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The Knights of Columbus will hold a new member recruitment after the Masses on October 23rd and 24th. They will also be hosting a coffee hour in the Parish Hall after the 10 AM Mass on Sunday, October 24th. Please join us!

Joseph’s House will once again be offering a Thanksgiving Program to serve those who need a little extra to help make Thanksgiving a special and joyous day for their families. This year, we would like to help 75 families with their holiday dinner needs. Each family will receive a Gift Card from Hannaford’s to purchase a turkey and “trimmings”. Would you help Joseph’s House make 75 Thanksgiving celebrations possible this year? Any amount you can donate toward this program would be greatly appreciated. “You will be enriched in every way for great generosity which through us will produce thanksgiving to God; for the rendering of this service not only supplies the wants of the saints, but also overflows in many thanksgivings to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:11-12). Donations may be made anytime beginning now and throughout November. Envelopes are available for your convenience at the Church entrances. Checks should be made to: “Joseph House” and should include the notation “Thanksgiving”. Please feel free to either drop your envelope in the collection basket on the weekend or mail/ bring it to Joseph’s House directly at 113 Elmwood Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401. Thank you for your great compassion and generosity toward our brothers and sisters in Christ; may God bless you with an abundance of His bountiful grace! May you and your loved ones enjoy a blessed Thanksg

The Cathedral of St. Joseph will be the site as the Diocese of Burlington joyfully celebrates the ordination of two men to the Diaconate. Mr. Michael Knowles will be ordained to the Permanent Diaconate, and Mr. Brandon Schneider will be ordained to the Transitional Diaconate. This event is open to all who wish to attend.

The 2021 Bishop's Fund Goal is $ 42,750. To date contributions and pledges are $ 44,633.00. We are at 104% of our goal. Thank you to all who have contributed to date! If you wish to make a donation, go to: bishopsappealvt.org Gifts can be dropped in the collection basket on the weekend, mailed, or dropped off to the Diocese at 55 Joy Drive, South Burlington, VT 05403 Thank you for your ongoing generosity!

The pro-life, emergency pregnancy program Aspire Together, located across from the UVM Medical Center in Burlington, received $303.00 from the Cathedral of St. Joseph from the June Baby Bottle drive. The agency thanks Cathedral donors, whose contributions helped pay the program's spring and summer operating expenses.

Please DO NOT park in the former Saint Joseph School parking lot behind the building from Monday through Friday during the daytime hours and all day on Saturday July 31st. The parking lot is reserved for the staff and visitors at Champlain Housing Trust. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

On your way into church take a moment to enjoy the beautiful gardens. Dot Commo and Robin Hall put hours of their time into weeding, planting and litter removal. What a nice way to use their natural talents. There are even plans for Spring bulbs! Thank you all.

Please bring your non-perishable food to the Cathedral this weekend to donate to the North-End Food Pantry. Bins for the food collection are at the church entrance. The Food Shelf also is accepting cash and check donations.

Deacon Moore takes over for Joseph’s House Executive Director Lori Daudelin, who is on leave for family reasons. Deacon Moore was ordained a permanent deacon in 2003. He currently serves at Ascension Parish in Georgia. He has worked for Vermont Catholic Charities in prison ministry and as the coordinator for the financial aid for clients. He began work as the Director of Joseph’s House on May 24. He looks forward to serving here at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph’s. Hours: Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday 10:00 to 11:30 AM  1:00 to 4:00 PM Joseph's House 113 Elmwood Avenue Burlington, VT 05401.

Once per month from May through September, we will again take a collection to support our four cemeteries: Old Mt. Calvary, New Mt. Calvary, the Annex, and St. Joseph Cemetery. Some have asked why do we need to have these collections when, at the time of purchase of a plot, there is a charge for “perpetual care”? This may help to explain why they are necessary. The percentage of the cost of a plot identified for perpetual care is 60% of the sale price. The intent is to provide ongoing care of the cemetery grounds such as mowing and trimming at all four of our cemeteries. As many more people move to cremation burials/columbarium burials, the perpetual care fund is depleting since there is no charge for perpetual care for cremations and the purchase of cemetery plots have decreased. However, the grounds at all four cemeteries must still be maintained. Each summer, in addition to our two full-time employees, we must hire two extra full-time persons to keep up with the grounds keeping. As the hourly wages increase, so do our expenses. Cemetery income needs to cover all four full-time salaries. We must also consider that many plots were purchased not just in the past year, but also in previous decades at a price consistent with the economy at the time of purchase. Here are some examples: In 1966, a single grave cost $ 50. Perpetual care: $ 30 (New Mount Calvary) In 2020, a double grave was $ 1,500. Perpetual care: $900 (New Mount Calvary) As you can see, the plot in 1966 needs the same level of care that the plot purchased in 2020, but the $ 50 of perpetual care paid in 1966 was long ago spent. If you have any questions about our cemeteries, please give Wayne Lefebvre, our Cemetery Superintendent a call at 862-0512.

