Happy Feast of the Holy Family!

Happy Feast of the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary and Joseph!


I hope and pray that your Christmas is going wonderfully! I have been very blessed this year with many graces from God. He has encouraged me and given me more hope and peace than ever. I do have joy in my heart. Praise God for that! 


I received a file from a parishioner in the last couple of days of a video. The video is short and it is at the beginning of the Midnight Mass with Pope Benedict XVI. Two seminarians from my parish, Jamie Baxter and Michael Bower, are in the midst of the crowd as Pope Benedict XVI moves in procession. Also, other seminarians from the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana are in the crowd (Kyle Neterer, Stephen Geer) and Jeff Bower, the father of Michael. Of course, where our seminarians are so is our vocation director Fr. Brian Doerr. Look carefully at the video below to see these familiar faces. It must have been so amazing to be in Rome for this Christmas Mass. This experience will be something they will never forget. Enjoy the video!

I also wanted to encourage you this Christmas with the gift we have been given from our God... His Son Jesus, our Emmanuel, God is with us!


In my homily this year, I explained that God did not give us the gift of His Son in wrapping paper or in a gift bag, but rather, Jesus was placed in a manger filled with hay. I also pointed out that the original purpose for the manger or crib was a feeding trough for animals. It is interesting that Jesus Himself would become food, spiritual food, for our souls. He gives Himself in the Eucharist so that we could have life and grace. What a gift we have to be able to bring Jesus Christ into our hearts in the Eucharist. Please read my Christmas homily if you have time! 


God bless you and Happy Feast of the Holy Family,


Fr. Joshua

Mary Christ Mass and Happy New Year!

Dear Family, Friends & Visitors of my blog,

We hear in the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” 

We are the people that this message from the angel is directed. We are the people who Jesus was born for. We are the people who are loved by the child’s mother Mary and step-father Joseph. We are those who He would give His life for on the cross. 

I am thankful to all of you for being part of my life. I continue to minister to the people of Saint Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church in Zionsville. I have been blessed beyond my imagination since I arrived here almost three years ago. At my parish, I keep quite busy with celebrating Masses, hearing confessions, performing baptisms, helping with wedding and funerals, supporting the women of Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP), helping with Women’s Cursillo, hanging out with our high school students in the Temple Knights and the Daughters of the Immaculata to name just a few things. I was blessed this past year to also be an assistant cross country coach at Guerin Catholic High School in Noblesville, IN. Through that experience, I was able to get ready for the 2010 New York City Marathon which I finished successfully on November 7th. I also made a pilgrimage in the summer of 2010 to Rome and Assisi Italy, which was a joy to do as a priest. The pilgrims did great and yes we did get to see Pope Benedict XVI.

This time of year is one of my favorites most especially because God so loved us that He gave us the greatest Christmas gift - His Son Jesus, our Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”

Please know of my prayers for all of you. I hope to continue to keep this blog updated and interesting for all who would visit it. May the blessings of this Christmas Season come upon you all and may this New Year 2011 be even more amazing that 2010.

God bless you,

Father Joshua

Long time... So Much Going On!

Finally... we have snow and cold temperatures. Brrrrr. There has been so many wonderful things going on. Thanksgiving was a blast with my Dad and some wonderful friends, the Lunsfords. Thank you for inviting us! I had the blessing of celebrating Mass at my parish of Saint Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church. This year, we had a nice turn out and the gift of the Eucharist for us all continues to bless us. People even brought some of the items that they would have at their Thanksgiving dinners, so I did a blessing for those food items.

Since Turkey Day, it has been wonderful entering into the Season of Advent. This past weekend, the Second Sunday of Advent has come and gone. I cannot believe how quickly it is all going. And, as most everyone around us are already celebrating Christmas, let's hold off a bit and wait to the actual day... DECEMBER 25TH! Remember that Christmas is a whole liturgical season which lasts from Vespers of December 24th and continues with the Traditional 12 Days of Christmas concluding with the Feast of Epiphany. Christmastide continues on until the beautiful Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on January 9th this coming year. I hope your Christmas trees survive this lengthy Season because we cannot just celebrate the gift from God - His Son Jesus Christ - in just one day. We continue to celebrate and give God thanks for loving us so much that He sent His only Son to be our Savior and Lord for an entire liturgical season.

