St Joseph Mass and Table

Wednesday, March 19, 2025 - 9am

Join us for Holy Mass at 9am followed by the blessing of the St Joseph Table and sharing in our meatless meal.



Rationale Behind the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph’s Table:  It has been an ancient custom, for the Church to celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19th. On this day, a Solemn Mass is offered and following this, a special St. Joseph’s Table is done in the church hall to accommodate the people that attend. A special lite meal, with meatless foods is served; we are in the Holy Season of Lent. Breads are shaped in various ways to symbolize something about the life of St. Joseph. A bread for example, in the shape of a staff symbolized that St. Joseph was the shepherd of his family. A bread in the shape of a T-square symbolizes that St. Joseph was a carpenter. Breads shaped in the form of a saw, hammer, and nails are all tools that a carpenter would use in his woodshop. The table is decorated with white lilies to symbolize the bodily purity of St. Joseph. He was the “Virgin Father or our Lord Jesus Christ.” However, St. Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.) gave this title to St. Joseph way back in the fourth century A.D. The three-tiered altar in the all is enormous and has many various statues and reminders of St. Joseph for the people to see. It has three levels symbolizing St. Jsoeph’s place in Heaven with the Blessed Trinity. The ancient tradition behind the St. Joseph’s Table was to invite the needy to participate in this meatless meal that honored St. Joseph. We must remember that many, many years ago, when the Sicilian people had a terrible famine and several disasters occurred in Italy, they invoked the intercession of St. Joseph to the Blessed Trinity to help them in their hour of need…and help indeed came their way by St. Joseph. To remember this blessing of God’s Divine Providence through the intercession of St. Joseph this tradition continues today throughout the entire world.