Friends of St. Joseph's Church on Springhill Ave

08/11/2021

We are learning the St. Mary's group home that closed last year after serving the community for 182 years has been sold. The facility closed after the Archdiocese said it could no longer meet the needs of some of the 34 residents. We are hearing from one of those residents' tonight who a year later....

07/23/2020

We received an email regarding the heartbreaking closure of St. Mary's Home. Permission was given to share that email and the letter that was sent to Archbishop Rodi. The email stated the following:

"This letter is in response to Archbishop Rodi’s July 16, the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Facebook video announcing the closing of St. Mary’s Home. He said, “...these Federal standards recommend a trend away from institutions such as St. Mary’s Home, and to providing services within the home of the young person...” But we know St. Mary’s Home is not, and has never been, an institution. It is the only Home these children know. They are there because they escaped from abusive homes.

The lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Mobile are outraged. We do not believe the Family First Act includes any requirements that could not be met at St. Mary’s with 182 years of experience. We do believe it is extremely suspicious that St. Mary’s has been valued at $70k since 2008, when Archbishop Rodi was installed in our Archdiocese, and now that it is suddenly valued at $3M in 2020, St. Mary’s can no longer meet the “Federal standards” Archbishop Rodi is claiming.

Archbishop Rodi has been systematically selling off, closing, and destroying historically Black, small, and weak parishes and schools, on valuable property, while supporting numerous multi-million dollar projects to benefit the wealthiest parishes and communities in the Archdiocese. To close St. Mary’s Home during a pandemic is horrendous enough, and to announce the closing the day after Archbishop Lipscomb’s passing is an insult to Archbishop Lipscomb’s “...firm commitment to the Church’s educational apostolate...” (as described by His Holiness Pope Francis in his condolences letter).

The Clergy and Religious are under obedience and can’t say anything. The lay faithful are powerless and our families are retaliated against and punished for speaking up. We need help from Pope Francis to stop Archbishop Rodi from closing St. Mary’s and restore all of the Black and historical sites he has eliminated. "

09/18/2019

Available

“Available” reads the sign on 4 sides of St Joseph Catholic Church
Call to God now for He is always “Available”.
As aptly stated:
“Do not seek death. Death will find you. But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment.”
Call, seek and come to the love of Jesus Christ;
He is “Available” 24/7

07/31/2019

On the feast of St Ignatius of Loyola we ask that St Ignatius pray for all the St Joseph faithful who still grieve the destruction and loss of our community, beloved church and trust in our Archdiocesan shepherd.
In God alone will we trust.
St Ignatius" spirituality teaches to follow Christ example in obedience to God's will discerned in prayer. A law of the new covenant " love one another as I have loved you".
Dear Friends, we will be holy as our God is Holy. We will serve the Lord. God warned us that mamon, pride and sins of injustice are not of God. Pray without ceasing for Church Body of Christ and for the whole world. Amen
shepard.

03/26/2019

“Catholic Cemeteries, Inc. is a ministry of the Archdiocese of Mobile to provide for burial of the dead as a corporal work of mercy honoring the children of God.”

Like St. Joseph’s Church, the Catholic Cemetery of Mobile was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in July 3, 1991. The cemetery was established by Bishop Michael Portier, the first bishop of Mobile. It is unusual for a cemetery to be listed in the National Register, but it was selected owing to its unique plan. The 1991 nomination states that the cemetery is well maintained and that a perpetual care system had been implemented.

According to the cemetery’s website: “Mobile’s Catholic Cemetery serves as a sanctuary where we seek solace and a symbolic reminder that death is not the end but a prelude to our resurrection and everlasting life.” In light of this news story, it is hard to envision the Catholic Cemetery as a sanctuary or as a place where the children of God are honored.

The website also notes that as of 2018 the cemetery is now owned and managed by a corporation, of which Archbishop Rodi is president. According to the rules established by the corporation in October 2017, the first rule is that: “1. None of the Cemeteries owned and operated by the Owner are perpetual care cemeteries and none are under any obligation to maintain any set standard for the care and upkeep of the Cemeteries.” In case you miss that when reading the first page of rules, it’s mentioned again later: “The Owner is under no obligation to maintain any set standard for care and upkeep of the Cemeteries’ grounds.”

