NEW JERSEY’S OLDEST CATHOLIC COMMUNITY
ST. JOSEPH  1765
OUR PARISH MISSION STATEMENT
250 years of faith-filled commitment distinguishes St. Joseph Parish, a Roman Catholic community
located in West Milford Township in rural northern New Jersey. Lay people founded this community in
1765 and maintained it in the consistent practice of the Roman Catholic faith, thus earning it the honor
of being the State’s oldest parish.
Today’s parishioners, responding to the needs of the changing West Milford area, aim to develop further
the lay involvement that historically characterizes St Joseph’s They accomplish this by expressing their
PASTORAL STAFF and PARISH OFFICE
Father Steven Shadwell ................................................................................................................. Pastor
Harry White, Ben Lo Paro........................................................................................................... Deacons
Sister Janet Brisky, P.B.V.M. ......................................................................................... Pastoral Associate
Sister Geraldine Corio, P.B.V.M. ..................................................................... Director of Faith Formation
Justine Smith ..................................................................................... Faith Formation\Baptism Assistant
Pat Mattera ............................................................................... Adolescent Faith Formation Coordinator
Mary Beth Ferriola....................................................................................................... Business Manager
Mary O’Neill .................................................................................................................. Parish Secretary
Christine Alessio.................................................................................... Director of Volunteer Ministries
Camille Kluge .................................................................................................................. Youth Director
Jacqueline M. Reilly .......................................................................................................... Music Director
Bob Sautter......................................................................................... Buildings and Grounds Supervisor
Kevin Kennedy and Diane Parisi ...................................................................................... Parish Trustees
SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
Baptism arrangements are required to be made at least 2
MASS SCHEDULE
Monday through Saturday ...... 9:00 am - Church
Saturday evening ................... 5:00 pm - Church
Sunday morning ... 7:45, 9:00 am, 12:00 Noon -
Church ............... and 10:30 am - Parish Center
months in advance by contacting Justine Smith at the
Parish Office at 973-697-6100. Baptisms are celebrated
on the first and third Sunday of each month. Families are
asked to attend the 12 Noon Mass, the baptism ceremony
will take place immediately following.
If a Baptism
Preparation class is required, the class will be assigned at
HOLY DAYS
Please consult the Bulletin
NEW PARISHIONERS
Please call the Parish Office to register, to learn
PARISH OFFICE ....................... 973-697-6100
the time the baptism is scheduled.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
Saturday at 3:30 pm until 4:30 pm; or, anytime anyone
wishes to receive the Sacrament, please call the Parish
Office to set an appointment with a priest.
FAX........................................... 973-697-3716
MINISTRY TO THE SICK
FAITH FORMATION… .................. 973-208-0636
anointed should call the Parish Office. If you or anyone
CONVENT .......................................973-697-2846
E-MAIL .......................... [email protected]
Anyone who is seriously ill or aged and wishes to be
you know is in the hospital, please call the Office.
WEBSITE ......................... www.stjoseph-nj.org
BUSINESS HOURS
MARRIAGE PREPARATION PROGRAM
Monday thru Thursday ................... 9 AM - 5 PM
one year before the wedding. All couples to be married
Friday .......................................... 9 AM - 12 PM
Saturday and Sunday .............................. Closed
454 G E R M A N T O W N R O A D 
Arrangements should begin by setting a date with a priest
at St. Joseph’s must participate in a Marriage Preparation
Program.
