15th Sunday of the Year B

​St Joseph Statue
You may have noticed that the Statue of St Joseph as moved from its “temporary” home to its original location at the back of the Church by the door to the Hall.   It was moved after it got damaged but now has been replaced in its original spot.  The plan is, once funds permit, to get a proper small embroidered cloth made for the table and also to add a light to the track above it.  
 
St Joseph is an important figure in the life of the Church.  Though no words of his are recorded in scripture St. Joseph is the foster father of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He is the patron saint of fathers. Joseph is also the protector of the Church. He is one of the patrons of refugees, because he took Mary and Jesus, when Jesus was a baby, to safety in Egypt, to flee the wrath of the tyrannical King Herod. Joseph is also the patron saint of labourers, because he was a working man, a carpenter. He’s the patron saint of families and he is the patron saint of those who are dying.
 
Pope Francis has written “While Jerusalem was “the city loved by the Lord, the ‘holy city’,” it was Bethlehem and Nazareth, both outlying villages, far from the clamour of the news and the powers of the time  that are most associated with Saint Joseph. The choice of Bethlehem and Nazareth tells us that the periphery and marginality are preferred by God, and failure to take this fact seriously is equivalent to not taking seriously the Gospel and the work of God.”
Pope Francis also has a statue of the Sleeping Saint Joseph, an unusual statue for Europeans but very famous among the faithful from South America.
Many times Pope Francis has spoken about his habit of putting underneath the Sleeping St Joseph statue some little notes with requests for grace and prayers of the faithful, trying to invite the Saint to sleep on it and put it a good word with God.
The Pontiff himself declared in 2015 he particularly loves Saint Joseph, as he is such a strong and silent man, the man of the dreams, that protects and helps everyone even in his sleep. 
There is a small statue of the Sleeping St Joseph on a stand near the big statue and if you also wish to put an intention or a prayer there then Mass will be offered for these once a month.