Marriage of Saint Joseph with His Spouse the Most Blessed Virgin Mary (center window in picture, at St. Joseph Church, Macon, GA)
Okay, I am bragging about the greatest saint this side of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. It is Saint Joseph, the patron of the Universal Church (no higher patronage), patron of Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Macon and my personal patron, after all my name is Father Allan JOSEPH McDonald, MacDonald for my Canadian relatives. My Canadian relatives probably don't know that Saint Joseph was/is Italian! Of course Italians know well his place of origin and celebrity!
Of course the liturgical calendar today makes Saint Joseph's Mass a solemnity (the highest) with Gloria and Credo. Poor old Saint Patrick was just a little "m" optional memorial. Yes, that is correct. In the EF calendar poor old Saint Patrick is simply a Third Class Saint.
And here at Saint Joseph Church in Macon, we will celebrate the Solemnity in grand style and Gregorian Chant with a Sung Extraordinary Form High Mass at 7:00 PM. In the Extraordinary Calender a solemnity is called a First Class Feast and how true for our First Class Saint, good Old Saint Joseph!
Saint Joseph Church in Macon also has a marvelous stain glass window depicting the marriage of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her spouse Saint Joseph. Does your church have such a window. I will take a photo of it later and post it along with our nicely decorated Saint Joseph Statue.
10 comments:
Father Allan Joseph McDonald,
May Good Saint Joseph be your constant companion through this life, and after a happy death, your eternal friend in Heaven.
It was 11 days ago today that I got a call from the personnel board to become pastor of St. Joseph in Macon. I said no! But then the Hound of Heaven kept hounding me and thus I became the pastor of Saint Joseph Church in Macon on July 1st 2004.
I love, love, love Saint Joseph too. He helped us find our home. I prayed to him and within three days we found the perfect place. He has helped bring us a great pastor and priest. We are fortunate that our daughters will be attending a school named in his honor.
I wish I could make it tonight for the mass. It was so beautiful last year! We are so lucky to have St. Joe's!
Will tonight's mass be solemn?
Just High, no deacon or sub deacon.
Eleven years.
I see you have adopted the Francis "diagonal candles" arrangement? ;)
How lovely...wish we could have been there! You are such an incredible witness to the power of transcendent liturgy and true, faithful restoration of of our beloved churches. "Thank you, Father" doesn't even begin to cover all you do.
Would you were still in Augusta offering a TLM...
Seems like 11 days, but yes of course 11 years!
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