No obligation or standard for care or upkeep.

Canon law 1243 addresses Catholic cemeteries as sacred spaces and states that appropriate norms should be established to ensure the protection and fostering of their sacred character. In fact, churches and cemeteries are the ONLY sacred spaces according to Church law.

Examples of how some other dioceses treat their consecrated cemeteries:

San Francisco: “Therefore, in the blessed grounds of a Catholic Cemetery there are safeguards—mandates by the Church’s Canon Law—which guarantee permanence, reverence and respect for the remains of the deceased.”

Pittsburgh: “The Catholic Cemeteries Association is dedicated to the perpetual care and maintenance of its properties.”

Fargo: “Since the cemetery is a holy place it should be preserved in good condition, be well enclosed, and be free from unsightly objects.”

Los Angeles: “And because they are a responsibility of the church, Catholic Cemeteries & Mortuaries ensure a high level of care that will endure long after that of cemeteries under private or commercial auspices.”

Austin: “As sacred places, Catholic cemeteries must be maintained with the same diligence given to churches. The Church must be diligent in its efforts to care for these consecrated areas as holy resting grounds so that visitation by others for prayer and sacramentals may be accomplished in an appropriate manner.”

San Jose: “The grounds of a Catholic cemetery are blessed, and there are mandates dictated by Canon law to ensure that remains are treated with reverence and respect.”

New Orleans: “Once under Perpetual Care, NOLA Catholic Cemeteries maintains the grave. The trust fund was established many years ago for the sole purpose of offering families peace of mind and ensuring NOLA Catholic Cemeteries would not be left with deteriorated, abandoned tombs.”

New York: “...where the Archdiocesan cemeteries serve the needs of the millions of Catholics located in the greater New York area, our Catholic cemeteries silently bear witness to the respect we give the human body, even in death, because of its status as Temple of the Holy Spirit.”

St. Joseph, Patron Saint of the dying and of the Universal Church, pray for us! Christ, have mercy on us!

Graves dating back to the 1800s fill portions of Catholic Cemetery on St. Stephens Road in Mobile. Most of the graves are in deplorable condition and decaying as anything with

03/19/2019

HAPPY SAINT JOSEPH’S DAY!!!

May God continue to bless us through the intercession of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church!

The Feast of St. Joseph
Exercise for the Patronage of St. Joseph

Consider these about St. Joseph:

1. St. Joseph’s intercession is all-powerful with Jesus, in whose regard he held the place of father. It is all-powerful with Mary, his immaculate spouse. St. Joseph was invested with authority over both.

2. His own characteristic goodness inclines him, independently of everything else, to assist and comfort his devout clients; and being the chief instrument in the work of man’s salvation, next to the Blessed Virgin, he bears a truly paternal love to all men.

3. His patronage is liberal and universal; it knows no distinction of age or condition, and readily ministers to all kinds of necessities, whether of soul or body.

Virtues to initiate in St. Joseph, thereby to merit his patronage:

1. Choose him as your special patron for life, but particularly at the awful hour of death.

2. Acquire the habit of invoking him at least twice a day.

3. Endeavor to inspire others with a devotion to him. The Blessed Virgin expressed her gratitude to St. Theresa for her zealous exertions in extending this devotion throughout the Church.

Prayer (graces to ask of the saint upon choosing him as patron):

O great St. Joseph! whose sublime perfection, power and glory have entitled you to our veneration, love, and confidence above all the other saints, I (say your name), in the presence of Jesus, who chose you to be His father, and of Mary, who received you as her spouse, make choice of you this day for my spiritual father, the guide and master of my interior, my model, and my advocate.

I resolve never to forget you, and to render you every day of my life at least some slight mark of the honor and confidence to which you are so justly entitled. I now most earnestly conjure you to take me under your special protection, and to admit me into the happy number of your devoted servants.

