Liturgical Celebrations

Saturday 4:00 PM

Sunday 9:00 & 11:30 AM

Daily Mass 12:10 PM

RCIA Tues 6:30 PM

Holy Hour Mon-Fri 11:00 AM

Rosary Mon-Fri 11:30 AM

Prayer Group 1st & 3rd Wed 6:45 PM

Holidays 9:00 AM

The Staff Pastor - Msgr. Michael Shershanovich e-mail: msgrmike@berkshire.rr.com

Priest in Residence - Rev. Geoffrey Deeker, CSS

Most. Rev. Timothy McDonnell in Residence

Coordinator of Youth Religious Education John Arasimowicz//e-mail:stjosephccd@berkshire.rr.com

Secretary - Michele Madden e-mail: Michelemadden@berkshire.rr.com

Pastoral Minister-Mrs. Patricia Momnie

Sacrament of Baptism - New parents are expected to complete a course of instruction. Please consult the parish

office for classes. Sacrament of Reconciliation - Saturdays 3:00-3:45 PM Sacrament of Matrimony- Couples should contact the

parish office at least one year prior to the wedding. New Parishioners - Register at the parish office. We look

forward to welcoming you to the parish family. Ministry to the Sick - Parishioners confined to home

have visitations that are scheduled on a regular basis. Please notify the parish office to make arrangements.

Religious Education Classes - St. Joseph’s High School following the 9:00 AM Mass for all public school students,

grades K-11, and parochial students preparing for Sacraments.

St. Joseph’s Parish Office 414 North Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201

Tel: (413) 445-5789//Fax: (413) 443-5466 Hours: Mon.-Fri.: 9:00 AM-1:00 PM Web site: www.stjoepittsfield.com

PRAYER LINE 413-443-1221

St. Joseph’s Cemetery Superintendent - Jay Meehan

Secretary - Nancy Nolan Tel: (413) 499-1317

MARCH FOR LIFE

The 45th annual March for Life in

Washington DC will be held Friday,

January 27th. Mass Citizens for Life N.

Adams Chapter is again sponsoring a bus to

the March. Join us and hundreds of

thousands of prolifers from across the

country to stand up for the right to life of

unborn children. Call Robin at 743-1329 for

more information and to reserve your seat

today. We ask for a $25 donation per

person, and will gladly accept donations to

help defray the cost of the bus. (donations

should be sent to MCFL, 6 Bob's Hill,

Adams MA 01220) Thank you for your

support.

TRIP TO REYKJAVIK, ICELAND

Msgr. Mike and the St. Joseph Parish invite you to travel with them to Iceland this May from the 4th to the 10th, 2017.Non-stop from Boston to Reykjavik. $2,750. Per person. Travel from Pittsfield will be provided. Information meeting Jan. 8, 2017 at 1:00 PM in the North Chapel at St. Joseph’s Church.

CCD CLASSES Resume January 8th

EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS

Sat., Dec. 31st 4:00 PM

Sun. Jan. 1st 9:00 AM

Sun., Jan. 1st 11:30 AM

Michael Collins Nancy Woitkoski Michael Wood

Barbara Dalo John Arasimowicz Mary Huska

Sr. Jean Bostley Gene Cornell Charles Knappe

Josie Daviau Jeanne Cornell Daniel Kochapski

N. Mastrangelo Terry Costello Jim McNeice

Pat Momnie Paul Guillou J. Weatherwax

Cheryl Furtek Anne Hynes

LECTORS

Tom Daly Peggy Taylor Joe Dahrouge Sr. Jean Bostley John Quallen Anne Dunham

ST. MARK’S PARISH COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Presents two of the Original Harlem Globetrotters, featuring Kevin Showboat

Jackson and Kenny Blenda Rodriguez, with DJ Master of Sounds Eddie Brown. The

day includes great family fun and entertainment, exercise, skills, clinics,

games, dancing, and a positive take home message. The event will take place on

Saturday, January 7, 2017, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Taconic High School gymnasium on Valentine Rd. in Pittsfield. The cost will be $1 for children and $5 for adults. You can

call ahead for tickets at 413-447-7510 between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. or buy your

ticket at the door.

THE ANNUAL 12TH NIGHT The 56th celebration of the

festival will begin at the 4 p.m. Mass at St. Joseph Church on

January 7, 2017, followed immediately with dinner and dancing at the ITAM Lodge.

Tickets are still available and can be obtained at the St. Joseph Rectory through Wednesday,

January 4th

BASKETBALL YOUTH FREE THROW

CHAMPIONSHIP

Knights of Columbus, Msgr. Eugene F.

