Every year on Good Friday, a collection is taken up in Catholic Churches to support the work of the Franciscans working in the Holy Land. Christians there rely heavily on the help that comes to them during this special day in the Church and our life of faith. The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America is the home of a world-wide Commissariat of Friars Minor and monasteries who function as bridges between the Holy Land and Christians all over the world. The Commissariat offices here at the Monastery in Washington, D.C. coordinate the vital support for the work of the Franciscans who work in the Holy Land. The Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land have the unique responsibility of caring for the Holy Places as well as caring for the Christians living in the Holy Land. It is vital that we care for the Christians living in the Holy Land in order to maintain a Christian presence in a land that is filled with a majority Islamic and Jewish population.

The International Day of the Unborn Child is celebrated on March 25, in conjunction with the Feast of the Annunciation. First officially celebrated in Argentina in 1999 under the Pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II, this day is a celebration of the value and dignity of every human person from the moment of conception, as well as a day of remembrance for those unborn children who have lost their lives to the violence of abortion. The Holy Father linked this day to the feast of the Annunciation to honor the day when God was conceived and became an unborn child in the womb of Our Blessed Mother. Though celebrated in conjunction with the feast of the Annunciation, the Day of the Unborn Child is not an exclusively Catholic or Christian event. Any pro-life group, whether affiliated with a faith or not, is welcome and encouraged to participate in local events or form their own events to celebrate human life. How is it celebrated worldwide? This feast has been celebrated in many different ways throughout the world by churches, pro-life groups, schools, etc. Many Churches pray the Rosary or offer a Mass or Holy Hour for the preborn. Some groups spiritually adopt unborn children and pray for them and their mothers. Rosary processions or prayerful marches to abortion clinics or government buildings are also good ways to celebrate this day. Some Churches hold fundraisers, such as a banquet or baby shower, in which proceeds go to support local pro-life groups or crisis pregnancy centers. HLI actively promotes this day worldwide by coordinating and sending representatives to events such as Masses and prayer vigils for life, educational seminars and conferences on life and the family, pro-life rallies and marches, etc. in many different countries throughout the world. To find out what kinds of Day of the Unborn Child events are in your area, check with your local pro-life groups, churches, or Knights of Columbus Councils to see if they have anything planned, or visit the Day of the Unborn Child website: http://dayoftheunbornchild.com/, and search for “Events.” Don’t miss this day to celebrate the gift of human life! How can I celebrate this day? +Spiritually adopt an unborn child and pray for him and his mother for nine months. +Organize local Marches for Life or Rosary processions to abortion clinics or government buildings. +Hold a fundraiser for pro-life groups or crisis pregnancy centers. Offer a Mass or a prayer vigil for life. +Organize a Life Chain in your town. +Pray outside an abortion clinic. +Host a pro-life movie night. +Pass out pro-life literature at your church. +Set up a “cemetery of the innocents” somewhere in your community to witness to all the lives lost because of abortion.

