Saint Joseph Catholic Church
29119 Point Lookout Road
P.O. Box 175
Morganza, Maryland 20660
Phone: 301-475-3293 Fax: 301-475-0491
E-Mail: stjosephmorganza@yahoo.com
Website: www.stjosephmorganza.org
Father Keith A. Woods, Pastor
Deacon James A. Somerville – Deacon John Walter Somerville
The Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 31, 2014
CCD Information: Please contact the Rectory Office
Mother Catherine Spalding School: Mrs. Linda Miedzinski, Principal – 301-884-3165
Parish Secretary: Mrs. Mary C. Wood
Saturday Evening Mass:
5:00 p.m.
Sunday Masses:
8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.
Weekday Masses:
8:00 a.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
Confessions:
4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Saturday
Baptisms:
Please call the Rectory to make arrangements. Parents must be practicing
Catholics in this Parish or able to provide a letter of permission from
the proper parish for Baptism here. Godparents, if not St. Joseph
parishioners must provide a letter that they meet the requirement:
a practicing Catholic, at least 16 years old, have received Baptism,
Confirmation, and First Communion and, if married, in a marriage
recognized by the Catholic Church. A baptized Non-Catholic may
serve as a Christian witness.
Marriages:
Please call the Rectory at least six months in advance of the wedding
Sacrament of the Sick:
Those hospitalized or home-bound wanting to receive the Sacraments,
call the Rectory
Rectory Office Hours:
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday
From Father Woods
What does it mean to be a good Catholic?
It would be as difficult to define what it means to be “a good Catholic” as it would to define who is a
good husband or a good mother. If you embrace the totality of the vocation, you are always doing your
best to live it to the fullest. The motivation, of course, is love and love has no limits. One who loves to
paint or play a musical instrument never tires of discovering ways to improve the art through practice,
learning and performance no matter how much time is involved.
For Catholics, the starting point is God’s revelation in the Sacred Scriptures (the Bible). God reveals so
many things about Himself and His relationship with us through the various forms of literature in the
Bible. St. Paul says faith comes from hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). This faith in revelation
inevitably leads to action. The Ten Commandments of the Old Testament are fundamental elements of
our right relationship with God and others. The Beatitudes of the Gospels give us the right attitude for
living the Commandments. Jesus, the Son of God, embodies what it means to put faith into practice
through the events of His Passion, Death and Resurrection.
Faith in Jesus necessarily includes the Church. Pope Francis has frequently said that it is impossible to
say that one is a Christian without the Church. As we heard last Sunday, Christ establishes a Church on
the rock who is Peter. The community of the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit in every century and
generation as life unfolds. The Church organizes and gives expression to what we believe through the
Creed (the Profession of Faith) and through the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The true Catholic is
identified not by how smart he or she is, but by how much he or she resembles Jesus in the manner of
living.
Of course there are many helps to living out our faith. One such help that isn’t talked about as much as
it should be: the Precepts of the Church. These are six concrete things every Catholic can and should do
to live the faith authentically and to bear witness to the faith before others:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
You shall attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.
You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
You shall humbly receive the Lord Jesus in Holy Communion at least during the Easter Season.
You shall observe the Holy Days of Obligation.
You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence.
The faithful have the obligation of supporting the Church.
Note: the third precept was especially important in former times when the faithful very rarely (if ever)
received Holy Communion. The precept insures that Holy Communion is received at least once a year.
The fourth precept isn’t a repeat of the first. On Holy Days the faithful not only are obliged to attend
Mass but to refrain from servile work as they would do on a Sunday.
Mass Intentions for September 1st to September 7th
Monday
8:00 a.m.
Special Intention
Tuesday
8:00 a.m.
Jenny Bowles
Wednesday
8:00 a.m.
Clarice Nickle
Thursday
No Mass Scheduled
Friday
8:00 a.m.
Bernard Nelson
Saturday
8:00 a.m.
Johnnie Wright & William Medley
5:00 p.m.
Louis H. Young
Sunday
8:00 a.m.
Dennis Russell
10:00 a.m.
Pro Populo
6:00 p.m.
John Robert Bailey, Jr.
Mass Schedules for September 6th and September 7th
Extraordinary Ministers
Saturday – 5:00 p.m.
Dale Delahay & Henrietta Gross
Sunday – 8:00 a.m.
Chris Post & Jackie Post
Lectors
Altar Servers
Matthew Quinn
Caleb Summers & Macy Delahay
Carolyn Chase
Benjamin Chase
Valerie Young
James Ripple & Nicholas Combs
Sunday – 10:00 a.m.
