October 16th, 2022
twenty-ninth Sunday in ordinary time
by Fr. Boniface Endorf, O.P.
Dear St. Joseph Parish Family,
The staff and I have been working to update our giving systems at St. Joe’s. We’ve been using two different online giving systems, FaithStreet and WeShare, plus the envelopes. However, behind the scenes these various systems were a mess, each with different records and databases. We’re improving and streamlining the whole system.
Thus, we’re introducing a unified giving system called GivingFire. We’re asking everyone to reregister their online donations on GivingFire. You can use the QR codes in the church, or go to our webpage, to do so (www.stjosephgv.nyc). I know this is an annoyance, but it will greatly improve our systems and help us to better serve you. No longer will you receive separate tax statements depending on different methods of giving, and the whole process will be more secure and help us better keep track of the giving systems and better serve the parish.
We’re also introducing a giving kiosk to the narthex where visitors can donate to St. Joe’s by credit card.
In addition, we’ll be phasing out the current envelope system. We’ll give instructions to those using the current system to help them use the new one, which will be easier and more efficient.
As you sign up for GivingFire, please consider increasing the amount you give. We are all suffering from the current inflation and our utility costs have nearly doubled in the past couple years. Your generosity makes the many exciting events at St. Joseph’s possible.
Thank you for your support and generosity!
Mass Tidbit
The entrance rite of the Mass ends with the Collect. Here the priest ‘collects’ the prayers of the people together (the Latin word ‘collecta’ has the same root (colligo) as the English word ‘to collect’)
The celebrant says “Let us pray.” He then pauses so that the people can put themselves in the presence of God and pray in the silence afforded. This moment is a good time to state whom you’re offering your mass for. You should have an intention for which you are praying the Mass.
Then the priest prays the collect. The text of the collect changes and is proper to the Mass being offered (eg: today’s is the collect for the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time). This formal prayer is sums up the themes of the readings, saints, or other points specific to that Mass. The Latin text of the collect is complex, as is reflected in the modern translation of the collects.
The collect itself is usually addressed to God the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, so it always ends with a kind of doxology, such as “Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the untiy of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.”
The people then respond with “Amen,” which makes the prayer of the collect their own.
God Bless,
Fr. Boniface
