St. Joachim News

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Vatican Corner 01-06-19

On December 21, 2018 Pope Francis again held a meeting with the Vatican employees and their families to exchange Christmas greetings. This gathering follows right after the long-held traditional meeting the pope holds with the officials of the Vatican’s administrative...

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Pastors Desk 01-06-19

A survey was made among school children asking the question why they enjoyed reading Harry Potter novels and watching Harry Potter movies. The most common answer was, “Because you never know what’s going to happen next.” This sense of suspense and surprise prompt us...

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Vatican Corner 12-30-18

On December 17, 2018, Pope Francis turned 82 years old. The day before, he began celebrating with a party and a surprise cake along with the children under the care of a Vatican free health clinic. There was singing and music and he joked with the children saying he...

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Pastors Desk 12-30-2018

Pope Francis said that as a child, he heard a story of a family with a mother, father, many children and a grandfather. The grandfather, suffering from Parkinson’s illness, would drop food on the dining table, and smear it all over his face when he ate. His son...

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Vatican Corner 12-23-18

At the Vatican on the morning of Friday December 7, 2018, preparations for the celebration of the birth of Christ started off with an exhibition of over 100 different nativity scenes. This was the 43rd edition of the exhibit and it featured a wide variety of artistic...

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Pastors Desk 12-23-18

There’s a marvelous scene in the Old Testament that sort of illustrates in a very stark fashion something of what is occurring in today’s scriptures. It is the scene where the famous prophet Elijah, being pursued by his enemies, takes refuge in a cave and waits for...

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Vatican Corner 12-16-18

This year the traditional nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square is not so traditional. For the first time it was made of sand, 720 tons. In November, heavy trucks brought the sand from the Italian seaside city of Jesolo near Venice, where every year since 1998 that...

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Pastors Desk 12-16-18

Soren Kierkegaard the well-known philosopher of Denmark has a famous fable about geese. The geese in a certain farmyard decided to gather together every seventh day. At that time one of the ganders would mount the fence and preach to his fellow geese about their lofty...

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Vatican Corner 12-09-18

The First Sunday of Advent occurs four Sundays before Christmas and is also the beginning of the new liturgical year. The English word Advent comes from the Latin word ad (“to” and venire (“to come”) and so it means “to come to” or “arrival.” Advent actually...

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Pastor’s Desk 12-09-18

From the Pastor’s Desk: When the President or Prime Minister of a country is scheduled to make a public appearance, his staff prepares weeks and even months in advance to make certain that the proper protocol will be observed and the leader’s security will be assured....

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Vatican Corner 11-18-18

Traditionally sea gulls have lived around water, with some living inland but near rivers or reservoirs. However increasingly they are living in towns and cities and many have given up living by water entirely. Experts say that one reason is that the birds have found...

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Pastors Desk 11-18-18

President John F. Kennedy was very fond of a particular story, which he often used to close his speeches during his 1960 presidential campaign. It is the story of Colonel Davenport, Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives back in the year 1789. One day,...

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Vatican Corner 11-11-18

The Synod of Bishops is a permanent institution of the Catholic Church first established by Pope Paul VI in 1965 to continue the spirit of collegiality and communion after the close of the Second Vatican Council. It is an assembly of bishops chosen from different...

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Pastor’s Desk 11-11-18

Consider David Porter's comment on Mother Teresa: "She was born as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu to Albanian parents in Yugoslavia. She went to India in 1929 as a member of the Loreto Order of nuns, after learning English in their Motherhouse in Dublin Ireland. There she...

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