Today, I am excited for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This solemn feast gives us so much hope as we are called to remain as immaculate as we can each and everyday. As I shared in my homily last night, we became immaculate in our baptism, so there is an opportunity for us to reflect and pray at the Baptismal Font. That place is where we became Sons and Daughters of God. The grace of the Almighty poured into our hearts and souls and forever we became different in the eyes of God. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is our opportunity to frequently return to the grace of God and be restored to friendship with Him. I encouraged people with the idea of having "Immaculate Confessions" so that we can become more and more like Mary our Mother - the Immaculate one. Mary has played and continues to play such an important role in salvation. She is a model for us of how we are called to cooperate with God to truly fulfill our role as disciples of Jesus Christ. Here is a link to read and reflect upon some of the passages of Sacred Scripture that deal with Mary: http://www.picturingmary.com/about_virgin_maryA.php.

Enjoy these Advent days folks. Remember the more effort we put into preparing, the more we will get out of the Holy SEASON (not just one day) of Christmas. You are in my prayers. I will try to blog more frequently, especially since there are so many wonderful things going on. God bless you, those that you love and those that you are working harder than ever to love.

Marriage and Family...

picture from www.worcesterdiocese.org

Marriage and family... gifts from God above! I read a blog post today from Bishop Paul Etienne of the Diocese of Cheyenne, WY. His words were right on when it comes to what God has created in marriage and the family. You can read the post in its entirety by clicking here.

Also, the United States Council of Catholic Bishops have two very good websites on the subject. Enjoy those provided below. 

God bless you, especially all who are married, getting ready for marriage, struggling in marriage and everyone else who is part of a family, which would include everybody. 

Father Joshua

http://foryourmarriage.org/

http://www.usccb.org/marriageuniqueforareason/

Mission for Vocations Accomplished!

Well, I did it! My 2010 "Race for Vocations" is over. I can finally consider myself a marathoner after having completed the ING New York City Marathon in 4 hours 43 minutes. Honestly, that was one of the most difficult races I have ever run because it covered so many miles and I was on my feet for so long. My plan for this marathon was to complete the race. Period. Thank you God and thank you everyone who prayed for me.

prior to the marathon... stretching and praying

I will admit that I felt good enough to run a faster time, but something more important was necessary. I ran the race with a friend named Boo. Her real name is Elizabeth, but everyone calls her Boo. Well, Boo and I had trained for the marathon for many months. She trained in New York where she and her family live. I trained in Indiana where I live. We both battled different injuries at various times, but when race day finally arrived last weekend, we were ready. Unfortunately, Boo started to have some challenges with her hip injury at about mile 10. I was sore for most of the race, but just kept plugging along. I was tempted to speed up my pace but it seemed to me that Boo needed me to support and encourage her. So, I made the right decision and hung with my friend for the rest of the race. It was an awesome feeling to cross the finish line in Central Park. We were numbered with over 44,000 other marathon finishers this year. It was a proud and joyful moment. 

the evening before the marathon... Saint Patrick's Cathedral getting ready to bless other runners

So, from what I have been told, after you complete your first marathon, you either end up never running one again or you decide to run another one in the future. I believe I will run another marathon. It is a great challenge, yet provided me with so many benefits. I was able to keep in better shape, set a goal for myself and spiritually support vocations. I am thankful I ran in my first marathon. I am glad I could support a friend. I am grateful to all who supported me and this event for vocations. Anyone interested in running the 2011 ING New York City Marathon? Drop me a line and let me know... I will never forget the experience.

the medal I received for finishing the race

UPDATE: If you would like to see more pictures from 2010 ING New York City Marathon, please visit the following website... I even posed for a few of them! -->

http://www2.brightroom.com/browser.aspx?eid=62039&bib=3499

Saints, Saints and Still More Saints...

The month of October has been amazing for the Church, not only the Universal Church with Pope Benedict XVI canonizing six saints in recent days, but also for my parish and for central Indiana. Let me explain.


On October 17th, Pope Benedict XVI presided at Saint Peter's Basilica with the Canonization Liturgy. The six news saints canonized for the universal Church included the first Australian ever canonized (Saint Mary MacKillop of the Cross - founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart - 1842-1909) and the first native American Male (Saint André Bessette - Canadian professed religious of the Holy Cross - 1845-1937). The other saints included Stanislao Soltys, called Kazimierczyk, Polish professed religious of the Order of Canons Regular Lateranense (1433-1489); Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola (nee Juana Josefa), Spanish founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus (1845-1912); Giulia Salzano, Italian founder of the Congregation of Sisters Catechists of the Sacred Heart (1846-1929), and Battista da Varano (nee Camilla), professed nun of the Order of Poor Clares (1458-1524). Please visit here to learn more about these wonderful new saints.