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.

Click the title link to read the article and see the photos.

John Fisher’s (corrected spelling) connection to St. Joseph Church, which would eventually become the cathedral of the Diocese of Burlington, began the day he was baptized in the church five days after his birth in 1940, the tenth of 14 children to parents of French Canadian ancestry. The family’s strong faith in God and inclusion in the faith family of St. Joseph Parish strengthened them after the death of Fisher’s father, leaving his mother to raise 12 children alone. After marrying and beginning a family of seven children, the parish that Fisher loved remained the pivotal aspect of his family’s faith and schooling. During the 1990s, when the Internet was born, Fisher began writing website code while employed at IBM and created a website for his department as well as a family website for photos, events, his French-Canadian genealogy and an interest in astronomy. During these years, explained Fisher, the church and the parish were undergoing renovations and changes due to Vatican II. “I could see that during these changes items dear to the parish were going away,” he said, noting, among them, the huge painting of the Last Supper painted by Sinai Richer in 1923, and a memorial to the 633 parishioners who served in the military in World War II and the 22 who gave their lives. “I thought that something should be done to keep people aware of these pieces of our parish history. While researching in the diocesan archives, I came across the insurance company photos of both the old Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and of St. Joseph’s. The cathedral had burned in 1972 and there were many changes at St. Joseph’s. I decided to scan all the photos and put them on my website. The parishioners of both churches would surely enjoy them,” Fisher recalled. Whenever the ardent archivist comes across an historical piece of information about the Cathedral of St. Joseph he adds it to his website. Fisher explained that parishioners recognize his passion for parish history and often bring him their own treasures which he photographs or scans and presents to the pastor or adds to the parish historical archive. “Two of these were very significant,” he noted. “An old photo of the early church and a photo of the carpenters in the church about a year before it was completed. It was so historically interesting that I did about a year of research on the photo and the photographer and even had a reunion of the photographer’s descendants from out of state, here in Burlington. Both original photos are now in the parish rectory.” Most recently Fisher has added photos of two major cathedral projects: renovation and replacement of the steeple and the steps in front of the church. “I created a new webpage for each event and captured some really great photos along the way. The contractor also gave us some really great drone photos of their steeple effort,” he said. Fisher explained the value of photo archives, saying, “One can write the detailed history of a church or a parish, and the reader can form an image based on what they have read, but as they say, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’ In my great 1887 photo of the inside of St Joseph’s, I could describe the interior and the 12 carpenters and what each carpenter is holding; however, the photo says it all; and this event only happened for a moment in time, but it has now been captured and available for all to view today.” https://vermontcatholic.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=31181&i=653855&p=14

Since the 2018 Diocesan Synod, the Catholic community in Vermont has been pursuing the synod goals of increased and improved evangelization and communication efforts to assist in building more vibrant parishes; a focus on parish website improvement has been one of the first communication initiatives. “I really like the eCatholic tool. I think all the parish (sites) using it that I’ve seen look very clean and appealing,” said Arthur “Jay” Fisher, website administrator for St. Joseph Cathedral Parish in Burlington. “The website is about good marketing.” eCatholic’s mobile-friendly websites are easy to update and manage. Their dynamic and engaging templates and content create a unified, consistent and connected digital presence for Catholic parishes throughout Vermont. “Our traffic has increased month over month since going live in early October,” Fisher said, noting that there were 564 page views by 178 unique users on Christmas Eve alone. For the Cathedral’s website, Mass times, bulletins, the calendar and news sections are the most visited pages. Photo albums, music, architecture and a post about the Vietnamese Mass have also all been visited by hundreds of viewers. A person’s average amount of time spent browsing the Cathedral parish website is more than three minutes, with an average of more than three pages visited. (A general website statistic is that any visit that lasts longer than two minutes is impressive.) “Our Contact Us, Join our Parish and Join the Parishioners’ Email List form have had good response allowing us to update our census data,” Fisher reported. “I was speechless when I saw the amount of traffic on our website,” said Father Lance Harlow, cathedral rector. “It confirmed for us the value of putting in the time and energy to make it accurate and also attractive.” Fisher said eCatholic is versatile and easy to use, but he emphasized the importance of keeping the parish site up to date: “We want to keep our parishioners informed and interested in what is next.” The quality of parish life brings people to the website to find out more about the cathedral, and the website attracts people to Masses, devotions and programs. “What we do as parishioners is on the website, and what they see on the website keeps them involved in the parish,” he continued. But the site is welcoming to visitors too. “The cathedral has become a place of pilgrimage for so many visitors,” Father Harlow said. “That means essentially, with the decreased number of families in the downtown area that our Mass participants are coming increasingly from outside the parish. So, we need to attract their attention and draw them in.” And according to the metrics collected on the site, that concept is working. “We want the site to be the first stop for our parishioners and visitors by having lots of content available as close as their smart phone,” Fisher said; more than half the visits are from people using their cell phones. Every parish in Vermont will transition to the eCatholic website platform within the next year and a half, but three fourths have already launched their new websites. To see the cathedral website, go to stjosephcathedralvt.org.