Intercede with Jesus and Mary on my behalf; assist me in all the actions of my life, and do not abandon me for a moment at any time; but I especially implore you to assist and comfort me at the hour of my death. Amen.

Practices of Devotion and Mortification:

1. Patience under the tribulations of this life

2. Fidelity in the daily practice of some corporal mortification.

3. Implore pardon of God for all earthly or inordinate attachment.

03/18/2019

Novena Day 9—March 18

Consider his glorious titles:

1. The church compares the happiness which St. Joseph enjoyed on earth to that of the saints in heaven, because he beheld the Man-God face to face for thirty years; and it is piously believed that our Lord manifested the glory of His divinity to His good foster father, from time to time, as He did to His favorite disciples afterwards on Mount Tabor.

2. St. Joseph was blessed, because in Jesus Christ he beheld an exemplification of the eight beatitudes, those infallible marks of eternal beatitude; and he was thus more easily enabled to reduce them to practice.

3. He was blessed because he practiced all those virtues in the most perfect manner to the end of his life, under the eyes of Him who was one day to reward them.

Virtues to imitate in St. Joseph:

1. Choose one of the beatitudes to practice in imitation of St. Joseph.

2. Aim at the practice of all the beatitudes, as occasion may require.

3. See in which of them you are most deficient.

Prayer (graces to ask of St. Joseph):

“Even in this life you are equal to the blessed in heaven, being already in the enjoyment of God Himself!” To you only, O gracious saint! does the Church address these words of praise; to other saints it was not given to live here below with a God incarnate, to fo**le the meek Jesus in their arms like an ordinary child, and to His infantine caresses, and with them such an abundance of heavenly light and consolation!

O ineffable happiness! and truly do I rejoice, O glorious saint! in this your anticipated beatitude.
Doubtless no one possessed a stronger claim to it than yourself, who for the space of thirty years, ceased not to imbibe with holy curiosity the waters of these eight sources of sanctity, which the example of Jesus kept continually open for you.

As you know I am also commanded to drink of these salutary streams, though I have as yet neglected doing so, obtain for me now a great love for this heavenly doctrine, and grace to live according to it. I know that I can never be happy until I shall become poor in spirit, meek, pure, peaceable, and merciful; until I shall be able to rejoice in persecution for justice sake, seeking above all else the kingdom of God and His justice.

But alas! how shall I be able to overcome nature, to devote my whole mind and heart to the contemplation of things altogether spiritual and heavenly; I who am accustomed to flatter my senses, to gratify all my inclinations?

I stand in need of a very strong and lively faith, in order to become detached from all earthly objects; and I most earnestly implore this faith, O amiable saint! through your charitable intercession. It will sanctify and render my good works meritorious through Christ Jesus; and by the exercise of the beatitudes I shall enjoy in this vale of sorrow a foretaste of the happiness which will constitute their reward exceeding great for an endless eternity. Amen.

Practices of Devotion and Mortification:

1. A stricter fast than usual, as an immediate preparation for the feast.

2. Some other corporal austerity.

3. Give dinner or other alms to three poor persons, in honor of the Holy Family.

03/17/2019

A direct translation of “Saint Patrick’s Breast-Plate”—the protection prayer the good Saint used as he prepared to battle the evil forces who fought against his mission to bring the truth of Christ to the people of Ireland, and a good reminder that the celebration of St. Patrick is about more than beer, beads, and “Danny Boy.”

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the p**p [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

03/17/2019

Novena Day 8—March 17

Consider his glorious titles:

1. He is consider the master and model of the contemplative life, for he was remarkable for an interior spirit, for his love of silence, retirement and prayer. Hi soul was consumed with love; his sleep was rather an ecstasy than a state of simple repose.

2. He is also a model of an active life, by his assiduous care of the Holy Family, and his content in poverty, with its labor and privations.

3. He is a model of the mixed or apostolic life, ever ready to assist his neighbor, to console him in all his afflictions, to enlighten him in his doubts, and to instruct him in the law of God, as necessity or occasion may require.

