Letter from the Provincial of the Pauline Fathers Regarding the Future of St. Joseph's

Dear Parishioners, 
     Ash Wednesday is quickly approaching and together with the whole Church on February 17th, we will begin the forty-day period of our preparation for the feast of Christ's Resurrection. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent.  Lent is a special time that we must put to good use.  
     During these forty days we will continue to carry out our daily duties, but we must make time to contemplate Jesus and His Cross. During Lent we are called to pray more often, fast and put into practice almsgiving as well as practicing the Stations of the Cross devotion. 
     All of us need to reflect and take a good look at ourselves in the light of the Gospel to see how much we follow the example of Christ. 
     Through Jesus and following Him we have a chance to become truly blessed and genuinely happy as the Gospel says. It is Jesus who gives us grace. It is He who cares for our salvation, but we must respond to this grace properly. 
     Lent is the perfect occasion for us to respond to Jesus’ call. It is time for us to start experiencing a new life. This is the time of God's action. I invite you to be thankful for this holy time and I will close as I opened reminding you to follow the path of Jesus through prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  
     We must focus our hearts and minds on the path of Jesus because this will govern our actions to help lead us to eternal life with Christ.  

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 
Fr Bogdan

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,  
 
     As 2020 ends, I would like to express my gratitude for your continued loyalty to Saint Joseph Church. We faced challenges this year, but our parish has shown resiliency and connectivity. We have seen it throughout the year with the kindness and generosity of our parishioners. 
     I encourage you to enter the new year with a spirit of peace and joy. We do not know what the next moment will bring or what we may face but we need to remain faithful. The Lord has faith in us that we will draw closer to Him in the new year.
     In the Letter to the Ephesians Saint Paul says that we are special. God chose us in Christ before the world was made.  
     To understand this, the Church invites all of us in 2021 to look to our patron Saint Joseph. St. Joseph never lost his strength of spirit and his faith. He has always put his trust in the Lord. Let us remember that we are not alone, we have powerful intercessors in heaven and among them the patron of our parish: St. Joseph.
     Father Joseph and I would like to thank you for allowing us to serve you and please keep the faith and know with the help of our heavenly intercessors we will get through this together.  
 
Love and Prayers,  
Father Bogdan

Joy to the world, the Lord has Come!

Let earth receive her King!

 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

Jesus comes to us with the desire to give us salvation and happiness. He wants to give us joy that we are saved, so that we may receive the "treasure" of the Lord.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori, said, “I think God must have said to Himself: Man does not love Me because He does not see Me; I will show Myself to him and thus make him love Me. God’s love for man was very great, and had been great from all eternity, but this love had not yet become visible… Then, it really appeared; the Son of God let Himself be seen as a tiny Baby in a stable, lying on a little straw.” 

The first prayer of Christmas Mass also reminds us that because of the Nativity: “we may share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity”.

On behalf of Father Joseph and myself I would like to thank you all of you for your support of Saint Joseph Parish. May Jesus be your light and may the New Year bring you an abundance of health, happiness, and peace. 

“May the Lord continually bless you with heaven’s blessings as well as with human joys”.

God Bless you, 

Fr Bogdan Olzacki OSPPE.

    In the Book of Judges, we learn of the horrific treatment of the Israelites. For years, the Israelites were oppressed by the eastern people who plundered their land. When it seemed that all hope was lost for the Israelites, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said: "Yahweh is with you, valiant warrior!" Gideon replied, "Excuse me, my Lord, but if Yahweh is with us, why is all this happening to us?"
     This is the question that many of us are asking today: “why is this happening to us?” Why are we living in such a difficult time? This is a difficult time, but we need to recognize that all of us, like Gideon in the Old Testament, have a special vocation in the history of salvation. Each one of us is being called to sainthood. The Good News is that on this way we are not alone.
     During the month of November, we commemorate many unknown saints among us whom are our family members and friends. They are all constantly interceding for us. Saint Therese of Lisieux before she died, said: “When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens, I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth.”
     Dear brothers and sisters have courage for we are not alone! 
As the Angel said to Gideon the Lord is with us!

