In this year dedicated to St Joseph I invite the faithful of the Diocese of Motherwell to pray a Novena in honour of St Joseph through nine days from Thursday April 22nd to Saturday 1st May, the Feast of St Joseph the Worker. The Novena can be prayed communally in church or other settings, or privately at home. The intention of our prayer is to seek the intercession of St Joseph, Protector and Guardian of Church, in our present need. I particularly commend that we pray for families, for parents and their children, that they may be sustained and encouraged by the example of the Holy Family and feel confident to participate in the life and worship of the great Family of the Church as we seek to come together again as Christ’s Body after the trials and separation of the past year.
Beyond praying the Novena I would hope that we can renew our efforts to reach out to families and offer support and encouragement wherever that is possible. Pope Francis continues to encourage our parishes and Catholic organisations to make the ministry to families a priority and indeed to look for opportunities and take initiatives to allow this to happen. As Bishop of Motherwell I would like to know what you, the Faithful of the Diocese, think about the Church’s ministry in regard to the family and what initiatives you would like to see happen. If you wish to offer some thoughts or ideas, please email me at bishoptoal@rcdom.org. I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
I commend the Novena to you, and also my hope for renewal and new life in our ministry to families.
Yours in Christ, + Joseph Toal
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