Virtues to imitate in St. Joseph:

1. His recollection and the care with which he shunned all useless
conversations.

2. His vigilance and exactness in acquitting himself of all the duties allotted to him by Divine Providence.

3. His zeal in promoting the happiness and advantage of his neighbor, according to the means and opportunities afforded to him by Divine Providence.

Prayer (graces to ask of St. Joseph):

All holy contemplatives and solitaries, all holy anchorets, come and learn of our glorious patriarch the art of leading a celestial life on earth, a life of contemplation, silence, love and union with God.

O glorious patriarch! can we find among all the saints an individual who could boast of faith so strong and lively, charity so ardent, and a knowledge of the mysteries of our redemption so clear and comprehensive, as that which so eminently distinguished you?

Saints John and Paul were great contemplatives, the former in sweet and profound ecstasies while reposing on the bosom of his adorable Master; the latter exalted unto the third heavens, there beholding what eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive!

But what was all these compared to the innumerable ecstasies, secrets and lights with which you were favored during the many years that Jesus Himself, the true Paradise of pleasure, was all your own? When you enjoyed the transporting vision of Incarnate Beauty itself, when you so often enjoyed the happy privilege of reposing your aged head upon His bosom, His adorable heart, the true sanctuary of the Divinity, and of receiving Him into your arms, which during His childhood especially, were His ordinary resting place?

Ah! how sweet were His slumbers thus cradled in your arms, and how profound the repose which you enjoyed upon His bosom? Surely, it is only of you that the eagles and the doves – that is, those souls who are possessed of the greatest purity and elevation – ought to learn to direct their flight towards heaven, and to contemplate the “Sun of Justice”.

And again, who so qualified as you to give useful lessons to those saints who are called to the active and apostolic life? Can anything be more perfect than the example which you have given them, in the exercise of the painful and laborious duties of your profession, in your anxious solicitude to provide for the comfort and welfare of the Holy Family, on your journeys and pilgrimages, in the instructions, consolations, and multiplied acts of kindness which you so cordially rendered to your neighbor, whether in Egypt, the land of strangers, or at Nazareth, your native home?

Oh! thou most perfect of saints, obtain grace for me to imitate you in the practice of an interior life. I earnestly implore the spirit of recollection, which will enable me to pray with greater faith and fervor.

St. Therese calls you the great master of prayer; permit me, then, though unworthy, to become one of your disciples; initiate and perfect me in the science of the saints, that by learning to converse with God on earth, I may be prepared to glorify Him eternally with you and all the elect in a happy eternity. Amen.

Practices of Devotion and Mortification:

1. Endeavor to overcome any inclination to spiritual sloth or sleep with which you may be molested at meditation.

2. Persevere in prayer, notwithstanding dryness and distractions.

3. Form a sincere resolution to devote yourself henceforth to the study and practice of the interior life, and to the use of mental prayer, choosing St. Joseph as your patron, whom spiritualists consider the model of the hidden life.

03/16/2019

Novena Day 7—March 16

Consider his glorious titles:

1. He was singularly favored, assisted and honored by the angels. From them, he received comfort in his anguish, light and direction in his difficulties, and help and solace in his labors. St. Joseph was appointed to discharge the function of guardian angel towards Jesus and Mary.

2. No saint was ever so intimately associated with Jesus as St. Joseph, who so often caressed and fo**led Him in his arms.

3. The life he led in the society of Jesus and Mary, was more a celestial than an earthly life, more divine than human; it was a tissue of simplicity, innocence and fervor; it was a foretaste of the felicity of the blessed.

Virtues to imitate in St. Joseph:

1. His respect for the ministers of God.

2. The peace and tranquility of his soul.

3. The truth and sincerity of his words, and the modesty of his demeanor.

Prayer (graces to ask of St. Joseph):

To behold you so singularly favored by the angels, is to me no matter of surprise, O glorious saint! for you are as one of them by your angelic purity.

Why marvel to behold them even vying with each other in rendering service to one whom they consider superior to themselves in dignity? Ah! if envy could find a place in their hearts, it might well have been excited on seeing the happy privilege which you enjoyed of living on terms of such intimate familiarity with our Divine Lord, the Infant God, the wondrous mystery of love, the centre of joy, the source of felicity.

