This coming Saturday is also the First Saturday of December, so there will be First Saturday Devotions at St. Joseph's Holy Family.

 Fr. Sengole Thomas Gnanaraj, Parochial Vicar of St. Michael Parish in Cannelton, Indiana, and St. Pius V Parish in Troy, Indiana, will celebrate the sacraments. Mr. Juan Guido, a III Theology Seminarian for the Diocese of Little Rock, will speak about the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

YOU ARE INVITED in this Year of Faith to begin Advent with a deeper devotion to Jesus through Mary by this family-friendly retreat. I encourage you to come so you can get a good start for the first Sunday of Advent. This day-long retreat will help you to prepare yourself for the coming of Christ at Christmas.

Just a reminder that this Friday, November 30th is the Fifth Friday Free Family Flix For Fun at St. Joseph's Holy Family. It will start at 6:30 p.m. Central Time in the Welcome Center's living room.

They will be showing "Francis: Knight of Assisi", an animated video that is 27 minutes long. (I have personally seen this video, and I love it!) 

They will also be showing "Blessed Duns Scotus: Defender of the Immaculate Conception" that is 85 minutes long. It is an award-winning Italian movie with English subtitles. 

Bring along your favorite snack to share. If you plan on coming, please let Mark know that you are coming so that they don't start the movies without you. (812-631-2377)

This Friday will be a lot of fun, and it will be great to spend time in a wonderful Catholic environment. Don't miss this opportunity to meet some new friends and watch some inspiring movies!

For more information, go to www.stjosephsholyfamily.org.

 

Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

This title makes Him sound so huge and untouchable, but we have to remember that He is also the same Jesus who wants to be the King of our hearts. He wants to be a part of everything we are.

This is also the last Sunday before Advent begins. This week, take a moment to reflect on Christ our King as we prepare for the King's coming at Christmas.

A Story of Thanksgiving:

Today's Gospel reading for the Thanksgiving mass (Luke 17: 11-19)

As Jesus was entering a village, ten lepers met Him. They stood at a distance from Him and raised their voice, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" And when He saw them, He said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going, they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" Then He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

 

The part of this story that really strikes me is the one who comes back, "glorifying God in a loud voice". We should be this man who falls to the feet of Jesus, thanking Him. He heals us, maybe not of true leprosy, but of all the disgusting things we have done and of the deformed hideosity we become because of sin. We would be lepers without God's gift of mercy and love. 

 

Be that one who comes back to praise God and thank Him for His healing.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I want to wish you a happy Thanksgiving and I hope you make wonderful new memories with your family and friends. I encourage you to think about all the things you are thankful for and to especially thank God for all that He has given you. We can't thank Him enough!

Just a thought - 

What if you woke up today with only the things that you thanked God for yesterday?

Be thankful!

Thanksgiving Day Prayer

O Gracious God, we give You thanks for Your overflowing generosity to us. Thank You for the blessings of the food we eat and especially for this feast today. Thank You for our home and family and friends, especially for the presence of those gathered here. Thank You for our health, our work, and our play. Please send help to those who are hungry, alone, sick, and suffering war and violence. Open our hearts to Your love. We ask Your blessing through Christ Your Son. Amen.

I'd like to apologize for not posting anything for almost three weeks. As you probably know, life can be messy and overwhelming. I just couldn't find the time to write something for this blog.

That's just like our spiritual lives. Sometimes life can be overwhelming, and we don't give God the attention that He deserves because we're just so busy. But we need to find time or make time to just take a step back away from everything we're dealing with and just pray.

So during this busy holiday season, I encourage you (myself included) to make time for Christ everyday. It will change your life.