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During the month of November, we pray for the souls in purgatory. Purgatory is a transitional state of being after death for those souls whose imperfections at the hour of death prevent them from direct entry into Heaven. The souls in purgatory are headed towards Heaven. Souls in purgatory do not go to Hell. We can aid the souls in purgatory by having Masses said for them, but also by our own private devotions such as the rosary, divine mercy chaplet, prayers at the grave and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The souls in purgatory can no longer pray for themselves, but they can, however, pray for us. Seek their intercession and pray for them. Although we do not know which individuals are there, we do know by faith and tradition that purgatory is a necessary stage for most people after death. During the month of November, I remember in a special way at Mass all those who have died and the souls in purgatory. If we pray for someone who is already in Heaven, God will apply our prayers to somebody in purgatory who needs them since He accepts our generosity and multiplies it one hundred fold. Please be sure to join us for the daily Masses in the month of November to pray for the dead. If anyone would like me to go to one of our cemeteries to bless a particular grave during November, I would be more than happy to do that. Monday night Eucharistic Adoration has moved for the winter months to the upstairs church. Please come and make a holy hour to pray for your own personal intentions and for the dead God Bless you! - Fr. Lance W. Harlow, Rector

Would you like to bring joy to a family this Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving sign-ups have begun at Joseph’s House and we now need your assistance to make this year’s program a great success. With the rise of food insecurity in our community during this pandemic, and after much prayer, our goal this year is to serve 75 families through this very important program! Donation envelopes are available at the church entryways. and may be placed in the collection baskets with your weekly contribution envelopes. For your convenience, donations may also be made through our new online donation tool at: www.josephshousevt.org - powered by PayPal. With prayers of Thanksgiving for all of you. - Lori

As we move into these uncertain winter months, I want you to know that we at St. Joseph Cathedral are here for you. We miss you. We invite you to come back to Mass if you have been away, even if it is one of our weekday Masses with fewer people present. If you are unsure about attending Sunday Masses during this time of pandemic, simply call the parish office at 658-4333, and I or a minister in the Church will meet you at the church to offer Holy Communion. I am also available to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation or the Anointing of the Sick. For Catholics, the Sacraments are instituted by Christ to give us grace. Pope Francis reminds us that Communion is not a reward for good behavior but medicine for the sick. We all need Christ’s help during these difficult times. Take time out each day for your own prayer. Pray as a family before meals. Watch Mass online if you don’t feel safe coming to Mass, and join in the online offerings that our parish and diocese offer. I am here for you and pray daily for you. This is my duty and blessing for me as a parish priest. God bless, Fr. Harlow

Just one year ago we began our first website and it's getting noticed. In the last year we have had more than 43,000 page views from 9,500 visitors. As you would expect the most visited pages are Mass times, bulletin, news, calendar and our history and cemetery pages. We have more that 500 photos throughout our 60+ pages. With such a long history in an active community we have much to show. Be sure to take a good look around.

Please join us on Saturday, October 10 for our annual Open House. This year, we will be hosting this event outside. Teachers and coaches will be on hand to answer questions about academic and extracurricular programming. A short presentation featuring current students, alumni and administrators will provide additional information about life at Rice. We encourage all to stay as we kick off our Homecoming Week with several athletic events. Please complete the registration form below or contact Stacy Bessette at bessette@rmhsvt.org for more information.

Saturday September 26th a Solemn Mass of Ordination was celebrated by Bishop Christopher Coyne at the Cathedral of St. Joseph where he ordained four men to the permanent diaconate. The men ordained are: Deacon George Flower who will serve at St. John the Baptist/St. Anthony/St. Mary churches in Enosburg/Sheldon/Franklin; Armand Auclair who will serve All Saints/St. Isidore/Our Lady of Lourdes in Richford/Montogomery Center and East Berkshire; Paul Kendall serving Holy Family Parish in Springfield and Chester; and Tom McCormick serving St. Francis Xavier Church in Winooski.

Please join us for Eucharistic-centered mission at St. Mark Church, September 21 & 22. Come encounter the love of Jesus and learn about the beauty and centrality of the Eucharist. All are welcome! Both evenings will include Eucharistic adoration, Benediction, and an opportunity for Confessions, with several priests available. The mission will follow COVID-19 protocols, and will also be live-streamed at stmarksvt.com. For more information, contact the St. Mark parish office at 802-864-7686 or stmark@vermontcatholic.org. Monday, September 21, 2020 - Mission 7:00 pm and Tuesday, September 22, 2020 - Mission 7:00 pm – Both led by Fr. Lance W. Harlow

Fr. Harlow will be away on retreat beginning Monday, September 14th after the 12:05 Mass. He will return on Saturday, September 19th. Confessions at 11:30AM on Tuesday, September 15, Wednesday, September 16, Thursday, September 17 and Friday, September 18 are cancelled. There will still be Eucharistic Adoration from 11:30 to Noon on these days. On Monday evening, September 14th, there will be Eucharistic Adoration at 7PM. However, there will not be confession. Please keep Fr. Harlow in your prayers during this retreat week. If you have any question about the schedule, please call the parish office at 658-4333.