Of particular interest to me is Saint Mary MacKillop because I learned about her for the first time at World Youth Day in Sydney Australia in 2008. We visited the tomb of Saint Mary MacKillop and had a Mass there as well. It was such a blessing for our group and was a special memory for me. If you would like to learn more about her, please visit http://www.marymackillop.org.au/. 


Also, this month of October included a wonderful Women's Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) Weekend experience October 2-3. I have enjoyed being part of the CRHP program since I came to my parish of Saint Alphonsus Liguori in 2008. We had almost 20 women attend the retreat. They enjoyed the time with Jesus, bonding, talks and especially the food. Please visit http://www.zionsvillecatholic.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=214 to learn more. Please pray for our parish, specifically that more and more people will attend a CRHP. It is so very powerful. It is a great way to help people to grow in their faith and get to know other people from the parish.


Finally, two weeks later October 14-17, I was spiritual director at the Women's Cursillo Retreat held in Indianapolis at Saint Bernadette's Parish. God showed up powerfully to the almost 30 attendees and our team members who put the retreat on. I enjoy helping with Cursillo retreats, especially since my own Cursillo experience had such an impact on my in my own life. I attended Cursillo 81 in 1999. Imagine, that same year I decided to enter seminary. God is so very good! If you are interested in attending the next Cursillo weekend, please sign up soon because they usually fill up quickly. The next Men's Cursillo Weekends will be March 3-6, 2011 and September 29-October 2, 2011. The next Women's Cursillo Weekends will be March 17-20, 2011 and October 13-16, 2011. You can visit the Central Indiana Cursillo Center's Website at http://www.cursillo.org/indy/ .


I mention to you CRHP and Cursillo retreats in this blog entitled "Saints, Saints and Still More Saints..." because we are all "Saints" in the making or what I like to call "WORKS IN PROGRESS." God is helping us with His grace to ALL become saints. The canonized saints, those declared blessed, venerables and servants of God are all awesome role models indeed. However, each and everyone of us is called to sanctity and to one day enter into our eternal reward in Heaven. So, we all have opportunities in our lives to work on this. Retreats are one great way to do this. We also have the daily opportunities to grow in faith, hope and love including daily prayer, the Eucharist, Reconciliation, reading Sacred Scripture (Lectio Divina) and spiritual reading. With all this in mind, I am heading to our Blessed Sacrament Chapel to get some prayer in myself. I will say one for YOU. 


God bless you,


Fr. Joshua Janko

"Truth, Proclamation and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age"

World Day of Social Communications 2011 coming up...


Last January, during the Year for Priests, I read the message of Pope Benedict XVI for the 44th World Day of Social Communications. The theme for this past year was entitled: "The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word." The message from last year in its entirety can be found by clicking here. Anyway, our Holy Father's message inspired me to do something new and innovative as a priest. The following words that especially captured my attention included: "To my dear brother priests, then, I renew the invitation to make astute use of the unique possibilities offered by modern communications. May the Lord make all of you enthusiastic heralds of the Gospel in the new "agorà" which the current media are opening up."


So, from this inspiration, I launched a website entitled: www.fatherjoshua.com. I have enjoyed maintaining the website and have used it to help me promote different ministries that I have been involved in throughout this year, including different things going on at my parish of Saint Alphonsus Liguori in Zionsville, IN, a Rome Pilgrimage I led this past July, the Race for Vocations 2010 and 2011, World Youth Day 2011 and Rosary for the Bishop. In upcoming months, I will continue to expand and add even more to www.fatherjoshua.com. Please stay tuned. 


This coming January, the 45th World Day of Social Communications will occur. Pope Benedict XVI will share his message with the theme: "Truth, Proclamation and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age" which was made known to the world today 29 September 2010. One thing he will certainly reaffirm with us is that as much as people are utilizing the different media possibilities for communication, the heart of these communications must remain just that: PEOPLE. 