Blessed be that mouth, which has so often praised and glorified Him; blessed those arms, which so lovingly embraced Him; blessed that bosom, on which He so sweetly reposed.
By conversing day and night with your Infant Savior, you learned to become a child like Him, and to imitate the innocence, simplicity and purity, and all the other amiable virtues of the “Word Incarnate”.

Ah! you were fully sensible of His ardent desire to see all Christians become like little children, that they may thus be enabled to enter by the low and narrow gate that leads to the kingdom of heaven.

I also burn with an ardent desire to conform myself perfectly to the Divine Infant Jesus: obtain, then, for me all the virtues suited to that happy state of Christian childhood; may my heart be guileless, my thoughts pure, my intentions upright, my words innocent, and the whole tenor of my life and conduct conformable to true Christian simplicity and humility; obtain for me the grace to become once more, by sincere repentance and a truly penitential life, the little child of Christianity which I was once made by the waters of regeneration, but whose fair and noble lineaments have, alas! been so often defaced and abused by the ravages of sin, the only real evil. Amen.

Practices of Devotion and Mortification:

1. Excite yourself to sincere contrition for all your past sins, kneeling before an image of the child Jesus, offering up to Him the innocence, simplicity, and purity of St. Joseph.

2. Make a visit to the Most Blessed Sacrament, at least in spirit, for the purpose of conversing with the Lord Jesus, and of making Him an offering of all the caresses which St. Joseph bestowed upon Him.

3. Give alms to a poor child, a lively image of Jesus in His adorable infancy.

03/15/2019

Novena Day 6—March 15

Consider his glorious titles:

1. He was the crown of all the patriarchs, and of all the ancestors of the promised Messiah. He inherited and enjoyed the fruition of their united benedictions.

2. He was the crown of the saints of the Old Law; all their prerogatives, all their virtues, were concentrated and perfected in his person.

3. He is the crown of the saints of the New Testament; he surpasses them all in dignity, as being head of the Holy Family, of which Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, was a member; and as, in the discharge of this function he acquitted himself so as to deserve the title of the prudent and faithful servant by excellence, so should he also surpass all the other servants of God in glory.

Virtues to imitate in St. Joseph:

1. His faith, which was most lively and most fruitful in good works.

2. His equanimity whether in prosperity or adversity.

3. His zeal for the honor of God, and the salvation of man.

Prayer (graces to ask of St. Joseph):

Most blessed St. Joseph, who alone were destined to enjoy and to witness the accomplishment of all the blessings of the patriarchs, you who were raised to the supreme dignity of the father of the Messiah, in whom all nations were to be blessed; behold now the patriarchs themselves approaching to place a crown of glory on your head, and to acknowledge you for their king; they are followed by all the saints of the Old Law, who also wish to present you, as their chief, with a crown composed of as many brilliant stars as you have surpassed them in degrees of perfection; and lastly, the saints of the New Law – the apostles, martyrs, confessors and virgins – come with their palms mingled with lilies and roses, to crown the chief of the family of God on earth, the first disciple of Jesus Christ, the first imitator of His divine example, the first saint whom the law of grace produced, even proclaimed such by sacred writings.

We praise and bless you a thousand and a thousand times, thrice blessed patriarch of all saints! Elevated as you are now in bliss, forget not your poor, miserable client here on earth, but deign to bestow on me some small portion of that abundance of good things with which you will be eternally replenished in the mansion of your heavenly Father. The most ardent of my desires, my glorious patron is that you would bestow upon me the salutary fruits with which the tree of life is laden – that tree on which Jesus Christ consummated the redemption of the world.

Enriched with this precious fruits of benediction on earth, I shall confidently hope to taste one day the fruits of glory with which the elect shall be satiated for all eternity. Amen.

Practices of Devotion and Mortification:

1. A more rigorous fast than usual.

2. Perform one of the works of mercy, either spiritual or corporal.

3. A visit to our Divine Lord, at which ask to be made a sharer in the blessings enjoyed by St. Joseph.