Fr Bogdan

From the Pastor's Desk 
Dear Parishioners, 
Please enjoy our newsletter.  
     Saint John Paul II said, “What really matters in this life is that we are loved by Christ and that we love him in return.  In comparison to the love of Jesus, everything else is secondary. And, without the love of Jesus everything is useless.”
     Please take a moment and reflect upon these words. We are loved by Christ! We must love Him in return! How can we love Jesus in return? We can start right now in our homes. Each one of us is called to offer prayer for others. We can do it individually or even better together as a household. I am sure you have heard the saying which states: “the family that prays together stays together." This is what we need to do now, we need to pray more than ever before. Through your prayer it will strengthen your trust in Him, and Jesus will bring joy to your life.  
     Have a Blessed day and please keep me in your prayers.
 God bless you,
 
     Fr. Bogdan

Dear Brothers and Sisters
We have just completed another financial year. Many things have happened in the life of the Universal Catholic Church and in our parish. On this occasion, I would like to thank all parishioners for their prayers and their work for our parish.

Among the many events of the past year, the COVID pandemic was undoubtedly the most difficult. It has wreaked havoc not only in the country, but also in our parish life.
The number of services and the number of people who can attend have been limited. 
However, I am very happy that thanks to the commitment of our parishioners, we have a beautiful new website that broadcasts the 10:00 am Mass from our church every Sunday. Both those who are at home and those who are far away can join us in prayer.

A great achievement this year was the at-home/online Bible Summer Camp for children organized by Mrs Megan Mindek our Ministry Coordinator, for which I am especially grateful.

One of the events worth emphasizing is the fact that we were able to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation in our parish this year. Despite many inconveniences, five students of our parish CCD program were able to receive the last sacrament of Christian initiation.

Among the statistical data, it is worth noting that about 420 people came to our parish each Sunday in October 2019. During the year 1 child was baptized and there were 11 funerals.

Unfortunately, we see a steady decline in the Sunday collection. It is a great challenge for us and fills us with concern about the financial situation in the future.

Our parish and our church is a home that we build in many dimensions and aspects.
All matters are important: economic, physical or administrative, but above all those that contribute to build a relationship with God and fellow parishioners.

I am glad that we are together in building an authentic community, for which I thank you very much. 

Fr Bogdan Olzacki OSPPE

Financial Report 

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Mrs. Kathy Mindek, our Director of CCD for many years. This year Mrs. Mindek, well known and loved by our students has decided to step down from this position. 

I am very grateful for her dedication, patience and enthusiasm. It is not easy to be involved in the education program, but this is the most crucial mission for all of us.

We are blessed in our Parish to have many good teachers and volunteers. It is a very important task for us all: parents and parishioners to help children stay connected to the church.

As a Parish we have already begun preparation for the new school year. There are many uncertainties, but we are looking forward to the new beginning. 

There will be a new program and also a new Director for the Program. I would like to introduce and welcome Jim Smart who has accepted this new responsibility.

Jim has been a parishioner for many years. He is a lector, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, the coordinator of the RCIA, and the Chairman of the Parish Council.

Let us welcome him and keep him in our prayers.

Fr Bogdan

I pray that you are having a blessed week during this challenging time.  I am writing this message to our parishioners to show how grateful I am for your prayers and the Masses said for my family.  I sincerely appreciate them with all my heart.  Your kindness made a difference.  My brother, Janusz, was able to have the surgery and is now recovering and doing well.  Please accept our deepest thanks.  Thank you is never enough.  God Bless you!

Always in my prayers,

Father Bogdan

Dear Friends in Christ,
 
I hope this letter finds everyone safe and healthy during this challenging time.  You have been in my thoughts and prayers.
During this time of quarantine, we are all on a different journey.  This can be a time for many to reflect and reconnect with Jesus.  Yet for others, they are facing endless loneliness and depression.  For some this has been a time to reprioritize their lives, yet some are struggling to feed their families.  When restrictions begin to ease, we are going to face what they have been calling the new normal.  
Before this return to the so called new normal, there is something we can and should do. We should give thanks to God for technology.  Please join us on Sunday’s at 9:30am for Holy Mass live streamed via Facebook. Please spend time in prayer and reading the Bible. 
Pope Francis in his homily on Sunday, 26 January 2020 said:
“Dear brothers and sisters, let us make room inside ourselves for the word of God! Each day let us read a verse or two of the Bible. Let us begin with the Gospel: let us keep it open on our table, carry it in our pocket or bag, read it on our cell phones, and allow it to inspire us daily. We will discover that God is close to us, that he dispels our darkness and, with great love, leads our lives into deep waters."
I would like to close in the same way that I opened, you have all been in my thoughts and prayers.  Thank you to all parishioners, for your hard work and support.  May God Bless you and keep you safe.  I look forward to the time when I can see you all again.  
 
Yours in Christ, 
Father Bogdan