The Vatican Information Service published on 29 September some thoughts about the Pope's theme from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. The theme is "to be understood as focusing on the human person who is at the heart of all communicative processes. Even in an age that is largely dominated, and at times conditioned, by new technologies, the value of personal witness remains essential." "To approach the truth and to take on the task of sharing it requires the 'guarantee' of an authenticity of life from those who work in the media, and especially from Catholic journalists; an authenticity of life that is no less required in a digital age." "Technology, on its own, cannot establish or enhance a communicator's credibility, nor can it serve as a source of the values which guide communication. The truth must remain the firm and unchanging point of reference of new media and the digital world, opening up new horizons of information and knowledge. Ideally, it is the pursuit of truth which constitutes the fundamental objective of all those who work in the media" (source: http://visnews-en.blogspot.com/2010/09/theme-for-world-day-of-social.html)


Pope Benedict XVI will share his message about this theme in its entirety on 24 January 2011, the Feast of Saint Francis de Sales (patron saint of journalists). Until then, let us continue to pray for all those who work in the media, including journalists, Pope Benedict XVI, bishops, priests, deacons, religious and laity that they will make good use of the media to bring the message of the Gospel to the entire world. 


There are already many success stories today. This week, I had the privilege of hearing one of these stories. I attended the 28th Annual Indianapolis Celebrate Life Dinner hosted by Right to Life of Indianapolis. The keynote speaker was UCLA activist and founder of LiveAction Lila Rose who has been using this new media to combat the Culture of Death with great progress in building a Culture of Life. If you want to see some of her work for yourselves, please visit her website: http://liveaction.org/. Her message and work are inspiring to say the least. God is doing amazing things through Miss Rose so please pray for her as well. 

UPDATE 9/22/10: Father Joshua's Upcoming "Race" for Vocations... The New York City Marathon November 7, 2010

UPDATE 9/22/10: Some have attempted to post a comment in order to share their "prayer pledges" for my upcoming RACE FOR VOCATIONS. If you are unable to do this and would like to still let me know the prayers you will offer, please email them to me at me@fatherjoshua.com. This will make the process easier. I will then be able to tabulate how many prayers will be offered before and during the New York City Marathon on Sunday November 7th, 2010. Thanks so much for your patience... Fr. Joshua




November 1, 2009 was an interesting day to say the least! Why? Well, I found myself in the living room of Saint Alphonsus Liguori's rectory flipping through the channels. Unfortunately, and what I have experienced on numerous occasions, is that there was not a whole lot on TV. But, wait, what was that?! On one of the channels, the New York City Marathon was being televised and I was immediately drawn in to watch this amazing event. This particular marathon is one of the biggest in the world, drawing thousands of runners and walkers. The event started in 1970 with a mere 127 participants who paid $1.00 each to participate. This coming year will include over 44,000 participants.

But, that day, on November 1, 2009, struck a chord within me. I watched the last hour of the race and what moved me the most was the reaction of the winner in the men's division. Meb Keflezighi won the race in 2:09.15. As he crossed the finish line, he kept pointing 

proudly to his running jersey with "USA" on it. He pointed to his jersey excitedly and 

was very proud to be a citizen of this great nation.

He beat the second runner by about 41 seconds. Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya completed 

his 26.2 mile race in 2:09.56. I said to myself seconds after the conclusion of that great event: 

"I think I would like to run in that marathon next year." 

I believe it was in December of 2009 or January of 2010 that I made application to run in 

the 2010 New York City Marathon. I knew I did not have a huge chance to run, but I had 

faith and was entered into a lottery system to be considered for entry into the race. I had to 

wait and wait until April of this year to learn if I was accepted. My prayers were answered! 

I was selected to run my first marathon. 

On another note, I have been part of a ministry these last three years called the 

Race for Vocations in  conjunction with the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini Marathon. 

You can learn more about this wonderful annual event by visiting this website: 

http://www.fatherjoshua.com/Site/Race_for_Vocations_2011.html. 

Anyway, I decided that if I was going to be accepted into the 2010 New York City Marathon, 

I would definitely want to do so for VOCATIONS.  I was accepted, so here I am, 

getting ready for the race of my life.

These past several months, I have been training for the marathon in a few different ways. 

First of all, I have been a volunteer assistant coach with the boys and girls cross country 

teams at Guerin Catholic High School in Noblesville, IN. That has provided me with a 

good amount of motivation as I have trained with these teams during the summer months 

and throughout the fall season. I want to thank Coach Gordon Elston for allowing me to 

be part of this awesome program and the runners for inspiring me and encouraging me to 

keep up with them in their training runs. Additionally, I have had to include longer runs into 

my training to prepare my body for 26.2 miles of running. These past several weeks, I have 

progressed in the longer runs from 10 miles to 12 miles to 15 miles to 18 miles. This coming 

weekend, I will be running 20 miles. Please pray for me! I will have a few more 20 milers 

and at least one 24 miler before the November 7th Marathon in New York City.

