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Dear Parishioners,   Happy Solemnity of St. Joseph, our patronal feast day!  As we celebrate St. Joseph in the midst of Lent, we are invited to celebrate as a family the providential purpose of our lives.  That our divine Father, from all eternity, choose to place us within the family of His choosing that would provide the surest path for our salvation.  All has been accounted for by the Father.  Our weakness, strengths, environment, relationships, and the effects of our fall

Dear parishioners,   Congratulations to our confirmandi!  It is with great joy that we will be celebrating Confirmation this Tuesday for both St. Joseph and St. Mary parishes with Bishop James D. Conley.  Even though we only celebrate Confirmation every three years.  This year we have twenty-two confirmandi receiving the outpouring of the Holy Spirit!  What an incredible gift to have so many young people in our parish. I am excited to have the bishop be present to our communi

Dear Parishioners,  It has been nearly ten years since our last pictorial parish directory was published in 2016, and much has changed in our parish families.  I have been in contact with Universal Church Directories, which have been putting together Church directories over the last 23 years.  With our updating of parishioner information last summer, it is the perfect time for us to update our pictorial parish directory.   An updated directory is more than a collection of nam

Saint of the Month,  St. Brigid of Ireland, Abbess (one of our stained-glass windows!) Saint Brigid of Kildare, also known as Brigid of Ireland, was born around 450 AD in Faughart, near Dundalk in County Louth, Ireland. Her mother, Brocca, was a Christian slave from Portugal who had been baptized by Saint Patrick, while her father, Dubhthach, was a pagan chieftain of Leinster. From her earliest years, Brigid displayed exceptional piety and charity, often giving away her fathe

Dear Parishioners,   It's good to be back from Mexico City and the experience of being with the homeless.  We had 22 people on the mission, including our own Lisa Verana!  It was a whirlwind of events filled with intentional time with the men, women, and children of the street.  I was particularly moved by the openness of the homeless to share their stories.  You can hear and see their desire to be known, loved, and received by others and the Lord.  It was a blast to be outsi

Dear parishioners, I will be leaving next Thursday on a mission trip to Mexico City with Hope of the Poor.  The trip involves time spent with the poor of Mexico City, visits to the shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe, and growing in community with our group!  Several of our parishioners have already experienced the depth of this mission, and I pray you may join it one day.  When I return, we will be one week from Lent beginning!  So just as a quick reminder that during our Lent t

Dear Parishioners, Over the last year our diocese and parishes have been actively working to begin a new model of catechetical formation for marriage.  The new model, "Witness to Love" is more than just marriage preparation.  It is a virtues-based, Catechumenate model of marriage formation.  Central to its approach is the incorporation of a mentor couple, chosen by the engaged couple who are actively living their Catholic Faith.   The program emphasizes relationship building,

Saint of the Month, St. John Bosco!   John Bosco, also known as Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco and Don Bosco, was born in Becchi, Italy, on August 16, 1815. His birth came just after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, which ravaged the area. At the age of two, John lost his father, leaving him and his two older brothers to be raised by his mother, Margherita. His "Mama Margherita Occhiena" would herself be declared venerable by the Church in 2006.  Raised primarily by his mother, Joh

Dear Parishioners, It has been a whirlwind of activities here at St. Joseph and St. Mary’s over the last 18 months as your pastor.  I am continually humbled by your zeal for Christ and the desire for greater devotion to the Eucharist and in sharing the joy of the Gospel.  Since arriving at the parishes, the most frequent request I have received has been a return to the full use of the altar rail for the distribution of the Most Sacred Body of Christ.  With the help of various

Dear Parishioners, A blessed New Year to you all!  I hope you all have had a restful Christmas and New Year!  I recently visited Fr. Winter and Fr. Beardslee in Minden, NE where we spent time relaxing, cooking, and playing board games!  I highly recommend a new game SETI if you are into space and enjoy more complex games.  We also played "Take Time" , a much easier and less complex game that is a cooperative game where players either win or lose together.  To succeed, you mus

Dear Parishioners,   With this two-week bulletin, we will be entering the last week of Advent and beginning the Christmas liturgical season!  It is with great joy that I wish you all a Blessed, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I am truly grateful to all of you for an incredible year.  I offer my sincerest thanks to each of you for the many ways in which you continue to support our parish!  More impressive is the manner in which I witness your faith, trust, and growth in

Dear Parishioners,   A Blessed Gaudete Sunday to you all!  Celebrated on the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday is a joyful pause amidst the penitential season—a time to rejoice. The Latin word "Gaudete" means "rejoice," taken from Philippians 4:4: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice." This day shifts the Advent focus momentarily from penance to joy as the birth of Christ draws nearer.  Joy is fundamental to Christian life because it's rooted in the assuran

Dear Parishioners,   I am very excited to welcome you all to the Rectory this Saturday from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm for an Advent Open House!  There will be refreshments and food, but please feel free to bring what you like!  If you are interested in helping me decorate, please email or text me. 😊   “Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4).  Disciples of Christ

Dear Parishioners, A blessed Advent to you all!  This weekend we begin to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ into the world.  Unlike lent, advent is a time of moderate penance with a focus upon the anticipation and joy of the Nativity of our Lord.  This year our parish will be handing out books on confession.  These books are great as aids to see the depth of the merciful love of God who encounters sinful man and woman in the humility of Penance.  Please feel free to

Dear Parishioners, Christ is King!  On Sunday, we celebrate Christ King of the Universe.  This solemnity emphasizes Christ’s role as the eternal King, who brings peace, truth, and justice.  The faithful are called to recognize the submit to His kingship by living out His teachings and following as his disciples.  This feast sets the stage for Advent, preparing us to welcome Christ as the newborn king foretold by Isaiah the prophet.  I would also like to wish you a blessed Tha

Dear Parishioners,   This year, we celebrate the 106 th  anniversary of the Dedication of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Colon.  The dedication of a church serves as a profound symbol of unity and identity. It is a visible manifestation of the community's faith and commitment to live out the Gospel. As a consecrated space, the church becomes a central place for gathering, worship, and the celebration of sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of

Dear Parishioners,   As we enter the month of November, we keep in prayer all those who have gone before us.  One of the corporal works of mercy is to bury the dead, while the corresponding spiritual work of mercy is to pray for the living and the dead.  An ancient manner in which these prayers are made is through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  This practice is continued today with Masses offered for the intentions of the living or for the repose of the souls of the decease

Dear Parishioners, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the incredible strength, resilience, and dedication you demonstrate every day as a Catholic in the workplace.  Work is a gift from God, existing even before the Fall, and is a way to cooperate with God's plan for the world.  You become witnesses to Christ when you engage with your neighbors, co-workers, customers, students, and fellow farmers in the workspace.  I especially want to encourage all our families struggling

Dear Parishioners,   This coming week, the Church will be celebrating All Saints and All Souls' Day.  This year, due to All Saints Day falling upon a Saturday, All Saints Day is not a Holy Day of Obligation .   I will be having Mass to celebrate the Solemnity on Saturday at 8:00 am.  On Saturday evening, the 5:00 pm vigil Mass will be for All Souls’ Day.  All Souls Day Masses are an opportunity to pray in hope of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ for all those who have gone be

Dear Parishioners, The Gospel this weekend presents the Parable of the Persistent Widow. Jesus takes time here to teach the importance of perseverance in prayer and unwavering faith in God's justice. In the parable, Jesus tells the story of a widow who persistently approaches an unjust judge, pleading for her rights. Despite the judge's lack of compassion or fear of God, he eventually grants her request to avoid further bother. Jesus uses this illustration to emphasize that i