Happy and Blessed Fathers’ Day!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

              Happy and Blessed Fathers’ Day!

              I want to wish all fathers, grandfathers, godfathers, coaches and mentors a wonderful Fathers’ Day.  May Almighty God bless all these men with wisdom, compassion and love to help them be really great fathers like God the Father and like St. Joseph.  You might remember that I told you, that our parish was going to begin a year in honor of St. Joseph starting on Fathers’ Day, the year has been postponed.  I encourage you to start learning and praying to St. Joseph on your own and at the same time we are working on creating a special webpage in honor of St. Joseph. 

 As the Blessed Virgin Mary is our spiritual mother, St. Joseph is our spiritual father.  In 1847, the Buffalo Diocese was created and placed under the patronage of St. Joseph.  In 1870,   Pope Pius IX placed the Universal Church under  St. Joseph’s care.  This is the 150th  anniversary of this great event.  St. Joseph had a crucial role in protecting and providing for Mary and Jesus. He modeled and taught Jesus of God the Father’s love and how to be a man dedicated to God.  Jesus, being fully human, needed a special father as much as he needed a wonderful mother. 

As we honor St. Joseph, both Mary and Jesus will be filled with joy because they loved him tremendously and he returned this love to them.  Many saints have taught that devotion to St. Joseph is important because he wants to take care of Christ’s body on earth, the Church.  It is good to remember that at Fatima and other apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph also appeared supporting her message to come back to Jesus.  Please consider adding a simple devotion to St. Joseph.

May the blessings of St. Joseph be upon all of us especially on this day for all fathers.

In Christ,

Fr. David