St. Joseph Altar
To honor St. Joseph on his feast day, which will be celebrated on March 20th this year, we will again have a traditional St. Joseph Altar in the Narthex at Mary Our Queen. The altar will be blessed before the 9:30 am all-school Mass that day. Originating in Sicily centuries ago, it has been a Catholic custom to bring breads, cakes, pastries, cookies, fruits and vegetables and non-perishable items and an altar is decorated with these items to honor St. Joseph. The items are later donated to the poor. The tradition began in Sicily when a drought dried up crops and caused a famine. The people pleaded with St. Joseph, their patron, for relief, and the skies opened up, sending down life-giving water. The people later honored St. Joseph by setting up such a display and donating these items to the poor.
We invite you to take part in this effort and drop off any bakery items, fruits, vegetables as well as non-perishable goods to the table in the Narthex beginning Tuesday, March 14th.
You may also drop off candles, flowers, pictures of St. Joseph or other saints to decorate the altar (please label them so we can return them). Feel free to stop by the Narthex display at any time March 17-20 to view the altar and leave petitions to St. Joseph. Cash donations also accepted. For questions, please call Lois Coyne – 402.697.0533 or Linda Thomsen – 402.660.2213. Sponsored by the Legion of Mary.