I am grateful to so many people supporting me in my "Race for Vocations" coming up in 

less than two months. As I have asked people to support me spiritually in the Indianapolis 

Mini Marathon for the last three years by submitting their prayer pledges, I am asking anyone 

out there (family, friends and anyone else) to please support my "Race for Vocations" this year 

in 2010. Like the Race for Vocations link shares above, you can offer prayers (like an Our Father, 

Hail Mary, Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplets, Holy Hours, etc.) for vocations as I run a difficult 

26.2 mile course through the streets of New York City. For instance, you could offer 26 rosaries 

for vocations as I run 26.2 miles in the New York City Marathon. 

There are many options for you to support me in my "Race for Vocations." 

I would simply ask you to post your prayer commitments into the comments section of 

this blog post so that I can keep track of how many prayers will be offered for vocations.

Well, thanks for hanging with me as I explained this next challenge I will face in less than 

two months. I am very excited for November 7, 2010. Please pray for me and I will 

PRAY FOR VOCATIONS as I am hopeful I will be able to finish this race - 26.2 miles 

on the streets New York City. 

God bless you,

Fr. Joshua M. Janko

Prayers for our Bishop Doherty and other new bishops... as they met with the Holy Father today!

Please keep in your prayers Bishop Timothy L. Doherty (Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana) as he continues his trip in Rome. Today, Bishop Doherty had the opportunity to greet our Holy Father at his summer residence. Another new Bishop, Bishop Paul D. Etienne, who was ordained this past December to shepherd the Diocese of Cheyenne, is on this maiden episcopal voyage as well. I was blessed to travel on a huge white plane containing some wonderful lay men and women, Archbishop Daniel Buchlein and several priests from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, where Bishop Etienne served as a priest for many years. Bishop Etienne's blog post today shares his own thoughts and feelings. Please check that out by clicking here. Also, if you would like to look at some of the pictures from Bishop Etienne's Episcopal Ordination, please visit this website: http://www.fatherjoshua.com/Site/My_Albums/Pages/Bishop_Paul_Etienne_Ordination_Cheyenne,_WY_2009.html.

Bishop Paul Etienne and Father Joshua Janko (12/09)

According to the Holy See Press Office, there were about 120 recently appointed bishops in attendance today as our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI shared with them his address calling them "Custodians of the Church."

Pope Benedict XVI's words today are worthy of reflection for us all. Please click here to read the Holy See Press Office's comments about Pope Benedict's address.

Our bishops need our prayers. Please continue to pray for them as they shepherd and guide their flocks. One opportunity that is available to us is to pray the rosary for our bishops. One way I have been able to support Bishop Doherty, Bishop Emeritus William L. Higi, as well as Pope Benedict XVI and a few other bishops is through a wonderful ministry called Rosary for the Bishop. This wonderful prayer ministry began in 2005 in Madison, Wisconsin. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer, so please consider praying more for all of our bishops. Maybe Rosary for the Bishop is one way you could do this. Please visit there website http://rosaryforthebishop.org/ to learn more about this great prayer ministry.

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The above picture is an Oil painting of Our Lady of the Southern Cross by Paul Newton, which was commissioned by Cardinal George Pell for World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008. I had the opportunity to see this picture in the Cathedral in Sydney and it is beautiful. Of all the pictures, images and depictions of Mary, the painting of Our Lady of the Southern Cross is one of my favorites. The prayer on the back of the prayer card is very inspiring. 

Mary, you are the Mother of Jesus, our Lord. Your presence in the upper room inspired the first disciples to trust completely in the promise of the Risen Christ:

I now consecrate myself to you under the title or Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Help of Christians, so that I might be a witness to your Son Jesus in the power of His Spirit.

Mary, teach me to be attentive to the voice of God in silence and to live a life of service in truth, joy and peace.

Amen.

Today, on September 8th, we celebrate the Nativity or Birthday of Mary, the Blessed Virgin and the Mother of God. She is a wonderful example for us of humility, obedience, purity and love. She is the disciple par excellence. I would certainly encourage anyone to begin to develop a relationship with her who was so very close to Jesus. She is a model disciple and is praying for all of us from Heaven.


