St Joseph Freeport IL

Update on COVID 19 Schedule 5/8/20

Posted on by Fr. Timothy Barr

The Mass schedule will go on, even though they will not be celebrated publicly. The Masses will be streamed live on the Facebook pages respective to where the Mass is celebrated. That means that if the Mass is celebrated at St Mary Church, it will be streamed live on the St Mary Facebook and vice versa. You can call in for confessions and set up a time. I am offering confessions at the regular times at St Joseph. I will be in the garage at the rectory. Just drive up. You do not have to get out of your car.
If you would like the bulletin brought to you, we can drop it off in your mailbox, or use the parish app to read it. The distribution of Holy Communion and the administration of the Sacrament of the Sick remains for emergency situations only. I ask that you make a spiritual communion at this time when physical participation is not possible. Give a call in the office 1-815-232-8271, my extension is 7. Still working slow from calls from the Response Team to see how everybody is doing and to see if there are any needs. Many said they do not need a call. If you do not want a call, please let me know by calling the above phone number. Many of you know each other, please spread the word about all we are planning and tell them to call the office if they would like to take advantage of these services. 
In addition to the live streaming of the Mass and stations, I am also live streaming the  rosary starting at around 7:10am Tuesdays through Fridays. At 3:00pm on Tuesdays through Saturdays I will stream live the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and possibly the Mid-Afternoon Prayer. Evening Prayer and Night Prayer may vary on the day and schedule as I figure the times available. So this is what the schedule may look like on a weekly basis. One big change is that I will be celebrating Mass at St Joseph Church on Tuesday mornings, so the live streams will be on St Joseph’s Facebook. The only Mass that I will stream from St Mary’s will be Sunday mornings at 8:00am. This change is to limit the risk of coronavirus between Fr Ospina and I by using the same spaces sparingly; however, I also want St Mary parishioners to be able to see their church.
–Tuesday Rosary live streamed with the rosary on St Joseph Facebook at about 7:10am. 
–Tuesday Morning Mass live streamed  on St Joseph Facebook at 8:00am.
–Tuesday Morning Confessions by the garage at St Joseph Church after Mass till 10:00am.
–Tuesday Chaplet of Divine Mercy live streamed on St Joseph Facebook at 3:00pm.
–Tuesday Evening Confessions by the garage at St Joseph Church rectory at 4pm.
–Wednesday Rosary live streamed on St Joseph Facebook at 8am.
–Wednesday Mass live streamed on St Joseph Facebook at 9:30am.
–Wednesday 3:00pm Chaplet of Divine Mercy live streamed on St Joseph Facebook.
–Thursday Rosary live streamed on St Joseph Facebook at about 7:10am.
–Thursday Mass live streamed on St Joseph Facebook at 8:00am.
–Thursday Chaplet of Divine Mercy live streamed on St Joseph Facebook at about 3:30pm (after praying at the corner).
–Friday Rosary live streamed on St Joseph Facebook at 7:10am.
–Friday Mass live streamed on St Joseph Facebook at 8:00am.
–Friday Chaplet of Divine Mercy live streamed on St Joseph Facebook at 3:00pm.
–Saturday Mass live streamed on St Joseph Facebook at 8:00am.
–Saturday Rosary live streamed on St Joseph Facebook at about 7:10am.
–Saturday Morning Confessions by the garage at St Joseph Church rectory by 9:00am.
–Saturday Evening Confessions by the garage at St Joseph Church  rectory  at 3:00pm.
–Sunday Rosary live streamed on St Mary Facebook at 7:10am.
–Sunday Mass live streamed on St Mary Facebook at 8:00am.

Notice, not all the Masses will be streamed live. Even if you miss the live streaming, it will be available as a recording for you when you have time. There will be recorded events in Spanish on the St Mary Facebook with Fr Ospina. I like to keep regular, but I never know what will happen next. I might be at different locations from time to time. Times may also vary. As we deal with this situation, I decided to focus on the prayers and gain peace of mind and heart. As we go, we will be getting better equipment and better at this and hope to keep in contact with you. 
Jesus gave us the Church to be a community of believers in support for each other. We are all a gift to each other by the graces of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all!
— Fr Barr

Holy Day of Obligation January 1

Posted on by diocesan-freeport

This Wednesday is a holy day of obligation. It is the feast day of Holy Mary, Mother of God. The Mass times are as follows.

  • New years Eve 4pm Mass in St Joseph Church
  • New Years Day 8am Mass in St Mary Church
  • New Years Day 10:30am Mass in St Jospeh Church

Symbolism in the Church #36

Posted on by diocesan-freeport

S1290019On the right side as we look at the altar, there is a round stained glass window of an eye. This is there to remind us that God sees everything. God sees all things and know all things. Everything we do is not as secret as we think. He knows every giggle that happens every night when we are supposed to be sleeping. Who knows, maybe He is giggling too. Like Santa Clause, or even more so, He sees when we are sleeping, He knows when we’re awake; He knows when we’ve bad or good, so be good for goodness sake! He actually knows not only all actions that any person has ever made in all of time, He also knows every thought we have ever had in all of our lives. He knows every emotion we have ever had in our lives throughout all of time. Absolutely nothing is hidden from God. Because of this, God can never be deceived or manipulated.