W E S T M I L F O R D NJ 07480
ST. JOSEPH CHURCH
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2014
33RD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16
10:30 AM Generations of Faith - PC
1:00 PM Generations of Faith - PC
6:30 PM Antioch Prep. - NR
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17
9:30 AM Moms Club Int’l. - KH
5:15 PM Girls CYO Basketball - PC
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18
6:30 PM Boys CYO Basketball - PC
7:30 PM Alcoholics Anonymous - KH
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19
7:00 PM Generations of Faith Design Team - UR
7:30 PM Boy Scouts - PC
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20
9:30 AM Moms and Tots - KH
6:30 PM Boys CYO Basketball - PC
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21
9:30 AM Kids Playgroup - KH
7:30 PM Cub Scout Pack Mtg. - PC
Midnight Alcoholics Anonymous - KH
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22
12:00 PM Girls CYO Basketball - PC
10:00 PM Alcoholics Anonymous - KH
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23
1ST Penance Children’ s Session following 9:00am
Mass - CH
1:00 PM RCIA - NR
2:00PM Boys CYO Basketball - PC
4:00 PM Zackaroff and Waddilove Wed Reh - CH
6:30 PM Decision Point - NR
LECTORS FOR THE WEEKEND OF NOVEMBER 22\23
C. Alessio, V. Haggerty, D. Lastro, J.P.
Parish Center: Anita
EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION
FOR THE WEEKEND OF NOVEMBER 22\23
SATURDAY 5:00 PM: P. Krueger, D. SantaLucia,
A. Moralishvili
SUNDAY 7:45 AM: T. Mooney, C. Gensheimer, M. Smilek
9:00 AM: D. Lastro, R. & L. De Franco, E. Frew
10:30 AM: I. & C. Weiss, B. Sautter, A. Dellapi,
M. B. Ferriola
12:00 PM: P. Mattera, M. Trudell, E. Peat, T. Edie, J. Galioto
Any Extraordinary Minister who would like to serve one
Friday a month at Chilton Hospital, please call Carolyn Gerri
at 973 838-3705 or 973 934-1994.
The Sacrament of Baptism
Celebrating the Embrace of God
2, November 2014
Madilyn Grace Maglio
Daughter of Michael and Cheryl Maglio
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17 – St. Elizabeth of Hungary,
religious
9:00 AM + Fr. Robert Greco, O. Carm by Shadwell
Family
+Bill Nelson
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18 – Dedication of the Basiilicas Sts. Peter and Paul, apostles; St. Rose Phillipine
Duchesne, virgin
9:00 AM +Pete Casale by Karen Blumeling
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19
9:00 AM +Stephanie Ann Driscoll
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20
9:00 AM +John Jones by Pat Jones
+Jared Fisher by Fisher Family
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21 – The Presentation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
9:00 AM +Ed Morrison.
+Marilyn Halpainy
+Marjorie Ross by Pat Yannacci
+Jane Dell’Osso by Pat Yannacci
+Justin Patrick Harvey by Harvey Family
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22 – St. Cecilia, virgin,
martyr
9:00 AM Intention\Rachel Shadwell
+Theodore J. Wenz by Adelheid Wenz
5:00 PM +Rita Wagner by Illy Family
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23 – Solemnity Christ the King
7:45 AM +Lydia Russell by Madonna Hayes
9:00 AM +Nancy Cece
+Lillian Organ by Jenifer and Tice Hettema
+Corinne Delahanty by Pat Yannacci
+Matthew O’Neill by Pat Yannacci
10:30 AM +Eileen Osterhaudt by Mary Flanagan
+Donna Tamayne by Jennifer and Tice Hettema
12:00 PM Intention\Karen Miller, Jim Petrizzi and Family
by Deacon Milt and Mary Ann Smilek
+Jane Dell”Osso by Barbara and Terry Bordine
OFFERING AT ST. JOSEPH’S LAST WEEKEND
Budget:
$6,340.00
Weekend November 8\9
Difference:
$6,245.00
-
$
95.00
SMALL FAITH COMMUNITY
Experience a Small Faith Community.
We meet in the Upper Room on Tuesday
evening for an hour to reflect on
the following Sunday’s Scripture from 7:30 –
8:30 pm. Our next meeting is November 18th.
Next Week: Solemnity of Christ the King
1st Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians:15-2-26, 28
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
SCRIPTURE FOCUS: Today’s description of the last
judgment goes further than any other. The final judgment
determines what counts in the end. It is not success or
how perfectly a person has developed. In the end, the
judgment is about love for the poorest, the no-accounts,
the ones easy to miss. It is not about doing good or charitable things for a cause or out of a sense of duty. What
counts is doing real practical good out of genuine love. Jesus tells us that when we do this, we are serving Jesus
himself.
