Saturday, 17 March
Vigil of Sunday
4:30 p.m. - DENNIS and ANNA WEISS
by their son and their daughter-in-law, John and Frances Weiss

Sunday, 18 March
4th Sunday of Lent
7:45 a.m. - JOSEPH and MARTHA (Mitchell) FLYNN
by Albert and Martha Pascuzzo and family
10:45 a.m. - CATHERINE CARESTIA RINALDO (3rd anniversary) by Theresa Mete Cuccia

Monday, 19 March
St. Joseph, husband of Mary (Sol)
12:05 p.m. - WILLIAM and HELEN FLAHERTY
by Liz Troilo Acker

Tuesday, 20 March
Lenten Weekday
12:05 p.m. - H. ROBERT PICCIONI Sr. (anniversary of birth) by his wife, Ann, and family
7:00 p.m. - NATALE and ROSA BUTERA
by their daughter-in-law, Mary

Wednesday, 21 March
Lenten Weekday
12:05 p.m. - JOSEPH A. PALKO
by his wife, Carmella, and his daughter, Joanne

Thursday, 22 March
Lenten Weekday
12:05 p.m. - RACHEL A. SNINSKI
by her family
7:00 p.m. - ANTHONY J. LUPPINO
by Ed and Jean Harman and family

Friday, 23 March
St. Toribio of Mogrovejo, bishop (OptMem)
12:05 p.m. - JOHN MINDER Jr.
(anniversary of birth) by Aunt Rita

Saturday, 24 March
Lenten Weekday
8:00 a.m. - LOUIS V. LONG
(1st anniversary) by the Whitney family
Vigil of Sunday
4:30 p.m. - VINCENT LUPPINO
by his family

Sunday, 25 March
5th Sunday of Lent
7:45 a.m. - SALVATORE and MARY ALFONSI
by Andy and Clare
10:45 a.m. - LOUISE TROILO ALATI (3rd anniversary)
by her niece, Regina, and her grandnieces, Jordan and Angela

Saint Joseph Parish
$1,239.00 from the envelopes and $138.00 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $1,377.00 the parish's weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments, $358.85 plus the weekly premiums for property and liability insurance, $149.20, the sum of which is $508.05, plus its weekly obligation to All Saints School, $987.21, the sum total of which is $1,495.26, one sees that ($118.26) of this collection is available for operating the parish. This is a deficit!

Saint Francis deSales Parish
$113.00 from the envelopes and $74.10 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $187.10 the parish's weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments, $55.15 plus the weekly premiums for property and liability insurance, $56.72, the sum of which is $253.25, plus its weekly obligation to All Saints School, $197.44, the sum total of which is $309.31, one sees that ($122.21) of this collection is available for operating the parish. This is a deficit!

THE LOURDES GROTTO CANDLE is offered, during the week of 18 - 24 March, in loving memory of H. Robert Piccioni Sr., at the request of his wife, Ann, and family.

CHINESE AUCTION
Date: Sunday, 18 March
Time: Doors open at 12:00 noon. Auction is at 2:00 p.m.
Place: Mary Queen of Peace Social Hall
Price: $3.00 admissions
Sponsor: MQP Ladies Guild

COLD WEATHER GOT YOU BEAT?
Here's something that should warm you up!

Sacred Heart Church
2007 Art Show & Auction
Sunday, March 25th
1:00 pm ~ Preview
2:00 pm ~ Silent Auction & Reception
3:30 pm ~ Live Auction
Blue Mt. Health Systems Community Service Center,
Palmerton Campus, 217 Franklin Ave. Palmerton

Join us for a fantastic afternoon of food, wine and BEAUTIFUL Art.
Tickets $10 ~ Limited Seating. Call to reserve your tickets today!
610-349-3929 / www.shcpalmerton.org

CATHOLIC TRIVIA
Question: What do the following four persons have in common?

Answer: All four of them (and only all four of them) qualified to have their names submitted for the coveted "Religious Fanatic of the Year Award for Calendar Year 2007". Believe it or not, they showed up for Stations of the Cross at St. Francis deSales Church at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, 16 March 2007.
The Lord was very impressed! (He told me so.)