The Chrism Mass has been rescheduled for Tuesday, June 30 at 2:00 pm at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Burlington. At this special Mass, celebrated by Bishop Coyne, the Oil of Chrism is consecrated, the Oils of Catechumens and the Sick are blessed, and the priests within the Diocese of Burlington recommit themselves to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. Because of the Cathedral’s capacity limits due to the pandemic and the presence of the priests of the diocese, seating for the general public will be very limited, and all present are asked to wear a mask and practice the proper physical distancing and hand sanitizing protocols. Those wishing to attend must RSVP either online at https://vermontcatholic.org/event/chrism-mass-3/ Chrism Mass - Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington Limited seating. Below is the online registration (preferred) but you may also register by calling Josh Perry: (802) 448-3515. Please remember to bring your mask and practice social distancing. View All Posts by This Author vermontcatholic.org (preferred method) or by calling Josh Perry at (802) 448-3515. The Mass will also be live-streamed on the diocesan website.

Memorial Day grave blessings at the New Mount Calvary Cemetery on Monday, May 25 by Fr. Harlow.

We celebrate this yearly holiday on the second Sunday of May, also the month of Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Mother of our Savior, Mother of God. There may be a special blessing for mothers at Mass this weekend. Look up a blessing for the mothers in your life. Here’s one prayer, among many you may find, this one from Catholic Online. “Mary, on this day when we honor all mothers, we turn to you. We thank the Lord whom you serve for the great gift of motherhood. Never has it been known that anyone who sought your intercession was left unaided by grace. Dear Mother, thank you for your ‘Yes’ to the invitation of the angel which brought heaven to earth and changed human history. You opened yourself to God's word and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Dear mother, intercede for all of our mothers. Ask your Divine Son to give them the grace of surrendered love so that they could join with you in giving their own "Fiat." May they find daily strength to say yes to the call to the sacrificial love- the very heart of the vocation of motherhood. May their love and witness be a source of great inspiration for all of us called to follow your Son. On this Mothers day, Mother of the Word Incarnate, pray for us who have recourse to you... In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

Click the title link above to read the litany that Fr Lance W Harlow, Rector, at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Burlington prayed , on May 1, while the American bishops were re-consecrating the United States to our Lady of the immaculate conception; Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the diocese of Burlington before her statue at the cathedral. The litany is prayed every Monday night at the Cathedral. During the month of May, Father has entrusted the Diocese to its patronness seeking her intercession and protection for all the men, women, its churches and institutions.

Bishop Louis E. Gelineau, D.D. will celebrate his 92nd birthday on Sunday, May 3, 2020. Ceal Moran is putting together a “card shower” to help him celebrate. If you would like to participate, you can send Bishop Louis an email and send it to: ceal@finalfreedom.com. Please put Card Shower in the Subject line of the Email. If you wish to mail a card to him, the address is: Villa at St. Antione, # 230, 400 Mendon Road, N. Smithfield, RI 02896. + + + + + + + + + Bishop Emeritus of Providence “Rejoice in Hope” Louis E. Gelineau was born on May 3, 1928 in Burlington, Vermont, the son of Leon G. and Juliette Baribault Gelineau. He received his early education at St. Joseph’s Elementary School and Cathedral High School in Burlington. He studied for the priesthood at St. Paul’s University in Ottawa and was ordained June 5, 1954. Following his ordination, he served as assistant pastor for two years at All Saints Parish in Richford and one year at St. Stephen Parish, Winooski. He then entered the Catholic University of America, obtaining a degree in Canon Law in 1959. Returning to the Diocese of Burlington, he was named Assistant Chancellor, Diocesan Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and Assistant Chaplain at De Goesbriand Memorial Hospital in Burlington. He became Chancellor of the Diocese in 1961 and was named a Papal Chamberlain with the title of Monsignor by Pope Paul VI. In 1968, he was named Vicar General of the Diocese of Burlington and a Prelate of His Holiness. He was named Bishop of Providence in December 1971. He has served on numerous boards and committees concerned with church and civic matters and holds many honorary degrees from Rhode Island colleges and universities.

The Cathedral of St. Joseph now has online giving direct from your debit or credit card! It's really easy to use. You can select weekly or special collections and Joseph's House. The timing couldn't have been better. Copy this link to make your contribution today. https://app.gabrielsoft.com/guest/vtbldiocese/55 If you wish to mail in your contribution please send them to the 113 Elmwood Ave. Burlington, VT 05401 address.