LIFE FOUCS: Describe a time when helping others was
your way of living this Gospel.
CAN YOU HELP? Info: Sr. Janet 973-697-2846
Please leave donations in Sr. Janet’s garage.
Thank you!
If it’s not in this box, don’t leave it in Sister’s garage.
She can’t get her car in!
Needed: Straight and Narrow needs men’s and women’s
winter coats spotlessly clean and on hangers all sizes up
to 3X & 4X ASAP. Please leave in Sister’s garage. Also,
there is an urgent need for soap, body wash, powder,
deodorant and razor blades. Also need toothpaste,
shampoo, Fixodent (original), and large umbrellas. If you
have any current magazines: inspirational, sports, hobbies, National Geographic. Black out your name and
address from the label and leave in Sister’s garage.
Call Sr. Janet: If you are able to help a friend in Milford
Manor with Facebook for an hour a week.
Sr. Janet: Knows a college student who needs a car to
get to school. Please call Sister.
Call Sr. Janet: If you are willing to cook dinner for 2
people once a year.
Mountain Creek: Discount season passes. Email
Sr. Janet at [email protected] as soon as possible.
BINGO AT MILFORD MANOR: Saturday, December 6
2:30 – 3:30pm
Come 10 minutes early and stay 10 minutes late to help.
Bingo prizes are needed. Sister always needs help. If
you need a signature, Sr. Janet will have a pen after
bingo.
SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS
Help us collect gifts for those in need. Please leave
donations unwrapped in Sr. Janet’s garage
from December 6th – 12th. Big hits are: sweatshirts, sweat pants, hoodies, sneakers, socks, underwear, toys and games. Please call Sr. Janet if you would
like to help set up on Friday, December 12th. Meet at the
lower level of the convent at 7:00pm. Finish at 8:15pm. Also,
help distribute on Saturday, December 13th from 9:30 –
12:30pm.
………………………………………………………..
Anniversary Passport Stickers: If you have attended
one of the events and didn't get a sticker for your family
passport book, stop by the rectory and pick it up.
Time for Vocations… Please pray for:
Deacon Giovanni Rodriguez and
Seminarian Henry Pinto
A Time To Serve In The Military… Please pray for:
Nicholas Costello, Lt. Jamie Curcio, Jennifer Smolinski,
Tom Oroho, Brian Hartigan, Mario Lanza, Kevin Canova,
Alex Richnavsky, Jason Benedict, Ryan Benedict, Jonathan Greenwald, Erik Filipek, Jonathan Gabay, Matthew
Lattanzi and Tara Lee Wrocklage
A Time To Heal… Please pray for: Bill Atkins, Bob
Weiss, John Paicer, Scott Frew, Sal Domenico, Marilyn
Whritenour, Gregory Whritenour, Martha Colombo, Denise Thiel, Emily Hennessy Green, Jim Casey, Sandra
Roberts, Walter Roberts, Pat Burd, Peg Misner, Margaret
Fonte, Tom Pavlin, Aiden Patrick and Chase Michael
Martinez
A Time To Die… Please pray for: Bill Atkins,
Kevin Kajor, Andrew Burkhardt and John Puzio,
father of Eileen Frew
Please Note: Only family members may request to have
someone included in prayers for the sick.
…………………………………………………………….
CHRISTMAS IS COMING !
Share a part of history … Gift
your friends and family with
our 250TH JUBILEE COOKBOOK, “SECRETS FROM ST. JOSEPH’S.” OVER 600 RECIPES …
HARDCOVER - $20 {2 FOR $35}…
Available at parish office: Mon-Thurs, 9 am to 5 pm and
Fri, 9 am to 12 noon].
For mail order: Call parish office [973-697-6100].
Checks may be sent to “St Joseph Church.” Add $8 S&H.
……………………………………………………………………
GIFT CARD NEWS: New in stock – Lowe’s and The Home
Depot. Thank you to the 54 families that participate in the
easy-breezy fundraiser!