On behalf of St Joseph Church & Shrine, the Mother Church of 14 Parishes in West Jefferson Parish, I want to thank the following people for their hard work and commitment to our St Joseph Altar. Without them, it would have never come together: Mary Alford, Jeanette Allain, Melanie Andrews, Ann Badeaux, Harry Bale, Soney Becknel, Sandi Bertholot, Celie Bordelon, Barbara Boudreaux, Betty Bradford, Dale Braun, Barbara Burnett, Emmett Burnett, Elaine Calvo, Helen Cannaliato, Ronnie Cantin, Susan Capdeville, Don Caskey, Cathy Casler, A.J. Chauvin, Michelle Cherry, Alice Chivleatto, Emile Cloutet, Paul Coles, Lisa Comeaux, Leon Cuccia, John Dalton, Kathy Danjean, Louis Dieterich, Stephanie Dieterich, Dan Downs, Ellie Dubreuil, Sandra Duplantis, Lynne Duvic, Herbi Este, Michelle Este, Glenn Esteve, Frank Falgoust, Cindy Falterman, Peggy Foley, Anna Ford, Mary Gates, Emily Gegenheimer, Kim Giglio, Mike Giglio, Mireya A. Goodwyne, Lulu Greene, Janice Gros, Mary Earl Guidry, Clara Harrison, Cheryl Hebert, Skippy Hebert, Gail Heine, Marsha Helton, Darrell Hollis, Toni Hollis, Karen Joia, Russell Kospelich, Mitzi Labadot, Linda Laborde, Darnell LeBlanc, Kenny LeBlanc, Peggy LeBlanc, Roy LeBlanc, Jackie Majeste, Richard Majeste, Geri Mayville, Ed Moise Jr, Debbie Morse, Arthur Newby, Mary Grace Orsag, Mandrake Ozan, Vincent Papia, Pat Pittman, Barbara Quates, Kathy Reaney, Antoinette Richard, Willie Rigney, Howard Robichaux, Howard Roos, Sylvia Schwartz, Sandra Sider, Faith Siragusa, Steve Siragusa, Debbie Swiler, Juliette Swiler, Merline Tauzier, Jane Thieler, Beth Bowman Tomlinson, Mance Tutt, A. Rick Valladares, Katherine Verrette, Carol Weathers, Mary Helen Williams, Marilyn Wilson, and Yvonne Zuppardo. Thank you also to our Holy Family: Ozzie Welch (Joseph), Grace Casady (Mary), Grayson Klyza (Jesus), Drew Klyza (Angel), and Harper Weeks (Angel). We are grateful to Archbishop Aymond for celebrating the Mass on our Feast Day.

Crusade Magazine is a bi-monthly publication of The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property. It seeks to educate the public on the issues that affect them most, by applying the Church’s inexhaustible teachings to national and international events, culture, history and much more. In their March/April 2019 issue they explain the tradition of the St Joseph Altar and feature two pictures of our Altar along with kudos for celebrating the Altar each year.

We are excited to announce the implementation of mentoring at St. Anthony School in order to fulfill the call of Our Family Prayer; to bless and protect our youth that they may be peacemakers of our time. For the last two years, our parents have discovered ways to form their children in faith with the help of Isaiah 43’s parenting fellowship, and now we will begin learning about ways to support this program as a parish community. The Isaiah 43 Program has been successful in several other parishes and it can be successful here at St. Joseph/St. Anthony Parish with our help.

YDisciple, a leading resource in youth small group discipleship, has been under the care of the Augustine Institute of Denver, Colorado for the last seven years. The Augustine Institute recently invited NET Ministries to take ownership of YDisciple and realize the greater potential available. +++++ YDisciple is currently used by over 1,000 parishes around the world providing video lessons, discussion guides, parent resources, and training to help teens grow as disciples. It is one of the leading digital Catholic Evangelization platforms in the world, empowering faithful adults -- parents, volunteers, and parish staff -- to accompany teens in a small group setting. YDisciple is not "just another program." It is an apprenticeship in the Christian life. The trends in Catholic youth ministry and parish ministry in general are moving toward more small faith communities and small groups, and YDisciple is the only resource on the Catholic youth market designed with small groups in mind.

Online Giving provides a convenient way to make financial contributions to your church. In addition, Online Giving is a convenient way to make payments for such things as events or tuition. Donate to either St Joseph or St Anthony by using the link provided on our website. If you would like to use Online Giving to donate to your St Joseph Church and Shrine, please click on the Online Giving link create an account. If you have questions about your account or are having trouble logging into Online Giving, please contact Customer Support at 1-800-348-2886. St Anthony Church is also on www.stjosephgretna.com link for online donations.

The RISE 30-Day Challenge has transformed thousands of lives with a practical plan to help you live out your faith where it matters most...in everyday life. Join thousands men from around the world for an experience unlike any other starting March 6th.