JUNIOR HIGH AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS REVISED RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SCHEDULE FOR THE SECOND SEMESTER

Religious Education Schedule changes– It became necessary to adjust the Jr. High/High School schedule, with us not meeting in person for so many weeks. The remaining month of January will have us holding class every week, rather than every other week since we have many experiences to include in this second semester Religious Education year.

• January 17, January 24 and January 31 are dates on which we will have classes three weeks in a row
• On January 31, we will have the scheduled Teen Holy Hour with Praise and Worship, for both our Junior High and Senior High Students. We will begin this particular evening in the Hall at 5:30 p.m. to explain Eucharistic Adoration and how to pray during a Holy Hour. The Holy Hour will be held from 6-7:00 p.m. We will have a Social Time with food and snacks in the Hall with distancing from 7:00 – 7:30 p.m. Dismissal will be at 7:30 p.m.

Confirmation Retreat for Grade 11 – DATE CHANGE Due to some new Covid restrictions from the Diocese, we are moving our Confirmation Retreat to Saturday, March 20, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Ashville. Please mark this date change on your calendars.

Arrival will be at 8:30 p.m. Ending at 2:30 p.m. We have scheduled a Bus to transport our Tens to the Retreat, so that parents will not have to be concerned with taking and picking up. The Bus will pick up the student at St. Matthew parish in Tyrone at 7:45 a.m. and at St. Joseph Parish in Bellwood at 8:00 a.m. The Bus will return the students to their Church locations.

February 7 – Religious Education Class Jr. High and High School students. February 7 – 11th Grade students will have the Sponsor Candidate Session

• February 14 – No Religious Education
• February 21 – No Religious Education
• February 28 – Penance Service at 5:00 for Grade & High School students
• March 7 – No Religious Education
• March 13th at the 4:00 p.m. Mass we will have the Rite of Commitment for 10th Grade Students and the Rite of Sending Forth for 11th Grade Students.
• March 14– No Jr. High or High School Religious Ed.
• March 21 – Religious Education
• March 28 – No Religious Education
• April 4 – No Religious Education, Easter Sunday
• April 10 –  Sacrament of Confirmation for 11th Grade Students at Saint Joseph 4 PM
• April 11 – Religious Education
• April 18 – No Religious Education
• April 25 – Religious Education
• May 2 – 9:00 a.m. Mass, May Crowning. All Junior High and High School students should be present for this final session for the year.

Due to the current Covid-19 Pandemic, the Knights of Columbus will not be sponsoring the Annual Bowling Party on Martin Luther King Day.

Walk for Life Cancelled: The Walk for Life, scheduled for Sunday, January 24,  in Tyrone has been cancelled due to Covid.

LOTTERY CALENDAR RETURNS – Thank you parishioners for selling the Lottery Calendars this year.  This is the best we have ever done and have just a few unsold calendars remaining.  If you have not already done so, we ask that you make your monetary returns as soon as possible since the winning numbers will go into effect on January 1, 2021.  Again, thank you for helping the parish in this fundraising event. 

We are once again scheduling Mass Intentions.

Weekend Mass intentions/requests are limited to 3 masses for the deceased, per year.

Weekday Mass intentions/requests are limited to 3 masses for the deceased, per requestor, per year.

We schedule as we receive mass intentions and will do our best to honor your requests. Please keep this in mind. Let us be kind and considerate of others and allow as many as possible in our parish family to be able to request a celebration of Mass and remember that the value of a Mass is infinite no matter when it is celebrated.

Plenary Indulgence: Bishop Mark has stated that those impacted during this time are eligible to receive a Plenary Indulgence, which, according to the Catechism, removes the temporal punishment due to sin. The conditions for the Plenary Indulgence include watching a televised Mass, praying the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross or other devotions, or at least reciting the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and a pious invocation to the Blessed Mother, offering this trial in a spirit of faith in God and Charity towards one’s brothers and sisters. There must be a true commitment to fulfilling the sacramental obligations of Reconciliation and Eucharist as soon as possible. All are reminded that the Christian faithful are not obliged to participate at Mass on Sunday due to the circumstance of the Coronavirus pandemic. This remains in effect until further notice.

SINCERE CONGRATULATIONS to our 2nd graders who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time on December 5th. They are: Eva Gulvas, Leo Ingham, Bria Long, Maren Nale, and Parker Rilk. Special thanks go to their parents, teachers and catechists for their guidance during their preparation process. Please continue to pray for these children that they may continue to grow in their relationship with Jesus and become the people God intends them to be.

RECONCILIATION CERTIFICATES FOR THE 2ND GRADERS are available on the table near the elevator entrance. If you are unable to pick them up after Mass, please call the church office at 742-7075 to arrange a time to stop by.

NO RELIGIOUS EDUCATION UNTIL AT LEAST JANUARY 17, 2021

WE  ARE FOLLOWING THE BELLWOOD – ANTIS SCHOOL DISTRICT’S SCHEDULE. IF THEY RESUME CLASSES AFTER JANUARY 11, WE WILL ALSO RESUME RELGIOUS EDUCATION.

For Updated Information, go to our website, www.SAINTJOSEPHBELLWOOD.ORG,

Or check our Facebook Page

3rd and 5th grade confessions scheduled for Sunday, December 13, have been postponed indefinitely.

Pope Grants Plenary Indulgence for Our Lady of Guadalupe Devotion

By Tony DeGol
Proclaim!

Catholics in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown and elsewhere may obtain a plenary indulgence December 11 and 12 in celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico City informed Bishops around the world of this special opportunity earlier this week.

Cardinal Retes wrote Pope Francis earlier this month and made the request for the plenary indulgence on behalf of the faithful who make the Marian devotion. 

“In this letter, I explained that with 2020 being one of the most difficult years in history due to the pandemic and other evils, we expected many devotees to make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of our Lady here in Mexico City but also to other Guadalupe Shrines throughout the world despite the risk of contagion from COVID-19,” Cardinal Retes said. “I also shared with him the difficult but necessary decision to close the National Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, from December 10 to 13, and the need to have our celebrations at home participating through mass media.” 

Cardinal Retes continued: “Considering the serious consequences, a pilgrimage could have due to the pandemic, I asked His Holiness for the grace to grant a Plenary Indulgence to the faithful who celebrate this important solemnity at their homes, which will encourage us to stay home and avoid crowds in the Basilica of Guadalupe or any other Guadalupe pilgrimage site.” 

Pope Francis granted the request for the indulgence, which is a remission of the temporal punishment one deserves for one’s sins.  

To receive the indulgence, a person must: 

• Prepare an altar or place of prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe at home.
• Watch a livestream or televised Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City on December12, “actively participating … with devotion and with exclusive attention to the Eucharist.” Masses can be viewed at com/user/BasilicadeGuadalupe.
• Comply with the usual conditions to benefit from indulgences: 1) Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. 2) Be in a state of grace after having confessed. 3) Attend full Mass. 4) Receive Communion. The last three conditions can be fulfilled when public health guidance allow.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with five Marian apparitions in December 1531 and a venerated image on a cloak enshrined within the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.  

Dec 27 2020 Bulletin

OPLATKI WAFERS are available at a table set up to the left of the altar.

Donations will be accepted to offset the cost.