St. Joseph's Church

First Communion Ceremony on Saturday, October 3rd at 11:00 am Confirmation Ceremony on Sunday, October 18th at 2:00 pm Families should be receiving information in the mail during the month of August. If you do not receive your letter, please call John Arasimowicz at 413-822-1297.

St. Joseph Church is most appreciative for the restoration of the beautiful fence across the front of the property. Installed in 1873, the cast iron fence is 370 feet long with three sets of working gates and a new arch over the main entrance. The large gates attached to the church sign were at the opening to a driveway onto the old academy/convent grounds which no longer exists, and were found in the church basement after having been there for close to 100 years. The corroded panels were completely restored and rebuilt by John Graney Metal Design and painted by East Coast Refinishing after a three year long process. We are THANKFUL to an anonymous donor who funded this project as a gift to the Parish. Thankfully, this individual absorbed the cost. St. Joseph Church is once again surrounded by this beautiful fence, adding so much to our property and downtown historic properties of Pittsfield. God bless this individual as he has blessed us.

In Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells the parable of the man who plants good wheat in his field. In the night, an enemy sows weeds among the wheat; and when wheat and weeds begin growing together, the farmer’s servants desire to pull out the weeds. The master, though, tells them to wait until the harvest, for fear that they will pull up the wheat with the weeds. "Between us," he said, " we can say that even today the soil has been infested by so many herbicides, weed killers, and poisons that do harm to ourselves and the earth. " In this parable, Pope Francis explains, the master of the field is God, “who only and always sows good seed,” and whose “goal is a good harvest.” The adversary is the devil, “God’s quintessential opponent” who, out of “envy and hostility” seeks to destroy the work of God. “The devil’s intention is to hinder the work of salvation, to stonewall the kingdom of God through wicked workers, the sowers in scandal,” the Pope said. The wheat and the weeds are not a symbol of abstract good and evil, but a representation of human beings, “who can follow God or the devil.” And he noted, many times we too hear about a family or a community who was in peace suddenly is divided by conflict, envy. "Nasty things begin to happen," he said remarking on how we accuse someone of sowing gossip". "It is always the devil or our temptations if we fall into the temptation to gossip and destroy others," he said. Pope Francis contrasts the desire of the servants “to eliminate evil – that is, evil people – immediately,” with the plan of God, which is wiser and more far-seeing. The disciples of Jesus, he said, are called to be patient, to focus on saving the wicked, rather than suppressing them. “Today’s Gospel presents two ways of acting and living history,” the Pope said: “the vision of the master on the one hand, that of the servants on the other.” While the servants are focused on ridding the field of weeds, the master is concerned with the good wheat, and knows how to protect it “even amongst the weeds.” Pope Francis warned against “those who are always hunting for the limitations and defects of others.” Instead, it is “those who know how to recognize the good that silently grows in the field of the Church and history, cultivating it to maturity,” who are able to collaborate in the vision of God. In the end, he said, “it will be God, and He alone, who will reward the good, and punish the wicked."

St. Anne Triduum will be held Sunday, July 26 at the 9:00 a.m. Mass.

Just a reminder that MASKS are required for Mass. Weather permitting we will continue to celebrate weekend Masses outdoors.

EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS: Sharon Vincent made masks for you. They are on the side table near the altar. It will be easy to recognize which one you should take.

At this time we cannot make home visits or nursing home or hospital visits, but I can speak with your loved ones on the phone. Call in advance so we can make arrangements. I have had several blessed occasions to be able to pray and offer a blessings to some of our parishioners who have gone to God.

The Most Blessed Sacrament is still reserved in the church and the candle still burns as a reminder of the real presence of the Lord. Again, you can request a candle to burn for your intention. Call the rectory with your request.

Sunday 9 a.m. Mass is being streamed on the parish web page. Thank you Mike Wheeler.

Pope Francis noted that there are many ways to receive the Word of God. "We may do so", he said, “like a path, where birds immediately come and eat the seeds.” This is “distraction”, he warned, and a “great danger of our time”. The Pope continued, “Beset by lots of small talk, by many ideologies, by continuous opportunities to be distracted inside and outside the home, we can lose our zest for silence, for reflection, for dialogue with the Lord, such that we risk losing our faith.” Rocky ground- Another way to receive Word of God, he highlighted, is “from rocky ground, with little soil.” “There the seeds spring up quickly, but they soon wither away, because they are unable to sink roots to any depth”, he said. “This is the image of momentary enthusiasm, though it remains superficial; it does not assimilate the Word of God. In this way, at the first difficulty, discomfort or disturbance of life, that still-feeble faith dissolves, as the seed withers that falls among the rocks.” Ground with thorny bushes- We may also receive the Word of God “like ground where thorny bushes grow”, the Pope emphasized. The thorns, he described as “the deceit of wealth, of success, of worldly concerns.... There, the word becomes choked, dies or does not bear fruit.” Good soil that bears fruit Lastly, he pointed out, “we may receive it like good soil. Here, and only here the seed takes root and bears fruit.” This parable, stressed Pope Francis, reminds us that the Word of God is a seed which in itself is fruitful and effective; and God scatters it everywhere.” “Each one of us”, he said, “is ground on which the seed of the Word falls… and if we want, we can become good soil, ploughed and carefully cultivated, to help ripen the seed of the Word.

During his Angelus on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Francis reflected on the life of Saint Peter, contrasting his deliverance from prison by an angel in Monday’s First Reading (Acts 12: 1 – 11), with his later imprisonment in Rome and martyrdom. Pope Francis asked: “How come he (Saint Peter) was first spared the trial, and then not?” Making our lives a gift Pope Francis explained that the Lord granted Saint Peter “many graces and freed him from evil” in the same way that He does to us. Even though we often go to God “only in moments of need”, he pointed out, “God sees beyond and invites us to go further, to seek not only His gifts, but Him; to entrust to Him not only problems, but life. In this way, God “can finally give us the greatest grace, that of giving life”, because the “most important thing in life is to make life a gift. God desires making us grow in giving as only in this way can we become great.” Recalling the example of Saint Peter, Pope Francis said that “he did not become a hero because he was freed from prison, but because he gave his life there. Saint Peter transformed a place of execution into the beautiful place of hope in which we find ourselves. A blessed and happy life. Here is what to ask of God: not only the grace of the moment, but the grace of life. Citing the Gospel reading from Mt 16: 13 – 19, the Holy Father said that Jesus’s question to his apostles about his identity and Peter’s response changed the life of Saint Peter. Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do you say I am?”. And Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. And Jesus continued, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah” (Mt 16: 16-17). Pope Francis explained that Jesus’s word “blessed” means “happy”. Jesus said “you are blessed” in response to Peter who proclaimed Jesus as “the living God”. The secret of a blessed and happy life therefore, is “recognizing Jesus, but Jesus as the living God,” he said. The place of Jesus in our lives Pope Francis explained that Simon’s name was changed to “rock” when Jesus said: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Mt. 16: 18). This was not because Peter was a “solid and trustworthy man” rather, because “Jesus is the rock on which Simon became stone.” He added that “it is not important to know that Jesus was great in history” nor is it important “to appreciate what He said or did.” Rather, what matters is “the place I give Him in my life.” In this regard, the Pope invited us to ask ourselves: “How do I arrange my life? Do I think only of the needs of the moment or do I believe that my real need is Jesus, who makes me a gift? And how do I build life, on my capacities or on the living God?” In conclusion, Pope Francis prayed that Our Lady, who entrusted everything to God, might help us to put Him at the center of our daily lives.

St. Anne Triduum will be held on July, 26, at the 9:00 a.m. Mass.