St. Joseph's Parish

  • PDF
  • Print

Act of Contrition

  • Written by Katie Edwards

More on prayer. Second Graders need to learn the Act of Contrition for the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It is a good prayer to recite at bedtime.  We need to look at our day and realize the things we could have handled in a more Christian way.  Then, we need to ask God’s forgiveness and express our sorrow.  My students come into 7th grade, not knowing this prayer.

 

"Oh my God,

I am heartily sorry for having offended you.  I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell. But most of all because they have offended you my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love.  I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen"

I could get into meditative and contemplative prayer but I have a hard time understanding them. I think meditative prayer is purposely considering the triune God in the simple things around us or meditating on the life of Christ. It is deliberate.  Contemplative prayer, according to St. Teresa of Avila, is divinely produced.  She could not bring it on herself.  “Although no sound is heard, the soul is very well aware that it has been called by God.”  This occurs when the person is quite unprepared for it.  I would have to say that I have experienced God seeping into my thoughts when I am alone and working on simple tasks that require no active concentration such as weeding in the garden or cleaning.  Even though contemplation is divinely given and humanly received, St. Teresa says we must prepare ourselves for it.  I think the message is BE STILL. Find quiet time.

Read more: Act of Contrition

  • PDF
  • Print

You're Invited....to Take That First Step

  • Written by Larry & Char Hargis

Have you been worshiping with us, but never officially took the step to become Catholic?

Have you been away from the church … and have now returned, but want to know more?

Have you been a Catholic all your life, but never celebrated all of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist)?

Have you been a Catholic all your life, but still need to know some of the fundamentals of our faith?

Have you joined us from a different background and would now like to find out more about the Catholic Church?

If any of the above questions apply to you, we would love to help you in your journey! Or, if you know of anyone who could answer YES to any of the above questions, perhaps you should extend an invitation to them!

Please contact Fr. John Steiner at 284-5613.

Read more: You're Invited....to Take That First Step

  • PDF
  • Print

Father Corapi's Conversion Story

  • Written by Father Corapi

From a Los Angeles millionaire, to drug addicted street person, to a Catholic Priest...Father John Corapi's story is simply amazing. This is a simplified ten minute version of Fr. Corapi's Conversion Story (otherwise known as his Personal Testimony). The statement of this 10 minute video is simple..."God's Name is Mercy!" Find more at www.fathercorapi.com

  • PDF
  • Print

Death Wish

  • Written by Father John Corapi

THE IMPENDING SUICIDE OF A ONCE GREAT NATION
©2008 REV. JOHN A. CORAPI, SOLT, STD
www.fathercorapi.com

 

A large number of endangered, unwanted, and unborn children held a town hall meeting on the 4th of July--alarmed at the brutal and untimely killing of millions of their brothers and sisters in recent years. That the murderous war waged on them had the full force and respectability of the law made their plight all the more terrifying.

Their complaint was humble and it was simple. They were not distressed by rising gas prices, or the deteriorating economy in general. They were not even frightened by the exponential increase of natural disasters. The threat of global warming or global terrorism did not greatly disturb them.

They had become an endangered species, and little had been done to answer their terrified and silent screams from the womb. They decided that the barbaric treatment that they and their fellow unwanted unborn human beings have had to endure for perilous decades was unconscionable and unbearable. They cried out to their Creator for inspiration and protection, and then unanimously they put forth a declaration. It began as follows:

“When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Read more: Death Wish

  • PDF
  • Print

2008 Confirmation Class

  • Written by St. Joseph's Parish

Congratulations to the newly confirmed members of our parish:


1st row l to r; Sierra Johnson, Dana McNulty, Elizabeth Cook, Travis Riechers, Ellen Pratt,
2nd row l to r; James Houd, Max Cormican, Cole McPeak, Tyler Roskos, Amy Sedelbauer,Hannah Ripp, Kris Bauer,
3rd row l to r; Bryan Smetana, Fr. Robert Streveler, Conrad Bragee, Mark Johnson, Wade Olson, Seth Windsor, Bishop Jerome Listeki

May God guide them throughout their lives to live in the Spirit and grow in their relationship with God.

  • PDF
  • Print

Theology of the Body

  • Written by Fr. Robert Streveler

The day after his wedding, after having consummated his marriage the night before, a man was in tears after receiving the Eucharist.  When His new bride asked he said: “For the first time in my life I understood the meaning of Christ’s words, “This is my body given for you.”

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read these words “The flesh is the hinge of salvation.”  We believe in God who created us, we believe in the word made flesh, we believe in the resurrection of the body.

Many Christians grow up believing their spirit to be good and their body to be bad.  The idea that the human body is bad is actually a heresy known as Manichaeism.  Actually Christianity says “the body is so good that you can’t even fathom it.”

In the sacraments we bathe the body with water in baptism, anoint the body with oil in baptism, confirmation, holy orders and the anointing of the sick, we eat and drink the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist, we have the laying on of hands in holy orders and the anointing of the sick, we confess with our lips and man and woman are joined in one body in marriage. When Pope John Paul speaks of the body as a sacrament, he means it is a sign that makes visible the invisible mystery of God.  For him all the sacraments have a “nuptial” character since their purpose is to unite Christ the bridegroom with his bride, the church

Christianity is the religion of God’s union with humanity.  It’s the religion of the Word made flesh! In the body of Jesus ‘we see our God made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see. (CCC. N. 477)

Read more: Theology of the Body

Page 3 of 3