This Sunday, April 19, 2020 is the Second Sunday of Easter, and the Sunday of Divine Mercy or Divine Mercy Sunday. The Divine Mercy devotion was revealed by Our Lord Jesus Christ to Polish Mercy Sister Faustina Kowalska, now a saint, in visitations during the 1930s. Here are the words of Jesus to Saint Faustina: “My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.” We recall the familiar Divine Mercy image of Jesus with white and red rays representing blood and water radiating from His sacred heart. A Divine Mercy portrait hung in the Cathedral during the 2015-2016 Year of Mercy, along with the Holy Door erected at the entrance to the middle aisle. Divine Mercy Sunday began with a Congregation of Divine Worship decree in 2000 with the first observance in 2001. Saint Pope John Paul II celebrated the first Divine Mercy Sunday, and died on the feast day eve in 2005. We are encouraged to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet to mark the feast, especially at the hour of mercy, 3:00 p.m. The National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA will broadcast the chaplet and other devotions and features this Sunday. You can also pray the Divine Mercy Novena before the feast day, beginning on Good Friday. Some people are displaying Divine Mercy picture during the coronavirus epidemic.

Octave of Easter – eight days starting on Easter Sunday and ending the Second Sunday of Easter, which is also Divine Mercy Sunday. Every day of the Octave is a Solemnity, the Church’s highest feast day. We light the tall, white, decorated Pascal candle. We sing the Gloria, hear a special Easter Alleluia verse, and may recite the Easter Sequence before the Gospel. The priest uses an Easter preface. We also repeat “Alleluia” after we say the final “Thanks be to God” at the end of Mass. The priest’s vestments are white or gold, for the both the Octave and the Easter season. The Easter season comprises Easter Sunday, the Easter Octave, and the weeks following through Ascension Thursday (40 days after Easter), ending at Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Easter. During the Easter season, we hear at Mass stories of the Resurrection from the Acts of the Apostles: Mary Magdalene and the apostles at the tom, the Lord’s appearance on the road to Emmaus, His meeting with the apostles on the shore of Lake Tiberias, and other familiar accounts. If you usually pray the Angelus, you will replace it during the Easter season with the Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven) prayer. The Easter season offers plenty of time to celebrate the holiday, with Easter egg hunts, flowers, springtime animals such as lambs, rabbits, and baby chicks in toys and food, and special treats from the Easter basket, a homemade lamb cake or Easter bread. The Easter season also is the time for making one’s Easter duty, the Church’s requirement that we receive Holy Communion during this season.

Click title for the Diocesan Holy Week Resources

After careful and prayerful consideration, Bishop Coyne has decided that there will be no public distribution of palms for Palm Sunday in the parishes of the Diocese of Burlington. We will keep them stored cool and dry until we are back to the regular Mass schedule.

Passiontide – Passion Time This two-week period begins on the Saturday before the fifth Sunday of Lent, formerly called Passion Sunday. In the past, church statues and crosses and crucifixes were covered with veils, usually purple, simple and unadorned. Various authors describe different reasons for the veiling: shielding these beloved images helps us fast, in a sense, from images of God and his saints, and hunger for their return at the great Easter Solemnity. The shrouds also connote death, as the Church will journey through the Lord’s passion and death soon, and wait in silent vigil for the Resurrection at the end of the upcoming Holy Week. We also may view this allusion to death as a symbol of our own Lenten struggle to die to sin and be born anew at Easter. A Gospel of Passiontide in the Traditional form speaks of Jesus hiding himself, as we hide these images. Veiling statues also calls to mind Jesus’ hiding or veiling his divinity during his Passion. Another author likens the removal of these statues from our sight as one of the steps taken during this time in Lent, to hide and reduce more aspects or our faith, just as we had earlier put away the Gloria and Alleluia, and soon lose bells and the Mass itself at the end of Holy Week. Our churches today still may cover statues and crosses, or leave them revealed. The veils are removed before the Easter Vigil Mass. Soon we will enter Holy Week, when we hear, read, and dwell on the Passion, Crucifixion and Death, and Resurrection of our Lord.

Yesterday, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott issued a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order and directed the closure of in-person operations for all non-essential businesses. The governor’s order directs “Vermonters to stay at home, leaving only for essential reasons, critical to health and safety. If leaving the home, Vermonters should adhere to social distancing policies, including remaining six feet from others (except for those with whom they share a home) and thoroughly and regularly washing hands. Effective March 25, 2020, at 5 p.m., all businesses and not-for-profit entities not expressly exempted in the order must suspend all in-person business operations. Operations that can be conducted online or by phone, or sales that can be facilitated with curbside pickup or delivery only, can continue.” In keeping with the governor’s order, Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne has directed that all Catholic churches, chapels and shrines throughout the state be closed as of 5 p.m. today and that all “non-essential” employees of the Catholic community (as defined by the governor’s order) work remotely as need be. During these challenging times, Catholics can still participate in devotions and worship remotely by tuning into daily 12:05 p.m. Mass (Monday through Friday) and Sundays at 10 a.m., live rosary at 11:15 a.m. and many other spiritual engagement activities. For the weekly schedule of activities visit: vermontcatholic.org/spiritualresources. VERMONT CATHOLIC VERMONT MARCH 25, 2020