the cross who died for all of us wayward people. The one character we ought to identify with is not so much the wandering son, though we may have been him, or the resentful older brother though we may have been him as well. The one with whom we should identify is the forgiving father who rejoices in the return of his son. St. Paul in the 2nd reading tells us that we are to be ambassadors of Christ, which means that we are called to reflect and represent to the world the love and mercy that Christ offers us.
We can forgive. We can hate the sin and love the sinner. We do it all the time with ourselves. We just prayed,”I confess to Almighty God and to you my brothers and sisters that I have sinned through my own fault in what I have done and what I have failed to do.” We hate our sin, but hopefully do not, should not, reject ourselves because we are sinners. We seek for ourselves and should seek for others the grace to move beyond our failings and allow others to move beyond theirs.
That young man gets up the courage, approaches the door, rings the bell and waits, wanting to run yet wanting to go home. The father opens the door. Their eyes meet. ”Mother,” he says, “our son is home, let’s eat.”
To forgive does not mean we condone or minimize wrong actions. Nor does it mean that just consequences can be avoided. Nor does it mean that differences are eliminated. Nor does it result in a sudden removal of the hurt. But when it comes from the heart or is received in the soul, it can lift us beyond the divisive moments of the past and open us to receive the grace God offers us to move beyond it.
“We must celebrate and rejoice,” said the loving and forgiving father, “because your brother was dead and has come to life again, he was lost and has been found.” May we this Lent rejoice in God’s mercy to us sinners, and share our forgiveness with those in our lives who were lost and have been found.
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Recent Statements & Documents
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2010 Mass for Life Homily
This is the homily given by Bishop Swain at the Mass for Life on January 22, 2010 at St. Joseph Cathedral.
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Online Videos Available
click the link above to view all videos.
Online Audio Programs
click the link above for all audio.
Catholic
Views
- A weekly radio program of timely news and interviews, along with a reflection
of the Sunday scripture readings.
Rosary OnLine
- Pray the rosary for vocations online. |
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Click here to find a list of all the parishes in the diocese along with contact
information and weekend mass times. information and weekend mass times.
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Visit the St. Joseph Cathedral Restoration website.
Visit our Office of Planning for updated information on your parish. updated information on your parish.
Catholic Family Services is here for you. Click for more information.
Meet the Seminarians, learn about your vocation.
Pledge to Heal, Promise to Protect. The Safe Environment program of the diocese
of Sioux Falls, |
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