St. Joseph Catholic Church

06/04/2026

Novena to the Sacred Heart
Day 2 - Heart of Jesus, source of justice and love
Pray
When contemplating the Sacred Heart as the source of justice and love, we connect Christ’s love for us with our love for others. As Pope Francis said in Dilexit Nos, “Our best response to the love of Christ’s heart is to love our brothers and sisters. There is no greater way for us to return love for love” (no. 167). As we meditate on the love Christ has for us, let us pray this Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for Love and Mercy.
Lord Jesus, You gave your life for us. Your Sacred Heart is ablaze with love. Your hand extends towards me, and towards all, offering love, mercy, and healing. Sacred Heart of Jesus may your love transform me. Burn away my hesitation that I may become your love and radiate your mercy. Amen.
Learn
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, who reflected on the Sacred Heart wrote, “I received from my God excessive graces of his love, and I felt moved by the desire to respond to some of them and to respond with love for love” (Autobiography, no. 55).
Both Pope Francis in Dilexit Nos and Pope Leo XIV in Dilexi Te teach us that our encounter with the love of Christ’s heart allows us to build up God’s kingdom in this world. Pope Leo emphasizes that “God has a special place in his heart for those who are discriminated against and oppressed, and he asks us, his Church, to make a decisive and radical choice in favor of the weakest” (Dilexi Te, no. 16).
For centuries, the Church has established missions centered on the love of the heart of Christ, such as the Society of the Sacred Heart founded in 1800. The Society states in its constitution: “Caught up as we are in the desires of the heart of Jesus, we want people to grow in dignity, as human beings and as children of God. Our starting point is the Gospel, with all that it demands from us of love, forgiveness and justice, and of solidarity with those who are poor and rejected by the world” (Constitutions of 1982, 7).
Act
Consider who is rejected, vulnerable, or living in fear today. How does the Sacred Heart invite you to respond to the needs and suffering of others? You can get involved with your local Catholic Charities, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, or a Catholic Campaign for Human Development funded group. You can also use this resource, Catholic Social Teaching Mustard Seed Commitments, to make small, sustainable commitments to care for your neighbors. Finally, consider praying for all elected officials that they may have the guidance and wisdom to create a just, peaceful society that honors the human dignity of all people living in our nation.

06/03/2026

Novena to the Sacred Heart
Day 1 - Heart of Jesus, aflame with love for us
Pray
In his prayer intention for June of last year, the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Leo XIV encouraged us, “Let us pray together that each one of us might find consolation in a personal relationship with Jesus, and from His Heart, learn to have compassion on the world.” As we begin this Novena to the Sacred Heart, we join the Holy Father in that prayer.

Lord, I come to Your tender Heart today, to You who have words that set my heart ablaze, to You who pour out compassion on the little ones and the poor, on those who suffer, and on all human miseries. I desire to know You more, to contemplate You in the Gospel, to be with You and learn from You and from the charity with which You allowed Yourself to be touched by all forms of poverty. You showed us the Father’s love by loving us without measure with Your divine and human Heart. Grant all Your children the grace of encountering You. Change, shape, and transform our plans, so that we seek only You in every circumstance: in prayer, in work, in encounters, and in our daily routine. From this encounter, send us out on mission, a mission of compassion for the world in which You are the source from which all consolation flows.Amen.

Learn
While reflections on the heart of Jesus date to the earliest writings of Christianity, the modern devotion to the Sacred Heart began in 17th century France when Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque received visions of Jesus revealing his heart burning with love for humanity. In this revelation, Jesus expressed his desire to be honored in a special way through his Sacred Heart. This devotion grew when Pope Pius IX extended the observance to the universal Church in 1856, and later when Saint Mary of the Divine Heart urged Pope Leo XIII to consecrate the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which he did in 1899 through his encyclical, Annum Sacrum.
There have been four papal encyclicals on the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Annum Sacrum (on consecration to the Sacred Heart), Pope Pius XI’s 1928 encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor (on reparation to the Sacred Heart), Pope Pius XII’s 1956 encyclical Haurietis Aquas (on devotion to the Sacred Heart), and Pope Francis’ 2024 encyclical Dilexit Nos (on the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ).
Act
Take time today to read Dilexit Nos and explore resources to reflect on Pope Francis’ final encyclical. What stands out to you about the Holy Father’s writings on the Sacred Heart? How might this meditation on Jesus’ love for us set your own heart on fire to love others?

06/03/2026

06/02/2026

VBS registration forms are available at St. Joseph Church Office or can be emailed to you! June 15-19 from 9-12. Join us for prayer, music, crafts, art and so much more! Teen volunteers (7th grade and above) are needed!

06/02/2026

TUESDAY - TODAY

SOLEMN BENEDICTION AND ADORATION this evening beginning at 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm at St Joseph Church,

Please join us this evening as we pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy

Hope and pray that you find just one hour for the Lord Jesus this evening.

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

05/30/2026

05/26/2026

TUESDAY - TODAY

SOLEMN BENEDICTION AND ADORATION this evening beginning at 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm at St Joseph Church,

Please join us this evening as we pray the Holy Rosary

Hope and pray that you find just one hour for the Lord Jesus this evening.

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

05/25/2026

Today I was pleased to ordain two of our seminarians - Gabe Dowden and Blaine Phillips- as transitional deacons. Pictured from left to right are Father Luke LaFleur (our Diocesan Vocations Director), Deacon Blaine Phillips, me, Deacon Gabe Dowden, and Father Joshua Rodrigue Rector-President of Notre Dame Seminary). Please pray for our two new deacons, for all of our seminarians, and for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.

05/25/2026

Daily Bible Readings, Podcast Audio and Videos and Prayers brought to you by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

05/25/2026

Gracious God, On this Memorial Day, we pray for those who courageously laid down their lives for the cause of freedom. May the examples of their sacrifice inspire in us the selfless love of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Bless the families of our fallen troops, and fill their homes and their lives with Your strength and peace. In union with people of goodwill of every nation, embolden us to answer the call to work for peace and justice, and thus, seek an end to violence and conflict around the globe. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.