……………………………………………………………………
CHILDREN’S CHOIR
Rehearsal will be on Sunday evenings from
6:00pm until 7:00pm in the church beginning
on Sunday, November 16th. Children from
grades from 1-8 are invited to join. We will be
rehearsing for the Christmas Concert on Sunday, December 14th in the church at 3:00pm and the 4:00pm Christmas
Eve Mass in the church.
…………………………………………………………………..
THANKSGIVING EVE ECUMENICAL SERVICE
Wednesday, November 26 at 8:00pm in Newfoundland
Methodist Church on LaRue Rd. If you would like to sing in
the choir be there at 7:00pm.
We all have the duty to do good Pope Francis
"Keep Christ in Christmas" NEW DESIGN PRE ORDER NOW!
Contact Mike Heller - Grand Knight - 973728-6228 ASAP
PRE Order Price - $4.00 per w/full payment.
In Person Price $6.00 each
or 2 for $10.00 or 3 or more for $4.00 each
11-24: Pride in our Priest Dinner
11-27: Thanksgiving (no social)
11-29: Visit w/St. Nick (cooking crew required)
12-6: Antioch Breakfast Detail (cooking crew required)
12-7: Lyon VA Hospital Visit - (Take a Catholic Vet to Mass)
12-13: K of C Christmas Party - (we need to know who's coming)
12-24: Crèche at Town Hall (men needed to be with Crèche)
[email protected] in reference to all Knight of Columbus events
……………………………………………………………
This year the St Joseph Cares Food
Pantry anticipates providing 50 families
with food for Thanksgiving dinners. In
order to feed these families the food
pantry needs the following holiday food items: flour, mayonnaise, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, instant potatoes,
sweet potatoes, yams, string beans, corn, carrots, sugar,
pie crusts, pie fillings, cake mixes and frosting.
Turkey donations are also needed and they can be dropped
off at Koch Hall from 10-1 on Saturdays.
Thanks to all for your anticipated generosity!
……………………………………………………………………
ADVENT RETREAT: Wednesday, December 10th at
7:30pm in the church.
………………………………………………………..
HOLIDAY RAFFLE
Raffle book are. $100.00 per book
or $10.00 per ticket. 1st prize – 35%,
nd
rd
2 prize 10% and 3 prize 5% of proceeds. Drawing will
be December 14th at our Christmas concert at 3:00pm.
Tickets also available at the parish office during regular
business hours.
…………………………………………………
Thank you to all the scouts and parents for
removing all the leaves around the parish
buildings. Also, to the Knights of Columbus for clearing the gutters on all the parish buildings. We
are extremely grateful for all their hard work. God bless all
of you!
MEMORIES OF OUR PARISH
We arrived in West Milford 31 years ago, and since then
we have been parishioners at our wonderful St. Joseph
Church. I became Eucharistic Minister (Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion) and our three sons became altar
boys. One day we were all together serving in the 9:00am
Mass, and Fr. Bernie considered that the Niederstrasser’s
were organizing a “coup d’état”.
When my Mom came to visit us from Mexico, Fr. Boniface
enjoyed talking with her in Spanish. He always mentioned
that some of his most difficult and wonderful years were
when he was living in Bolivia. They became good friends
and interchange always some post cards.
We also have very nice memories of the Sunday Easter
Mass at 7:00 am in front of the Cemetery Cross. It was
nice hearing the light breeze going between the trees, and
the woodpeckers looking for food. Some years we were
freezing. We would love to have this service again.
In between these 31 years, I got an overseas assignment
for 9 years in Mexico and Brazil, but we continued as St.
Joseph’s parishioners. Knowing we would come back, we
kept our house with all our belongings. During all those
years we never lost contact with our church. With approval
from Fr. Bernie, Verna Shemanski air mailed us every
Sunday the Church Bulletin, and when we came back for
the holydays or home leave, the first question we got: “are
you back for good?”
When I retired in 2003, St. Joseph Church was one of the
main reasons not to move out of West Milford and/or New
Jersey.
