414 North Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201 Tel: (413) 445-5789//Fax: (413) 443-5466 Hours: Mon.-Fri.: 9:00 AM-1:00 PM

Website: www.stjoepittsfield.com

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:johnaccd@gmail.com

Secretary - Michele Madden

e-mail: Michelemadden@berkshire.rr.com

Pastoral Minister-Mrs. Patricia Momnie

Superintendent - Garret Wood Office Manager-Nancy Nolan-Tel: (413) 499-1317

Website: www.stjoecem.com e-mail: stjoecem@verizon.net

ST. JOSEPH’S PARISH

THE STAFF

ST. JOSEPH’S CEMETERY

MASS SCHEDULE Saturday-4:00 PM—Sunday-9:00 & 11:30 AM

Daily Mass-12:10 PM—Holiday Mass-9:00 AM

RCIA-Wed. 6:30 PM

Holy Hour —Monday - Friday 11:00 AM Prayer Group —1st & 3rd Wed. 6:45 PM

Rosary —Monday - Friday 11:30 AM

PRAYER LINE 413-443-1221

St. Joseph Mother Church of

the Berkshires Established 1849

mailto:johnaccd@gmail.com

February 16, 2020

AUSTRIA & SWITZERLAND

~ Sept. 27th to Oct. 6, 2020 ~ Sites include Vienna, Salzburg, Lucerne, Zurich and more.

Price is $2950 double

occupancy. Additional $495 for

single room. Includes airfare,

taxes, most meals.

PAINT AND SIP Sun. Feb. 23rd at 1:30 at St. Joseph

Parish Center, Pittsfield~$35 includes all painting materials,

professional instructions, wine, light snacks. To reserve please call

Michelle at 413-205-8346 or go online to https://berkshirepaintandsip.squarespace.com/deliveries/sun-223-130pm-open-to-the-public-starry-night-pittsfield-ma. Don’t miss your opportunity to create your own painting of “Starry Night” by Van Gogh on a 16x20 canvas. Proceeds go to benefit St.

Joseph Church.

February 16th– NO CLASS

February 23rd—Regular classes for K-9.

March 1st-Regular classes K-9.

MEALS ON WHEELS

We are in urgent need of Bakers and Drivers once a month. If you are able to

help please call the Rectory.

The 2020 mass remembering deceased alumni of St. Joseph Central High School will take place on the Feast of St. Joseph, Thursday, March 19th at

5:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Church, 414 North St., Pittsfield. Alumni who died during calendar year

2019 will be honored with their names being read, and the lighting of a candle by a loved one.

Celebrating the mass will be Msgr. Michael Shershanovich. Music will be led by Donald

Coudert, Jr. ‘66. All are welcome to attend. For more information call 413-499-4890 or write

ssjpine@verizon.net.

PRAY THE ROSARY Saturday, February 22nd from

12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Park Square, Pittsfield. For more information

call Corinne 413-447-7393

We are in

desperate need of drivers (on a

rotating basis) and someone who can

safely lift up to 50lbs. If you are

able to help with this Ministry please call the Rectory.

This weekend we are taking up a special collection for the

Seminarian Vocation Fund. This collection will be for the education and care to our five current

seminarians and for future seminarians. Your prayers and support help

to make possible the education and training these men need to be

strong teachers of our Catholic faith. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

We appreciate all who made our Fundraiser for Persecuted Christians in Iraq a success, the

Knights of Columbus Members, the Ladies of St. Anne, Parishioners, our local Catholic

Community and Friends. Thank You and God bless you all for caring!

SACRIFICIAL GIVING $6352 Thank you for your generosity!

