April 16th is Easter Vigil
We will have mass at St. Joseph at 5:30pm
Mass at St. Mary will be at 7pm
April 17th is Easter Sunday
We will have Mass at St. Mary at 8am
Spanish Mass at St. Mary will be at 12pm
Mass at St. Joseph will be at 10:30am
We “hop” to see you there!
Join us April 21st
6-8pm in the St. Joseph Rectory
We will be watching episodes 5 & 6 of “The Chosen”
* Past Witness Statments *
The Host’s Opinion
“I have viewed the entire 2 seasons of ” The Chosen” multiple times, The actors, writing, scenery and clothing which is used in this series really transports the viewer to those days of the apostles. Each episode portrays the human and divine mysteries of our Lord. I look forward to sharing this with all of you!”
– Colleen Fenn
The Witness Opinion
“In The Chosen, the words of Hebrews 4:15 come vividly to life. Rather than being difficult to approach, I see that Jesus truly is ‘able to sympathize with our weaknesses…’ having “similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. Seeing Him this way, I am better able to approach Him, whom I owe so very much for dying for me, He who makes even a difficult life so very joyful.”
– Valerie Eilers
“The Chosen” started off as a tiny passion project, and with the help of generous contributers, it soon became a full fledged series with two seasons and more on the way. This film series is truly blessed. There is no doubt that God and Jesus would be proud of how Their deeds are represented in these episodes. This show helps believers reaffirm their faith, and it also introduces non-believers to a fresh new perspective on the biblical stories written by the many followers of Jesus. We can all admit that the Bible can be difficult to read without a guide- and so this show strives to tell the story with characters and themes that we are used to in a more modern storytelling fashion. This way, people can more appreciate the human being behind Christ that existed in our world alongside us so long ago.
If you haven’t seen this series yet- this is your chance to start! If you would like to continue the series after you’ve seen the first few episodes, the instructions for where to watch are displayed below!
Watch it on Prime Video, VUDU, Vudu Movie & TV Store, Apple TV or BYUtv on your Roku device;
https://www.roku.com/whats-on/tv-shows/the-chosen?id=22211048a0cc5d83938fb6a064d64dc6
As long term parishioners know, St. Joseph and St. Mary have offered Easter Lilies to buy around this time every year. Our new secretary was not made aware of this news in time to prepare for ordering flowers. We will still have artificial ones, but the real lilies will be offered in a limited quantity. We have the usual forms prepared in the back of the church if you would still like to order flowers before the holiday.
If you have any other questions regarding this, please contact Father Barr at (815)232-8271 Ext. 7
If you would like to order flowers directly on your own, you may look up Deininger Floral Shop.
Florist in Freeport, Illinois Service options: In-store shopping · Curbside pickup · Delivery
Address: 1 W Main St, Freeport, IL 61032
“I offer my most humble apologies for handling our holidays here at the church with a lack of understanding. There are many aspects about my job that I am still learning as time goes on. Hopefully my mistakes will help me to become successful in the long run. If I am still the parish secretary in the next year, I will pour my heart and soul into making sure that all of our wonderful traditions here are continued and made even better. Until then, I hope you can forgive me. I couldn’t feel worse about this, so I will do anything and everything I can to make up for it. I’m doing my best. Thank you for giving me the chance to be here.”
-Emily
Since Easter is right around the corner now; here is our upcoming schedule to help you get planning.
SJ = St. Joseph church
SM = St. Mary Parish
Saint Joseph Church
229 West Washington Place Freeport IL 61032
St. Mary Church
704 S State Ave, Freeport IL 61032
Join us this weekend, March 27th for the next session of our lecture series! You don’t want to miss these words of wisdom.
You may attend even if you missed the first lecture!
The Saturday Crucifix Making session held in the St. Joseph Daleiden Room will be moved to 12:30pm!!!
( Only for this weekend! )
March 26th at 12:30pm
April 2nd at 10:30am
April 9th at 10:30am
Friday, March 25, 2022
11:30am Holy Hour St. Joseph Church
5:00pm Holy Hour at St. Mary Church
We will celebrate a special Rosary in response to the request of Pope Francis, for the bishops of the world to join him in an Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
We invite the faithful to join us for this special Rosary and Consecration as we pray for peace in Ukraine and around the world. It will be livestreamed and made available from the St. Joseph Facebook for those who cannot make it in person.
https://www.facebook.com/stjosephfreeportil
Churches all over the world are also having their own events for this global vision. Please support your parish, and join with all of us in prayer.