Hans Niederstrasser
COMMUNITY NEWS
A Positive Response to a Serious Prenatal Diagnosis
More than 100,000 expectant couples each year receive the
devastating news of a so-called poor prenatal diagnosis. It may be
the detection of a heart defect, spina bifida, or genetic syndrome,
but whatever the diagnosis, the parents are shocked and bereaved. With little or no information or resources available that
support the option of carrying to term, 80% of these pregnancies
end in abortion. When offered a service of comprehensive support,
however, 80% of parents chose to carry to term.
A ministry which will offer this comprehensive support to couples experiencing a serious prenatal diagnosis and carrying to
term is being developed for North Jersey. Peer ministers and volunteers are invited to be part of this important ministry. If you have
carried to term following a prenatal diagnosis consider becoming
a peer minister. Interested persons who may not have experienced
a serious prenatal diagnosis can volunteer to support parents in
other ways such as sewing, knitting, photography.
An information presentation will be given at St. Catherine of Bologna Parish Center, Ringwood on Monday November 17th at
7:30pm.
Questions call Kathy Ranft 973-962-9152. For more information on this ministry see isaiahspromise.net and benotafraid.net.
Young men and women go in search of a spouse full of the hope that they will encounter
the right person; someone who will reciprocate the love they are desirous to share. They look
for a good and gentle person who is decent and dignified, mature and marriageable, fun and
faithful, beautiful inside and out. And, when any young couple proposes to marry they enter
a period (usually a year) of intense preparations for the wedding day. They also begin to look past the wedding
day into their future as husband and wife. They ask themselves many things and seek to answer together many
questions: where will we live; how soon children; who will handle what in the keeping of the home or finances;
how often will we allow your mother to visit; and many other such queries. They do this because they naturally
recognize that marriage is more than beautiful gowns and crisp tuxedos. As the First Reading accurately proclaimed: “Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting.” (Proverbs 31) Life is much beauty and fun, but much work
also. Daily living (cleaning, cooking, bills, etc.) needs to be attended to regularly if the long term goal of a happy
life together as husband and wife is to be obtained. Today’s liturgy is asking us to take the search for a spouse
and the proposal of marrying them to the level of the eternal: to God.
So it is that our first reading today extols the good wife; but in the context of the liturgy we are called to move
beyond a ‘literal only’ meaning. In truth, the good wife extolled in today’s First Reading is symbolic of the bride
of every soul – the Church. “When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls,” opens Proverbs 31.
There are many hearts looking for this worthy wife. They imagine her as a world of peace and justice, a world
without pain or suffering, an eternal dwelling, a forever of wellbeing. Few they are who find her and most settle
for less (an unhappy marriage indeed) and many give up the search. Perhaps though we who have found the
Church, we who partake of her heavenly food, we who drink so freely and liberally from her fountain of eternal
life have forgotten how gracious and beautiful our Bride is. Perhaps we have forgotten that “her value is far
beyond pearls.”
“Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize.” We are, each and every one of us, the
husband of our bride the Church. Yet, do we entrust our hearts to her. A young husband cannot wait to return
home from work to be with his new bride. Sunday Mass is our return home from the work week. And yet, how
many of us are too caught up at the office to even bother coming home. How many of us barely share our
presence let alone our hearts with our Heavenly Bride. We never tell her what weighs our hearts down (confession); she prepares her rich food and choice wine at the banquet of the Eucharist but we complain how insipid
is the Sunday meal because our hearts are far from our actions; she reads to us from her love letter [the Sacred
Scriptures] but our hearts’ ears are closed to her voice by the many other voices we have grown to prefer; she
pours out the sacred balm of her Sacraments to heal and comfort us but we prefer our wounds. Is being a
member of the Roman Catholic Church for us “an unfailing prize?”
John, at the end of Revelation wrote this about the Church: “Come I will show you the Bride, the wife of the
Lamb.” And in the Spirit he showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having
the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel…And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on
them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb…it had a great high wall, with twelve gates, and on
the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel…and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent
as glass...And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband…and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and
death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore.”
Is this the vision we have of our bride the Church? Do we value her far beyond pearls? Is she our unfailing
prize? If so, then why do we not entrust our hearts to her?