St. Joseph

Monday - Wednesday:
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Thursday: 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Rev. Edward A. Sousa, Jr.:

By appointment at St Joseph (contact Fr. Sousa) or at St. Sebastian's on Saturday's  4:15p.m.

December 1, 2021

My brothers and sisters in Christ,
           
In a few short weeks, I will be celebrating Christmas with you once again.  Parishioners have described to me the beauty of our music, the beauty of our neighborhood church decked in flowers, and the hushed reverence of the Christmas congregation, some of whom having travelled across the continent for the holiday, still finding the time to pray with us.  It will be a special and holy time. 

We also enter that time of year when we have seasonally higher operating expenses at the Parish. We are certainly conscious of everyone’s health and well-being as we enter yet another winter season with COVID-19. We recognize that some parishioners may still be uncomfortable with attending Mass in person for health or other reasons.  Nevertheless, we encourage those of you who choose not to attend Mass currently, to support your parishes operational needs by sending your budget envelopes by mail to the Parish office.  We also ask and encourage all parishioners to consider utilizing online giving.  To enroll, please visit the parish website at: www.stjosephprovidence.org or call the parish office for assistance. The “Parish Giving” link is in lower right-hand corner of page. Enrollment is easy and your on-going support is greatly appreciated! Your parish relies heavily on your weekly tithing.

I would like to formally invite you to join us at Christmas Mass.  To some of those Christmas visitors, Saint Joseph Church might be the place they remember as “grandma’s parish” or “my parents’ church”.  Some might live just a few blocks down Hope Street but find their lives so busy that this is the only time in the year they can slow down and spend this time with God.  Given the time, I would tell each of those people about how beautiful our church is all year round, and of the work we do in our community.  This is a parish of beautiful worship, which also contributes to feeding and clothing the poor of Providence.  No work of mercy is foreign to us.  Our parishioners donate everything from gloves, to sandwiches, to diapers.  Our dedicated staff and volunteers maintain our parish and help us to spread Christ’s message of love.

Please allow us to continue the same in 2022 by generously supporting our parish and Christmas collection this year.  Whether you will be celebrating the holy day in your favorite pew or in another state this year, please ensure that Saint Joseph Church can continue serving Providence’s Fox Point and East Side areas.  Donations may be mailed to our rectory, dropped in our front door’s mailbox, or dropped in the basket at any of the Masses before and after Christmas.  Registered parishioners will be able to use their Christmas budget envelope, which, please note, is different than our usual weekly budget for Sunday the 26^th.  Those who are not registered may simply mark their checks for our Christmas Collection.

Most importantly, be here with us.  Like Bethlehem, our Church will be a place where God is made present.  He came before as a baby in a manger.  He comes now in the equally humble guise of bread and wine.  Come all ye faithful!  Adore Him, pour out your heart to him.  Jesus has more gifts ready for you than all the paper in the world could wrap. God bless you.

Sincerely,
Rev. Edward A. Sousa, Jr.

Holy Virgin Mary, how can we ever find the words to praise your beauty? (St. Sebastian's Courtyard)

Avove Fr. Edward Sousa, Jr. (pastor) on Sunday (November 14th) baptism.  Let us pray for the new parents, for their daughter, and for all our priests who serve in the Diocese of Providence.