As we begin our Lenten Journey of Prayer, Fasting and Alms giving, the Lord often offers us an opportunity to examine not only ourselves, but also our life of service; how we care for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Focusing on Prayer - Joseph’s House would like to invite you to join our Friends of Joseph’s House Prayer Team. We receive a list of prayer requests which are asked of us by our visitors. Prayer requests are sent out once per month and can be emailed or mailed to members of the Prayer Team. If you would like to join us in praying for those who need someone to pray for them, simply email or phone Joseph’s House. “Our life of contemplation shall retain the following characteristics: contemplative - by gathering the whole world at the very center of our hearts where the Lord abides.” - From the Constitution of the Missionaries of Charity. We would love to have you join us! You can reach us at (802) 951-4290 or email: info@josephshousevt.org Lori Daudelin, Director

On January 29, 2020, more than 600 students, teachers, principals and staff from 12 Catholic schools from around the state celebrated Mass for Catholic Schools week at St. Joseph Cathedral in Burlington. Jeanne Gearon, superintendent of Catholic schools, welcomed the crowd and acknowledged what a treat this was to celebrate Bishop Coyne’s five year anniversary of his installation as 10th Bishop of Burlington in this way. (click title to link to Vermont Catholic story)

This period in the Church’s year begins the Monday after the Sunday feast of the Baptism of the Lord. It’s called “ordinary” from the Latin word Ordo meaning “order”, because the weeks are numbered in sequential order – 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. The priest’s vestments are green. Usually, at this same time, our church’s Christmas decorations come down and we all have returned to a regular home, work, and school schedule. Ordinary Time, however, is not at all plain and simple. On the contrary, week after week, we see all facets of Christ’s life, a change from celebrating and delving into one aspect, His birth, as we did at Christmas. What could be ordinary about exploring the full sweep of Christ’s works and teachings? The green of Ordinary Time, like the green of nature, also encourages us to grow and mature in our faith, and as the color of hope, to anticipate the gifts of God’s kingdom. In a few weeks, Ordinary Time gives way to Lent. We return to Ordinary time after Pentecost.

Have you ever wondered what happens to the donations placed within the Christmas Angel who sits at the very edge of the Manger scene here at the Cathedral of St. Joseph?  I would like to share one of the blessings which came from that Christmas Angel. Several months ago, we began working with a Joseph’s House visitor who was homeless, living in a local shelter.  This person desperately wanted to work and get off the street. We have built a relationship and the Lord has blessed the help we were able to give. Through hard work and determination, this person has recently found a job, left the shelter and made arrangements for more stable, temporary housing.  One of the greatest challenges this visitor finds to moving forward is transportation; the new job is in Burlington and the temporary housing is in Shelburne. Often without the availability of a Bus Pass, the trip to work is on foot. Through the generous Christmas donations, held so secretly by the Christmas Angel, I was able to purchase a monthly Bus Pass for the above visitor, enabling this person to continue the journey forward!  With your help and generosity, lives are being changed. ----- Lori Daudelin

Saint André’s feast day is January 6, this year the day after Epiphany. The date also is the anniversary of the saint’s death in 1937 in Saint-Laurent, Montreal at 91 years old. Saint André Bessette is distantly related to our Cathedral’s unofficial historian, John Fisher - a fifth cousin four times removed.  Saint André may be your relative too. Click the link (name) above to read the full story.

The Octave of Christmas is the eight days beginning with Christmas Day and ending on New Year’s Day, January 1. Feast days and solemnities mark the period:  the Nativity, December 25; St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr on December 26; St. John the Evangelist, apostle, author of the fourth Gospel, three letters, and the Book of Revelation, December 27; the Holy Innocents, December 28, the male child victims slaughtered by King Herod; the Holy Family, Sunday, December 29; St. Sylvester, December 31, and Mary, Mother of God, January 1. We recite the Gloria each day of the Octave. We then continue the Christmas season through Epiphany, January 5, and officially end with the Baptism of the Lord, January 12.