Saint Joachim News

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Pastor’s Desk 03-15-2020

Mohandas Gandhi, India's great Champion, proved to the whole world that a person can go without food for a long, long time - for weeks - but water is something else. I don't know how long someone can live without water, but it isn't very long. A baby who can't keep...

Vatican Corner 03-08-2020

Since Jan. 27, 2020, 600,000 medical masks were collected and donated by the Va can pharmacy and Chinese Chris an communities es in Italy. The masks were then transported at no cost by China Southern Airlines to Wuhan, China the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic....

Pastor’s Desk 03-08-2020

There is a mysterious story in 2 Kings that can help us understand what is happening in the Transfiguration. Israel is at war with Aram, and Elisha, the man of God, is using his prophetic powers to reveal the strategic plans of the Aramean army to the Israelites. At...

Vatican Corner 03-01-2020

At his Wednesday General Audience on February 12, 2020, Pope Francis discussed the second of the eight beatitudes, those eight blessings and teachings made by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, found in the Gospel of Matthew (5:3-11). The second beatitude is - Blessed...

Pastor’s Desk 03-01-2020

In Greek mythology, the Sirens are creatures with the heads of beautiful women and the bodies of attractive birds. They lived on an island (Sirenum scopuli; three small rocky islands) and, with the irresistible charm of their song, they lured mariners to their...

Vatican Corner 02-23-2020

In Argentina in 1954, Jesuit Father Mauricio Jiménez Arteaga, SJ, a beloved priest, preacher, teacher and confessor died. He had been well-know, and had a reputation for holiness. His legacy lasting over the years and in 1974 an investigation of him began with the...

Pastor’s Desk 02-23-2020

Cardinal Francis Xavier Van Thuan spent 14 years in prison in Communist Viet Nam. They arrested and even tortured him, trying to get him to give up his Catholic Faith. But instead, he chose to live his Faith passionately, even in prison, work camps, and solitary...

Vatican Corner 02-16-2020

Over time, the Christian Religion has separated into many different branches. The red lines in the adjoining chart show the Roman Catholic branch with its Western and Eastern Rites. The chart shows the division that took place in the 16th century, when German...

Pastor’s Desk 02-16-2020

Christopher Burns wrote an article, "Wars' Lethal Leftovers Threaten Europeans,” in 1994 on the casualties of war, not the most current one with its Improvised Explosive Devices but of wars that officially ended seventy years ago in the case of World War II and...

Vatican Corner 02-09-2020

As part of his Friday of Mercy initiative, and just before the World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis on January 31, 2020 blessed the Vatican’s new Night and Day Center for homeless people .The Center is in a four-story palace that was constructed in the 1800s, and...

Pastor’s Desk 02-09-2020

President Woodrow Wilson once told the story of his encounter with true Christian light. He said: "I was in a very common place. I was sitting in a barber chair, when I became aware that a powerful personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the...

Vatican Corner 02-02-2020

On Sept. 29, 2019, the first new sculpture since the mid-19th century was installed in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Francis wanted it located at the busy tourist area in front of St. Peter’s Basilica “so that all will be reminded of the evangelical challenge of...

Pastor’s Desk 02-02-2020

C. L. James in his delightful book, To See a World in a Grain of Sand, tells the fable of a wise old cat who notices a kitten chasing its tail. "Why are you chasing your tail?" said the wise old cat. The kitten replied, "I have learned that the best thing for a cat is...

Vatican Corner 01-26-2020

Pope Benedict XVI, was the first pope in the modern era to retire. He promised when he stepped down in 2013 and took the title of “Pope Emeritus” that he would remain “hidden to the world. However, he has not remained hidden entirely. A 6,000 word essay by the former...

Pastor’s Desk 01-26-2020

Those of you who saw the remarkable film Amazing Grace remember the story of William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was a British politician who, after his conversion to Christianity, became England’s greatest anti-slavery advocate. It was through his tireless efforts that...

Vatican Corner 01-19-2020

Pope Francis’ Apostolic letter of Sept. 30, 2019 established that “the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the “Word of God.” This will be the first time the “Sunday of the Word” will be celebrated and it will...