This can either give us comfort or discomfort. The kind of knowledge God has is unique. It is the only kind of knowledge that gives a person the ability to be the judge of other living and the dead. It is the kind of knowledge that only Jesus has. For those of purity of heart it should give peace, but to those who have evil in their heart, it should give discomfort. Many people think that if they get by with something in human affairs, they got by with doing evil – that somehow that is proof that either God does not exist or that He really does not care. Nothing could be further from the truth. God judges our life after we die. Nobody escapes death or God’s judgement. God’s judgement is just and true. That is why it is most important to remain in virtue, for virtue is our guiding light on how to live rightly and not to offend God.

Yet for those who have a pure heart, this judgement is welcome. It is welcome in two ways. First, as a test that you know you are ready for, and secondly, as protection from the unjust. I remember when I was in the seminary; I had a great teacher when I was taking a class on the Gospel of John. The class was a delight to take. However, halfway through, all the students realized that nobody was taking notes. We all started to worry; we were just hanging on every word he spoke and forgot to take notes. We started to pull our pens and paper out and class would begin, and we forgot to write anything. When it came time for the test, it was amazing: we all remembered everything he said. We actually enjoyed the test and wrote down all the wonderful information we had learned. In the end, with the blessing of an A on the paper, we rejoiced all the more in amazement. This is the kind of blessing Jesus wants for us in the end of our test here on earth.

The other joy is when we need God’s protection and He fulfills it. We have many worries and injustices we all have to suffer in this life. It is good to know that God is there when we need His help most. Walking in truth, goodness and virtue keeps us under His protection. If we are the one causing the injustice, then we will be the ones corrected. But if we remain with good intent for others, particularly to those who do evil to us, this calls on God’s mercy and many times intercedes for us.

So having this sign in the church can either give us comfort or challenge us to get right with God before we are before His judgement seat. Does the thought of it scare you or does it bring you comfort? I suppose we will never know until it comes to our last breath. All we can do is have faith in Him and give Him our hearts. Jesus, I am totally yours!

Smile Ministry

Posted on by diocesan-freeport

The Smile Ministry names are in the back of the church. Please take a name and send a Fall greeting!

Do you know someone who can’t get out and needs a smile sent their way to brighten their day? Ask them if they would like to have their name put on our Smile list. They will be sent a greeting at each holiday throughout the year. Call the office to add a name to our list.

Want to Become Catholic? Not Confirmed?

Posted on by diocesan-freeport

Come to our RCIA (Rite of Catholic Initiation for Adults) classes starting Sunday, September 8. The classes are from 12:30pm-2:00pm every Sunday in the rectory at St Joseph Church. We will be going over the basic teachings of the Catholic Church with Fr Barr and our deacons. We will learn about the Catholic understanding of the Bible, the sacraments, prayers, traditions and practices. Come and discover the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith and of the love our Lord Jesus has for you.

Symbolism in the Church #20

Posted on by diocesan-freeport

The Millennial Cross is located in the foyer area above the enclosed bulletin board to the right as you enter the building. This cross was made in commemoration of the new millennium (the year 2000). Pope John Paul II saw it as a new era of holiness that we are all called to bring God’s goodness to all the world. Jesus and His triumph over sin and death, hence the cross, was the symbol he chose as the symbol of His mercy and the new era of reign. It is to be a reign of mercy, reconciliation and peace. It is to be all a part of the new evangelization and the Church’s role and contribution to society. It involves all Catholics in whatever state in life they are in. All Catholics are called to take part. Jesus is calling even you today. Have you stopped to hear His voice? Continue reading “Symbolism in the Church #20”

Symbolism in the Church #19

Posted on by diocesan-freeport

Two other images we have in the back of the Church are some relief work on orange boards. These came from the old high altar. When they took down the old high altar, these were preserved, but it was decided to have them sand blasted for the antique look. It did more damage than good, but we still have them. We had asked about getting them refurbished by a company in Madison that does this. They said they could not do it because there was too much damage. Continue reading “Symbolism in the Church #19”

Symbolism in the Church #18

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Another image we have of Jesus in the foyer area is the Infant of Prague. I do not know when this image was brought here to St Joseph Church, but it has been here for quite a while. There is no specific information as to when the original statue of the Infant of Prague was made. In Spain, around the 1300s, there were similar images made with a wood base carved, covered in wax. It came on the radar for devotion, as it was said St Theresa of Avila had it for a while. There were political connections between Spain and Germany that were fostered, and along with it, devotion to the child Jesus. That would explain the devotion in the German Tradition. It went through wars and mishandling in the 1600s and ended up in Prague. Many miracles have been attributed to the original image in Prague. The original looks more like a doll than a statue because of the wax, but is not something to play with as it is very fragile. Continue reading “Symbolism in the Church #18”