July 2, 2023
thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
by Fr. Boniface Endorf, O.P
Dear St. Joseph Parish Family,
Have a blessed 4th of July this week! This holiday is a great time to give thanks for what has been handed on to us—our culture, nation, and history. We should cherish the good things those before us have handed on to us and do our part to improve on what has been given to us so as to hand on more than we received. We live in a community not simply of those living today but of all our ancestors, and those who will come after us. Let us give thanks and strive to do our best for those who will stand on our shoulders. And let us give thanks to God who has made all good things possible and calls us to embody His goodness in this world. Without God all else falls apart.
We are continuing to sign people up for the adoration chapel. Please continue to pray for the success of the chapel and consider signing up yourself if you haven’t already done so. It will bring many graces to your life!
God Bless,
Fr. Boniface
Mass Tidbit:
The Roman Canon continues with one of its more distinctive features: the canon (or list) of saints. Here we join our prayers with the saints in heaven. During Mass the whole Church is at prayer—not just the part here on earth, but also the saints in heaven. That’s what the saints in the stained glass windows remind us of.
This part of the Roman Canon reads: “In communion with those whose memory we venerate, especially the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, and blessed Joseph, her spouse…” This part of the Roman Canon is thus called the communicantes (‘in communion with’). During special times of the liturgical year there are small prefaces tied to the feast being celebrated that are added to the communicantes, specifically during the Octive of Christmas, on Epiphany, during the Octive of Easter, on Ascension, and on Pentecost. For example, on Easter, the prayer begins: “Celebrating the most sacred night (day) of the Resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh, and in communion with…”
We start with the highest of the saints, Mary, and then with Joseph her spouse. We then have a list of Apostles and early popes. Some of them are little known today, so next week we’ll start going through the names in the Roman Canon and looking at who they are.