The following is an excerpt from the Vatican document referred to in our parish bulletin of 4 March 2007. This document is accessible at: http://www.adoremus.org/concerts.html

The Diocese of Allentown has said that this document is normative for the Diocese.

If someone were to ask me to simplify this matter and to express the point in everyday language, I would express it as follows:

It is against the law of the Catholic Church to allow a Catholic church building to be used for a concert of secular music.

This is not a matter of opinion, nor is it a matter of interpretation.
The law is abundantly clear.
The only question is this:

Is the law of the Catholic Church to be obeyed or is it to be ignored?

If it is to be obeyed, then let it be obeyed.
If it is to be ignored, then let it be frankly acknowledged that the law is being ignored and let some rationale be given.

Removing the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle of the church does not render the church suitable for a concert of secular music.

The morale of the Catholic people (not excluding the morale of the clergy) has suffered enormously in the past few decades because there has been a collapse of any sense of obligation to obey law, together with a collapse of will on the part of Church authority to enforce law,

We have become our own worst enemy.

"In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what he thought best."

Judges 21:25

DID YOU KNOW THAT
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibits "gay men" (actively homosexual men) from donating blood?
Here is a statement from FDA spokeswoman, Heidi Rebello:
"Blood safety depends not only on donor testing, but on reducing the number of contaminated donations that may take place. This is why we continue to defer persons whose behavior places them at high risk for infection."
FDA rules preclude any man who has had one sexual encounter with another man since 1977 from donating blood. According to the FDA, such men are 60 times more likely to have HIV than the general population, 200 times more likely than first-time donors, and 2,000 times more likely than repeat donors.

DID YOU KNOW THAT
the Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims that sex between men is the leading cause of most HIV infections - about half of all new cases in 2005?
I think these facts should be known to all.
Why?
Because we are being encouraged to think that opposition to homosexuality is mindless bigotry based on religious doctrines. We are being told that we should stop trying to impose our religious faith on people.
Let it be clear to one and all: Our opposition to homosexuality is based on logic, on science, on natural law. Homosexual sodomy is wrong because it is anti-human, not because it is against Church law!

With this in mind, why in the Name of God would Pottsville Area High School permit a "Day of Silence" each year in order to give students free rein to protest "discrimination against gays"?
Why are we promoting HIV and the contamination of our blood supply?

(Marine) General Peter Pace is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
[I am happy to say that he is a Catholic.]
In defending the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy last week, he went beyond the utilitarian into the realm of moral philosophy. In doing so, he made it quite clear that he believes that homosexual actions are immoral.
For this astonishing and refreshing statement of moral sanity, the General is, of course, being raked over the coals.
Senator John Warner (R-VA), Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) are among the illuminati who are disturbed by the General's remarks. They have made it clear that not only do they think the General ought not to have said what he said, but they also disagree with the content of what he said. All three of them have said that they do not consider homosexual actions to be immoral.
All three of them are moral nincompoops and should be promptly sent to bed without their suppers.
Homosexuality is immoral. Water is wet. Fire is hot. Ice is cold. Why would anyone think otherwise?

LECTORS AND SERVERS

We are always grateful to have lectors and servers for the weekday Masses at St. Joseph Church.
We don't have any system or schedule of weekday lectors and servers, nor would it be practical to try to have one.
Whoever shows up, shows up.
["No one who comes to me will I ever reject."]
It hardly ever happens that no one shows up to volunteer his or her services and that the priest is left on his own.
For this I am grateful.
However, I do have a request.
This request is based on what is considered "good liturgical practice".
My request is this:
Whenever possible, let one person serve and let another person read.
Note that I said, "whenever possible".
I realize it is not always possible.
Please do not be shy in offering your services.
If you are uncertain about any aspect of reading or serving, please let me know.
I would be happy to tell you what you need to know.
And, keep in mind: You never know when there might be a talent scout in the congregation.
But if you do get an offer from some big-time parish, please don't forget the little parish where you got your start.