Wine & Cheese event in the North Chapel after the 4 pm Mass on Saturday, Feb. 22nd.

https://berkshirepaintandsip.squarespace.com/deliveries/sun-223-130pm-open-to-the-public-starry-night-pittsfield-mahttps://berkshirepaintandsip.squarespace.com/deliveries/sun-223-130pm-open-to-the-public-starry-night-pittsfield-mahttps://berkshirepaintandsip.squarespace.com/deliveries/sun-223-130pm-open-to-the-public-starry-night-pittsfield-mahttps://berkshirepaintandsip.squarespace.com/deliveries/sun-223-130pm-open-to-the-public-starry-night-pittsfield-ma

EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS Sat., Feb. 15th

4:00 PM Sun., Feb. 16th

9:00 AM Sun., Feb. 16th

11:30 AM Marie Kotowicz Jack Laviolette Robin O'Brien Mary Sukiennik Jeff Vincent Charles Knappe Sr. Jean Bostley Nancy Nolan Jeff Gerard

LECTORS Juliette Ekouah Joe Ryan Anne Dunham Sharyn Fresia Sharon Vincent Paul Mays

MOHEGAN SUN

Join us for a day at the casino February 24th. Bus leaves our parking lot at 8AM and leaves

Mohegan at 4:15. The cost of the trip is $38. Tip included. Please call the Rectory for

reservations.

SAVE THE DATE— March 21, 2020. Springfield Diocese is hosting something new– a

conference for men, women and children all together-Catholic Life Conference. We invite you

to come. If you have felt abandoned, alone, ostracized, confused or complacent in your faith

journey by the world, your family or fellow Catholics, this conference is for you.

Continuing the new celebration of the WORD, Bishop McDonnell will conduct a series on BIBLE QUESTIONS. There is a catch to this series: YOU

MUST PROVIDE THE QUESTIONS. The question can be about any person, event, passage, verse or from any Book of the Bible. This is being offered to help us deepen our appreciation of the

Word of God. TIME AND PLACE WILL BE ANNOUNCED.

FISH FRY

Friday March 6, 2019, 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM at St. Joseph Parish

Center, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Council #103. Enjoy great dining and fellowship with parishioners,

family and friends or "take out" is available after 5:30 PM. Donation: Adults $15.00, Children 5 to 12 years old $10.00. Limited tickets at the door, if

available. Please Purchase tickets early at St. Joseph Rectory. All proceeds go to St. Joseph

Church.

Vespers and Video presentation will begin

Sunday evenings at 6pm on March 1st and continue

each Sunday through Lent. As in the past, a video

presentation will follow immediately after the

service in the North Chapel. Refreshments will be served.

“For those curious about the pipe organ we have here at St. Joseph’s church, here is a little history about the organ and the builders who

made our instrument. St. Joseph’s organ is an E&G.G. Hook, Opus 405, pipe organ, completed

in 1868. It has two manuals (keyboards), 28 stops, and 26 ranks, and utilizes slider chests

with a mechanical key action. It was built in the German organ building tradition. The Hook

brothers, Elias (1805-1881) and George Greenleaf (1807-1880), were sons of a cabinet maker and

entered the organ business by apprenticing under the organ builder, William Goodrich. The Hook

brothers went on to begin their own organ firm in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1871 Frank Hastings joined the firm, and the firm became known as E&G.G. Hook and Hastings. In their era, the E

&G.G. Hook, and, later, E&G.G. Hook and Hastings organ company were the elite organ

builders in the United States, with their organs serving over 2,000 churches and cathedrals

throughout the country. Their largest work is the organ at Holy Cross Cathedral in Boston, which

boasts 101 ranks over 3 manuals. Many Hook organs are still in use today, either in original condition, or with alterations over time.” For those parishioners interested in learning more about St. Joe’s organ, or may want to gather at

the church for informational meetings, we hope to create an organ committee to discuss, among

other things, an organ fund. This new committee, called “Friends of the Organ at St. Joseph’s

Church”, or, simply, FOTO, will have its primary goal of establishing an organ fund to maintain the instrument with twice-yearly tunings, and other additional repairs that are needed; for example,

the leather on the big, wooden pipes for the pedalboard which are in need of replacing, and

the cost for such a procedure is quite high. Again, those interested in learning more, or want to be a part of the FOTO committee, should email their interests to our organist and choir director, Carl

Bowlby, at: bowlbycarl@yahoo.com.

