St. Joachim News
News
Vatican Corner 12-20-2020
Everything known about Saint Joseph the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary comes from Scripture, and it is not a lot. The Gospels from Luke and Matthew both say Joseph was a descendant of David, the greatest king of Israel. The angel that first tells Joseph about...
Pastor’s Desk 12-20-2020
Years ago a psychologist named Thomas Holmes developed a scale for measuring stress. He assigned numerical values to events that cause stress such as the loss of job, moving to a new city, a new relationship. Dr. Holmes even included Christmas on his stress list. He...
Bulletin 12-20-2020
Vatican Corner 12-13-2020
At the Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square on Dec.6, 2020, Pope Francis said there is no pandemic or crisis that can turn off the light of Christmas. Referencing the Vatican’s recently erected Christmas tree and the Nativity Scene that is soon to be assembled,...
Pastor’s Desk 12-13-2020
Valesa – a Nightmare is a docu-drama which was written in Poland under a pseudonym and then smuggled out of the country. It tells the story of political prisoners like Lech Walesa. Near the end of the play a prisoner priest, who usually offers a solitary Mass, is...
Bulletin 12-13-2020
Vatican Corner 12-06-2020
Knelling before Pope Francis, one by one, at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica on November 28, 2020, eleven of thirteen senior churchmen, including two U.S. citizens, received their red biretta hat, cardinal ring and scroll, becoming new members of the...
Pastor’s Desk 12-06-2020
Being a *ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST* is ranked among the four most difficult "professions" in the world. This is because a ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST must be at the same time: Preacher, example, advisor, former, planner, minister, visionary, director, mentor, friend, nanny,...
Bulletin 12-06-2020
Vatican Corner 11-29-2020
The long awaited report, that was authorized by Pope Francis, about the defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, treated Francis rather lightly. The report explained that Francis assumed that his predecessors had made the correct judgments about McCarrick, and that...
Pastor’s Desk 11-29-2020
Anticipating the end of the world in 1975, twenty-four men, women, and children from Grannis, Arkansas, moved into one tiny house and waited there for ten months. The end did not come as they had expected, and they were evicted for not paying their rent. In 1986 a man...
Bulletin 11-29-2020
Vatican Corner 11-22-2020
In 2018, the Vatican defrocked cardinal Theodore McCarrick who was eventually convicted of sexual abuse of minors and adults – aggravated by the abuse of power – and solicitation in the confessional. After two years of careful internal investigation, the report was...
Pastor’s Desk 11-22-2020
On His Majesty’s Service: Polycarp, the fifth century bishop of Smyrna, was arrested and brought before the Roman authorities. He was told if he cursed Christ, he would be released. He replied, "Eighty-six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong; how then...
Bulletin 11-22-2020
Vatican Corner 11-15-2020
The Italian boy - Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age 15, was beatified onOctober 10, 2020 at a special Mass in the city of Assisi. Beatification is the last step before sainthood and it is the recognition by the Catholic Church of the deceased...
Pastor’s Desk 11-15-2020
Columbus trusted his maps and calculations, considered his risks and sailed off to encounter the "new world." Magellan based his charts and maps on the most current information then available, and boldly circumnavigated the world. A few centuries later in their search...
Bulletin 11-15-2020
Vatican Corner 11-08-2020
Pope Francis at his Angelus address on March 1, 2020 told the faithful to “never engage in dialogue with the devil.” He urged Christians to be alert and vigilant when “messages, coming at us from many places” invite us to be tempted and to experience “the intoxication...
Pastor’s Desk 11-08-2020
A young man applied for a job as a farm hand. When asked for his qualifications, he said, "I can sleep when the wind blows." This puzzled the farmer, but he liked the young man and hired him. A few days later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a...
Bulletin 11-08-2020
Pastor’s Desk 11-01-2020
Elephantine shock therapy. The story has been told of a lion who was very proud. He decided to take a walk one day to demonstrate his mastery over all the other creatures. He strutted his way through the forest until he came across a bear. “WHO IS THE KING OF THE...
Vatican Corner 11-01-2020
When you enter St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the whole building’s design is intended to direct your gaze upward towards the ceiling where you are basically shown the promise of heaven. But you may be missing something extra special if you don’t also look down...
Vatican Corner 11-01-2020
When you enter St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the whole building’s design is intended to direct your gaze upward towards the ceiling where you are basically shown the promise of heaven. But you may be missing something extra special if you don’t also look down...