We’ve begun using our new giving system, GivingFire, at St. Joe’s. We encourage everyone who regularly attends St. Joseph’s to sign up for online giving on our webpage (www.stjosephgv.nyc/donate). You can also put checks in the basket at Mass or in the collection boxes in the narthex; if your name is on the check we will make sure that the donation is included in your tax letter at the end of the year. If you give cash, you can put it in an envelope with your name on it if you want that donation included in your tax letter at the end of the year. You can also donate with a credit card through the kiosk in the narthex of the church.

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.

This weekend we have Gifts from Bethlehem at St. Joseph’s. They support Christians in the Holy Land, who are persecuted and in need of support. We should remember to pray for and to help Catholics and other Christians throughout the world who face oppression. Catholics in China, Nigeria, throughout the Middle East, and in many other regions are facing persecution today. We are joined to them in the Body of Christ, the Church: let us remember them in our prayers.

I’m often asked how people can find out what’s happening at the parish, especially with all the new ministries. The best places for information are the parish website (www.stjosephgv.nyc) and the Sunday bulletin. Also, we send a weekly Flocknote email which contains upcoming events (a new feature!) You can sign up for Flocknote and register at St. Joe’s on the website too—something we strongly encourage everyone attending St. Joe’s to do so that we can better serve you.

I’m sure you’ve noticed how long the Mass announcements at have become! The reason is that many of our new ministries founded since the opening of McGuire Hall are now restarting after the summer. There are many ministries that are open to parishioners and it may be difficult to remember what they all are or what they do. The best place to explore the options is our parish webpage, which contains information on every ministry and contact information if you’re interested in joining. I’d encourage everyone to consider joining a group—it’s a great way to meet fellow parishioners and to grow in your faith, as well as build up community here.

Tomorrow St. Joe’s Men’s Group restarts for the Fall. After our series on historical battles and what they teach us about defeating vices in our lives, this Fall we’re going to talk about the virtues that strengthen and sustain us. All men are invited to join us on Monday the 19th at 7pm in McGuire Hall.

Reform Wellness will be hosting its NYC Advent Retreat, “An Invitation to Christ-Centered Wellness,” at St. Joseph’s. It’ll be on December 10th and starts at 9am in McGuire Hall and ends with our daily 12:10pm Mass. Here’s a description of what the retreat will be about:

“The brokenness of our humanity is never an obstacle for Christ; instead, it is an opportunity for restoration and reformation. When we empty ourselves of all that holds us back from seeking deeper relationship and healing, we create space for the Divine Healer to fill us with life in abundance. We invite you to join us for a one-day retreat to encounter the Divine Physician through the sacraments. All are welcome!”

I hope that everyone has a blessed Labor Day! It’s good to remember the nobility of labor–a dignity that was recognized within Christianity. In the ancient pagan world manual laborers were considered lesser in dignity than those wealthy enough to not have to work, such as nobles. However, Joseph was a carpenter and Jesus would have learned that trade as a child. We even have the feast day of St. Joseph the worker. That Jesus would take up manual labor reveals that it is not undignified work and that labor has a value that the ancient pagans missed. Let us not forget the dignity of all workers, even the humblest, this Labor Day.

This week classes begin again at NYU so we’ll be seeing students returning to the NYU Catholic Center and to St. Joseph’s on the weekends. It’s exciting to see the parish year get rolling again! The parish will begin filling up again and ministries will begin to come back online.

 Our summer brothers and deacon have now gone back to DC to continue their studies and we’re again a community of 5 friars. We’re in the quiet days of August, but we are preparing for the work of this upcoming parish year—restarting various ministries, such as RCIA for people entering the Church, Religious Education classes, and many others. In other words, it’s a slow news week. But there are many good things we’re looking forward to this year at St. Joseph’s!

Tomorrow is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (into heaven). Normally, on this solemnity there is an obligation for all Catholics to attend Mass; however, because it falls on a Monday this year there is no obligation. Therefore, our only Mass that day will be our 12:10pm daily Mass. The Catholic Center will have Mass at 5:15pm on Monday.

Our fearless leader, Fr. Boniface, is away for a couple of weeks of rest in glorious New England. This is last weekend our two younger student brothers will be with us. Brs. Raphael and Thomas will have some time with their families later this week before they return to Washington, D.C. to resume their studies. We still have another week with Fr. Bartholomew and two with Br. Brendan.

Our fearless leader, Fr. Boniface, is away for a couple of weeks of rest in glorious New England. This is last weekend our two younger student brothers will be with us. Brs. Raphael and Thomas will have some time with their families later this week before they return to Washington, D.C. to resume their studies. We still have another week with Fr. Bartholomew and two with Br. Brendan.

Our fearless leader, Fr. Boniface, is away for a couple of weeks of rest in glorious New England. This is last weekend our two younger student brothers will be with us. Brs. Raphael and Thomas will have some time with their families later this week before they return to Washington, D.C. to resume their studies. We still have another week with Fr. Bartholomew and two with Br. Brendan.

I’ll be away for quies (vacation) this Monday until Friday the 29nd. In other words, I’ll be away next Sunday, but back for the following Sunday. Fr. Clement will be in charge while I’m away. I look forward to seeing everyone again when I return.

We are in the midst of summer and things are slow at the parish. There is not much to announce, so instead I’ll use this time to restart the Mass tidbits that I was writing before the pandemic. We had finished the physical structure of the church building, so I think we left off at the beginning of the Mass.

Have a blessed 4th of July weekend! Tomorrow we celebrate the birth of our country and the patrimony that has been handed on to us. As we give thanks for the gifts of our nation that have been handed on to us, let us also give thanks for the spiritual gifts that have been handed on to us. For two thousand years the Faith has been passed from generation to generation within the Church. We know about Jesus and His teaching and the new covenant He ratified in His blood because of those who have worked, and sometimes died, to hand it on to us today. We should cultivate a spirit of gratitude for all those who went before us and have gifted us with so much. And we should make sure that we hand on what we’ve received to those who come after us.

I’m back at St. Joseph’s! We finally finished our Provincial Chapter at Providence College and now I’ve returned home. I’m glad to be back and eager to see everyone.

Corpus Christi, shorthand for The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, celebrates Jesus’s ongoing gift of himself in his presence of the Eucharist. While we primarily mark the occasion with a Mass—the celebration of the Eucharist—today is connected with the worship of the Body of Christ outside of Mass. The continuing presence of Christ in the Eucharist will become even more significant for our parish when we begin hosting a perpetual adoration chapel.

Last week, Pentecost brought the Easter Season to fiery end, but we are not ready to go back to normal just yet. Today is Trinity Sunday. Historically, Trinity Sunday was the octave (or eighth) day of Pentecost. The feast remains even though Pentecost has been cut back to single day on the new calendar.