Catholic News Agency@cnaliveWatch LIVE here: https://facebook.com/CatholicNewsAgency This Friday, March 25, don’t miss the live broadcast of the Consecration of Pope Francis along with all the bishops of the world of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbor’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!
Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.
We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.
That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!
Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.
Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.
Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.
Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.
Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.
Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.
Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.
Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.
Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.
O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.
Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26). In this way he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.
Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.
Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the “Fiat”, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope”, water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen.
Read more from our sources below;
Part 5
Paul finishes off his letter with a positive note, knowing the trials the Thessalonians will have to endure. In a positive way, he leads them into keeping vigilant. He makes the comparison between those who are asleep to those who are awake. Those who are asleep are those who are in sin, thinking that their accounting of actions is still far off. But they have suffered much and are very aware that life could be cut short or be greatly affected in a negative way. This chapter is very applicable to us today. We see, the signs of the times (Lk 29-31) in our recent world events and calamities. We ought to know that our judgement could be very close at hand. We need to be awake and make sure we do not flounder around in the way we live for Christ. We have more need of urgency in our faith than the Thessalonians did back then. We need to be awake for Christ, not just woke for failing politics. We need to fear God who can send us into the fiery Gehenna than those who can only kill the body (Mt 10:28).
The first thing we need to do is build each other up (v11). Paul is making clear that we are to be a blessing to each other in times of trial. We are in times of trial now. Now is the time to forgive one another and love one another. Now, more than ever, we need to be that family of God in the parish community life. Paul’s letter here gives another window into his understanding of community life as a parish. Paul talks about those “whose task it is exercise authority in the Lord to admonish you” to “esteem them with the greatest love” (v12-13). He does not say apostles, but he is referring to those whom they have sent and given that task. These are the priests and bishops. They are to consider them in terms of love and devotion. The task of priests and bishops are themselves to be of love and devotion for the people in the admonishment they give. Again, it is a familial understanding of what the church is.
Paul gives great advice as if he is thinking as a father with his children; “admonish the unruly, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all” (v14). Paul agrees that Jesus intended for the faithful are to help one another and love one another (Jn 13:34-35). The task of the Catholic in the pew is to be a part of a support network for each other. This is to be acted out within a parish community as well as outside of a parish community. That is why we support the Madonna Renewal center as well as the missionaries. When we give to either, we are participating and making real our call to be a blessing for others. Everything we do as Catholics are meant for this task, whether it be giving in the collection basket or calling a fellow parishioner to cheer them up. Paul gives great advice as to how we can do this for each other as a community.
Paul concludes the letter with a blessing and instruction. He wants this letter read for the whole community to hear. He is trying to give them hope in a difficult time and wants to make sure they get it. He also wants to make sure they keep loving one another in hope. Without that hope, how can we continue to give of ourselves? As Catholics, we understand to idea of dying to ourselves, in our own will and sacrificing our will in preference to God’s will. That is what the Lenten season is all about. In the sacrifices we make daily, our brothers and sisters are given that opportunity to hope in God. All this comes about by the way we love one another as Catholics. What a blessing!
Father Barr
Register soon for the smash hit lecture series by John Jelinek & John McGrath!
St. Joseph Church in Freeport, Illinois, is holding a Lenten lecture series co-led by John Jelinek, director of ministry formation and religious education for the Diocese of Rockford, and John McGrath, retired director of ministry formation.
Sessions will be held on Sundays, Mar. 20th, 27th and Apr. 3rd, all from 1-2:30pm at St. Joseph Church in Freeport, IL.
Themes are: “A Beginners Guide to Prayer”, “Community Life for a Disconnected World”, and “Discipleship Involves a Change of Heart.”
Individual sessions will cost $5, or $10 for all three. Registration will be at the north door.
RCIA students are welcome to attend for free!
Dear Friends:
The Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary would like to invite you to attend on the behlaf of the Spiritual Ministry Programming of the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary.
There are 5 programs on the calendar for April 2022:
Registration links for each event are as follows:
Each of these events is represented with 1 or 2 pieces of promotional material attached: A PDF document suitable for including in print media, and/or a PDF document suitable for digital media. If you require any of these materials in a different format (Word, JPG, etc), please contact our Director of Spiritual Ministry, Susan Amann directly by email at samann@sscm-usa.org or by calling 708.790.8141.
Thank you for supporting our ministry.