Our parish council will meet Sunday, February 16th after the 9

o’clock Mass in the South Chapel. All are invited.

mailto:bowlbycarl@yahoo.com

READINGS FOR THE WEEK OF FEB. 16, 2020 Sunday: Sir 15:15-20/Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34

[1b]/1 Cor 2:6-10/Mt 5:17-37 or 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37

Monday: Jas 1:1-11/Ps 119:67, 68, 71, 72, 75, 76 [77a]/Mk 8:11-13

Tuesday: Jas 1:12-18/Ps 94:12-13a, 14-15, 18-19 [12a]/Mk 8:14-21

Wednesday: Jas 1:19-27/Ps 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5 [1b]/Mk 8:22-26

Thursday: Jas 2:1-9/Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 [7a]/Mk 8:27-33

Friday: Jas 2:14-24, 26/Ps 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 [cf. 1b]/Mk 8:34—9:1

Saturday: 1 Pt 5:1-4/Ps 23:1-3a, 4, 5, 6 [1]/Mt 16:13-19 Next Sunday: Lv 19:1-2, 17-18/Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12

-13 [8a]/1 Cor 3:16-23/Mt 5:38-48

Saturday, February 15th Robert Brodeur, Sr. Requested by John & Tom Arasimowicz

4:00 PM

Sunday, February 16th Deceased Members of the Parish Maureen Cahill Angelini-2nd Anniv. Requested by family __________________________

Sanctuary Candle Maureen Cahill Angelini

Requested by family

9:00 AM

11:30 AM

Monday, February 17th Fr. Geoff’s Health Requested by William & Mary Diakiew

9:00 AM

Tuesday, February 18th Special Intention

12:10 PM

Wednesday, February 19th For the Parish

12:10 PM

Thursday, February 20th Robert Dwyer, Sr. Requested by Fr. Mike & Cemetery Staff

12:10 PM

Friday, February 21st Forgotten Souls Requested by family

12:10 PM

Saturday, February 22nd Leverne Taylor-13th Anniv. Requested by family

4:00 PM

Sunday, February 23rd Theresa Rachiele McGovern Requested by family For the Parishioners __________________________

Sanctuary Candle Victims of Clergy Sex Abuse

9:00 AM

11:30 AM

FEBRUARY 16TH, 2020 6TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

People are not property. We cannot exchange them at will or simply use them for our own designs and purposes. What does the word

“commitment” mean to you? We can begin to understand its meaning by looking at some synonyms: dedication, devotion, allegiance,

loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, and bond. Commitment is primarily about relationship, and

Jesus is all about relationships. How our lives affect others, how we treat our brothers and

sisters, how we resolve conflict, and how we view the vows of marriage. Jesus’ teachings on obeying

the commandments, murder, reconciliation, marriage, divorce, and adultery all stem from the sacredness of commitment. All of this has a God

connection. We can easily see one another as interchangeable and dispensable. We treat so much of our lives this way. What works today

may not be what I want tomorrow. We search and search for the right thing only to find our hearts

still restless in the end. Is real happiness achievable this side of the grave? Sometimes we

expect too much out of others and want our relationships to fill a hole that we must figure out

how to fill ourselves. Any seasoned married couple will tell you that their love for one another

changes as time passes. Even though the understanding of romance changes as life

changes, the dedication, devotion, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, and fidelity all remain and

even deepen. Some relationships can be hurtful, and God does not want us to live with abuse or

pain. Also, how a relationship develops is sometimes out of our control, and we become the victim of someone else’s decision. But we can’t be

self-focused in our relationships and see them exclusively as self-fulfilling ends. We are

companions on life’s journey with varying depths of relationships being enjoyed by all who are with us along the way. We have the freedom to choose. God asks us to do so wisely, with right judgment

and thinking.