Marshall, Council #103, Pittsfield, is

sponsoring a Basketball Youth Free Throw

Championship for 2017 on Saturday January

21st, 2017 starting at 1 PM at St. Joseph

High School, Pittsfield. All boys and girls 9 to

14 years old are invited to participate in their

respective age divisions. Winners will have

the opportunity to progress through the local,

district, regional and state competitions All

contestants on the local level are recognized

for their participation. Participants are

required to furnish proof of age and written

parental consent. For entry forms or

Additional information, kindly contact Jeff

Hiltpold, chairman at 281-1737.

MASS FOR THE UNBORN

The Knights of Columbus Bishop Conaty

Assembly #395 is sponsoring a Mass for the

Unborn on Sunday, January 22, 2017 at the

11:30 AM Mass at St. Joseph

Church, Pittsfield. Followed by a

March for Life from the Church

around St. Joseph High School to

the Parish Center (weather

permitting), then a light

reception. All are welcome to join

us for this worthy event.

ST. JOSEPH’S CHURCH, PITTSFIELD, MA January 1, 2017

Saturday, December 31st Mary Daley Requested by Family

4:00 PM

Sunday, January 1st Carlo Cataldo —53rd Anniversary Requested by Family

For the Parish

9:00 AM

11:30 AM

Monday, January 2nd Glenn Girard Requested by Sharon & Mike

12:10 PM

Tuesday, January 3rd Jason Rochelo Requested by Mom, Dad and Mark

12:10 PM

Wednesday, January 4th Mary G. Jacobs—Birthday Remembrance Requested by Family

12:10 PM

Thursday, January 5th Rita & Roger Nilan Requested by Family

12:10 PM

Friday, January 6th Natalia Obdhkowska Requested by John Arasimowicz

12:10 PM

Saturday, January 7th Andy Trzepacz Requested by Mom, Lillian & Family

4:00 PM

Sunday, January 8th Elizabeth Putnam—9th Anniversary Requested by Nieces & Nephews

The Deceased Members of St. Joseph’s Parish

9:00 AM

11:30 AM

Readings for the Week of January 1, 2017 Sunday: Nm 6:22-27/Ps 67/Gal 4:4-7/Lk 2:16-21

Monday: 1 Jn 2:22-28/Ps 98/Jn 1:19-28 Tuesday: 1 Jn 2:29--3:6/Ps 98/Jn 1:29-34 Wednesday: 1 Jn 3:7-10/Ps 98/Jn 1:35-42 Thursday: 1 Jn 3:11-21/Ps 100/Jn 1:43-51

Friday: 1 Jn 5:5-13/Ps 147/Mk 1:7-11 or Lk 3:23-28 or 3:23, 31-34, 36, 38

Saturday: 1 Jn 5:14-21/Ps 149/Jn 2:1-11 Next Sunday: Is 60:1-6/Ps 72/Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6/Mt 2:1-12

SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

JANUARY 1, 2017

Because Mary is the Mother of God, she is also our Mother and she cares and loves the Church and so she assist in vocation work by her motherly nudge to respond to her Son’s call to

service. If you think God is calling you to a Church vocation, call Fr. Gary Dailey at (413) 452-0811 or write

g.dailey@diospringfield.org Website: www.myvocation.com

JANUARY 1, 2017 MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

"And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." Supernatural communication was nothing new for

Mary. The angel Gabriel had already appeared and spoken to her when she agreed to bear God's Son. Her husband Joseph also had a kind of divine intervention in the dream where the

angel told him to go ahead and marry her. When she was first pregnant, her cousin Elizabeth had been led by the Holy Spirit to know the secret that Mary was "the mother of my Lord" (Lk 1:43). Now, Jesus has just been born and a crew

of earthy shepherds appears at her door with a message from heaven: that the Savior has been born. And Mary believed

them. She did not doubt their sincerity or the authenticity of their message. She took the words to heart, and meditated

upon the meaning of it all. What might strike us as peculiar in all of this is that God chose to speak to Mary in a variety of ways. This holy and immaculate woman, this Mother of God, did not always receive direct communication from on high. Sometimes, God chose to speak to her through other people. Sometimes, he revealed himself to them in order to reveal himself to her. And God does the same with us. It's easy to daydream about having our own personal revelation

from God, to hear his voice loud and clear, directing, encouraging, and supporting us in our times of need and confusion. But this isn't the standard pattern of God's

operation. Mary was tuned in enough to hear God's voice all around her instead of expecting it to always sound the same.

We can imitate this same kind of openness by seeking to discover how God may be speaking to us through the voices

of others.