Billy Benjamin & George Brown
Offertory for Sunday, August 24, 2014 - $5,116.00. Thank you for your generosity.
Please pray for those who are sick in our parish especially Bruce Pelczar, Margaret Holt, Alan Burch,
Ken Ebert, Bernadette Herbert, Toni Post, Christina & Benjamin Ferreira, Peggy Abell, Thomas Leroy
Thompson, Sarah Custer, Larry Taborek, and James Nelson. (Immediate family members may place
names on our sick list. Names will be listed for 3 weeks but may be repeated by contacting the
Rectory.)
Bulletin Online – If you miss getting a bulletin after Mass or are away for a weekend, remember that
you can always download the bulletin from our parish website www.stjosephmorganza.org
St. Mary’s County Fair – St. Aloysius Church is sponsoring a booth at the County Fair to promote
awareness of our Catholic faith and local parishes within our community. If interested in volunteering a
few hours at the booth, please visit the St. Aloysius home page at http://www.saintaloysiuschurch.org/stmarys-county-fair-2014/. There will be a training meeting for all volunteers on Tuesday, September 9th
at 7 p.m. at St. Aloysius Church. Contact Leonard Wathen for more information at 301-475-8064.
CCD – CCD classes will begin on Tuesday, September 9th at 6:45 p.m. at Mother Catherine Spalding
School. If you have any questions, please call the Rectory Office.
 We are currently in need of a few aides to help with our CCD program. If you would like to
volunteer, please call the parish office as soon as possible. All volunteers need to have Child
Protection status before they can volunteer in the classroom. We would like to start the school
year with a full staff. Thank you.
St. Joseph Cemetery - Donations are being accepted toward the expense of grass cutting. Please send
your donations to St. Joseph Cemetery Fund, P.O. Box 175, Morganza, MD 20660. Thank you.
Archdiocese of Washington 75th Anniversary Medal
Last January, Cardinal Wuerl presented the Manifesting the Kingdom awards to worthy
recipients from every parish and institution in the Archdiocese. The Cardinal has also
established an Anniversary Medal to be presented by the Pastor of each Parish. The
nomination is made by the Parish Priest, relying on the advice of his collaborators. The
Archdiocese of Washington 75th Anniversary Medal will be presented to
Deacon James A. Somerville
for his service to Christ and His Church. The Medal will be awarded at the conclusion of
the 10 a.m. Mass on Sunday, 21 September. A reception will be held immediately
following Mass in the Parish Hall. All are welcome to attend and congratulate Deacon
Somerville and to thank him for all he does for St. Joseph’s Parish and the Archdiocese
of Washington.
Graduates of Mother Catherine Spalding School: If you or someone you know has graduated from
Mother Catherine Spalding School, we would like to know what you or other graduates are up to and to
add your information to our webpage. Please include name, address (optional), school attended, both
high school and/or college, career path, awards, community service and any other pertinent information
you, family members or friends would like to share. Please email the information to Linda M.
Miedzinski at mcssprincipal@gmail.com.
Mother Catherine Spading Gala celebrating their 50th Anniversary was a huge success! Thank you to
our community for believing in the mission of our school and supporting this wonderful event.
Holy Angels Church Annual Seafood Dinner on Sunday, September 7th from 11:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Fried Oysters, Steamed Shrimp, Crab Balls, Fried Chicken and all the trimmings. Adults $25.00,
Children (12 to 6) $8 and Children (5 & under) are free. Carryouts are available at $23 each.
Helping Hands – is now located at 28291 Old Village Road which is the old Parish Hall for Immaculate
Conception Church in Mechanicsville. They are open Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Annual Yard Sale sponsored by St. Francis Xavier Church in Compton will be held on Saturday,
September 6, from 7 a.m. until noon. There will be a variety of items for sale and delicious homemade
baked goods fresh from the oven. For information call Betty Ann Spalding at 301-475-9747.
Upcoming Events
Monday, 1 September – Labor Day – Rectory Office closed
Friday, 5 September – St. Vincent de Paul Meeting in the Parish Hall at 6 p.m.
Saturday, 6 September – Sodality Meeting in the Parish Hall after the 8 a.m. Mass
Tuesday, 9 September – CCD Classes begin at 6:45 p.m. in Mother Catherine Spalding School
Sunday, 21 September – presentation of the Archdiocese of Washington 75th Anniversary Medal to
Deacon James A. Somerville at the conclusion of the 10:00 a.m. Mass. A reception will follow
in the Parish Hall
Weekend of 27-28 September – Mission Co-op Program at every Mass