So, how will you celebrate Mary's birthday today? Mary would want us to turn to her Son Jesus and ask Him once again to come into our lives and into our hearts. As she declared in her Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord," so our souls and our lives should proclaim and magnify the Lord to our neighbors around us. This is the commandment that Jesus has given us : "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another"(John 13:34-35).


Mary, being the faithful disciple, loves us and even people who may struggle to love. I will pray for you as you strive to live as disciples of Jesus Christ.


To learn more about today's Feast, please click here.


God bless you,
Fr. Joshua

Labor Day Weekend!

I pray you have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. I love this weekend's civil holiday, because each and everyone of us works. Work is a blessing because we share in the work of God who worked first in His work of creation. Enjoy the breather from your work. I will try to do the same.

In the not so distant past (2006), I wrote one of my last papers in seminary on the Spirituality of Work in my Catholic Social Ethics class. I had as the cover page a beautiful picture of "The Altar of Work" (Der Altar Der Arbeit) by Jed Gibbons. The picture helped to introduce my paper. The explanation of this artwork included these comments:

"Jed Gibbons

(courtesy of John N. and Laura E. Bradford)

page 31

Source: Pontifical College Josephinum, Prayers of St. Joseph, (Columbus: Pontifical College Josephinum, 2006) 31, 37-38.

“The voice of the Lord rends the oak tree” (Ps 29:9)

“If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor.” (Ps 127:1)

John Paul II kneels at his desk, which is his “Altar of Work,” and writes the encyclical, “Laborem Exercens.” As he mediates on the New Testament’s gospel of work, he places himself in the workshop in Nazareth, where Joseph the carpenter is busy at his altar of work, the workbench. Beneath the workbench, among the scraps and wood shavings, are two golden retrievers. Work “is one of the characteristics that distinguish man from the rest of creatures, whose activities for sustaining their lives cannot be called work,” says the Pope.

Joseph and the child Jesus are completing the magnificent oak structure they have crafted from a single oak tree. “The oak is a Christian symbol of longevity, enduring relationships and firmness and faith in God.” Oak foliage flourishes at the top of the structure and from that comes the fruit of the oak, the acorn. The acorn is a symbol of Christ, as “the shell represents His flesh, the cap of the wood represents the cross, and the inner kernel represents His hidden divinity.”

The elaborate oak structure frames the scene of St. Francis before the cross of San Damiano. He is holding a staff made of oak with three gilded oak leaves. In the scene there are two other altars of work: the pulpit of the cross from which Christ continues His saving work in the Church and the actual physical ruins of the church, which St. Francis repairs. Christ commands St. Francis to “rebuild my Church, which you see, is in ruins.” The fallen chalice and the absence of the tabernacle represent the state of spiritual disrepair in the Church today.

On the right side of the oak structure, between the spirals, is an acorn nestles in a heart-shaped lattice surrounded by the tall spirals. This represents the city of God in the third millennium, in which God and man coexist and all places of work can become altars of work."


If you have free time and would like to read the paper "Spirituality of Work," please click here. 


God bless you and Happy Labor Day!


Fr. Joshua

Memorial of Saint Monica

Saint Monica (322?-387) was a honorable and loving mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo. I do not want to go into a complete biography of her for you, but you can certainly learn more about this amazing woman by clicking here. 

Saint Augustine with his mother Saint Monica

I would like to point out that Saint Monica was wonderful in that she was patient and resolute in her desire to help her family members come to know God. Eventually after many years of offering prayers, sacrifices and fasts, her hearts desire was fulfilled when her son Augustine, her husband Patricius and her mother-in-law all came to the faith in baptism. It is interesting to note how her humble example of Christian charity helped to win over those that she loved. I enjoyed learning about her persistence with her son Augustine after he had fallen into the Manichean heresy and an immoral lifestyle. She followed him to Rome and upon reaching her destination, she learned that he was in Milan. Finally, after arriving in Milan, Saint Monica sought spiritual direction with Bishop Ambrose of Milan who helped with bringing her son Augustine to the faith. He was baptized in 387 and this was what she had prayed so fervently for throughout her life.

Saint Monica is the patron saint for mothers. I would say also that she could be considered the patron saint of patience. I want to thank my mother Laurie for raising me so well, and for all mothers out there. You all have embraced a vocation that is not only sacrificial, but inspiring as well. I am going to pray in a special way today for all mothers, expectant mothers and mothers who are considering abortion. May God the giver of all life help mothers to fulfill His plan for them and for their children. Saint Monica, pray for us!

Fr. J