I know the feast of St. Joseph is coming soon. Is there any connection to Lent?

On March 19, we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This solemnity during the Lenten season provides us with another model for living out the Lenten discipline of turning our hearts and minds to God.
For the feast of St. Joseph one of the two possible Gospel readings is from Matthew. Joseph discovers that Mary, his betrothed, is pregnant. Feeling totally devastated and betrayed, we can only imagine how Joseph’s plans for a future together as husband and wife are completely shattered. Joseph is faced with a reality that forces him to reorient his whole life.
Having no desire to publicly disgrace Mary, Joseph decides to divorce her quietly. It must have been a terrible thing for him even to contemplate, much less follow through on. As he is about to divorce her, an angel appears in a dream telling Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary into his home. She is with child from the Holy Spirit, a child who will eventually save his people from their sins. Joseph responds by taking Mary into his home.
Joseph is asked to believe and trust in the Lord, and to reorient his life accordingly. Such is the Lenten discipline that we are asked to cultivate in our own lives.
How can Joseph be your model as you struggle to trust God’s intentions for your life and to reorient your life accordingly?

©2009 Liturgical Publications Inc, New Berlin, WI 53151

Used with permission

LIVE WEB CONFERENCE WITH THE HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL MUSEUM OF JAPAN FEATURING SURVIVORS OF THE HIROSHIMA/NAGASAKI ATOMIC BOMBINGS.

Paddy McLaughlin, President of the North Dakota Peace Coalition, has shared the following information about an exciting event taking place within the boundaries of our parish:

The North Dakota Peace Coalition is sponsoring In the Spirit of Hiroshima, a photo exhibit of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki tragedy along with a live web conference with survivors. The event takes place March 24, at Presentation Ministries, 3001 11th St. S. Fargo. The photo exhibit is open to the public from 1:00 to 9:00 PM with the live web conference beginning at 7:00 PM. The event is free.

With the opening of the exhibition in Fargo, ND, The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum of Japan will have reached a stated mission of delivering the important message of the need to abolish nuclear weapons and move towards the realization of genuine and lasting world peace to all 50 United States. The timing is imperative as May, 2010 sees a major world conference to review the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

For 26 years the North Dakota Peace Coalition has provided educational programs and sponsored events to eliminate weapons of mass destruction of any kind through out North Dakota.