St. Joseph Table 2024

St. Joseph Catholic Church holds a yearly St. Joseph Table that last for two days inside the Fr. Charles J. Murray Parish Hall. People of all ages come to view the table which honors our patron saint - St. Joseph.

The 10th Annual St. Jospeh Table was blessed on Sunday, March 17  after the 11 a.m. mass with Bishop Stephen J. Berg, presiding over the table ceremony while Marcos LeBlanc provided the music..

The St. Joseph Table was blessed once more on Tuesday, March 19, by Fr. Steve Murray at 8:45 a.m.

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History of the St. Joseph Table

"St. Joseph is the the patron saint of our St. Joseph Parish and the Universal Church"

• The St. Joseph Table is a religious and traditional custom that started centures ago in Sicily during a famine.
• Prayers to St. Joseph were answered, the rains came and the famine came to an end.
• In gratitude, the farmers honored St. Joseph by filling an Altar with their most prized possessions, FOOD!
• After paying homage to St. Joseph, the distributed the food to the poor and less fortunate.
• This altar is known as "la tavola di San Giuse" or "Saint Joseph's Table" and is always blessed by a Priest.

St. Joseph Table Altar

• The Altar has three levels symbolic of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit.
• The elements that compose the altar are:

Symbolic Meanings:

• Cross: represents the Crucifixion
• Chalice: represents the Consecration of the Bread and Wine at the Last Supper
• Heart: represents the Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the symbol of love.
• Fish: represents Jesus as the Fisher of Men and symbolizes Christ feeding the five thousand.
• Thirteen small round braided bread loaves (cudureddi): represents Jesus and the Twelve Apostles
• Large round loaves of bread: symbolizes the crown of thorns
• Hands: represents God's hands
• Shepherd's Staff: symbolizes the Lord is our Shepherd
• Lamb Cake: represents Jesus as the Lamb of God
• Palms: symbolize the palms strewn in Jesus' path in Jerusalem
• White Lilies: Symbolizes transformation and purity
• Wine: symbolic of the Last Supper and the Miracle at Cana
• Fried Bread Crumbs (mudica or mollica): represents the sawdust of St. Joseph the Carpenter
• Hammer, saw and ladder: represents the tools used by St. Joseph the Carpenter
• The Silician "carretto" (cart): a handcrafted and hand painted brightly colored cart with wodden wheels that was pulled by a
  donkey, mule or horse and was used to carry the farmers out to the fields to gather the crops
• Bone Cookies: represent the bones of the saints
• Purse: represents giving alms to the poor
• Sardines: represent a reminder of the saltiness of the sea
• Grapes, olives, figs and other fruits: represent the orchards and vineyards in Sicily
• Fava Beans: considered "lucky" because during the drought the fava thrived while other crops failed
• Wheat, artichokes, cardoons, fennel and other vegetables: represent the farmlands in Sicily
• Italian S Cookie: represents the island of Sicily
• Pignolatti (Honey Balls joined together to for a pine cone): represent the pine cones Jesus played with as a child.
• Pupaculova (baked bread that encloses a dyed egg): represents the "coming of Easter"
• Cookies/Pastries: lady fingers, spingi, fig cookies, cookaletties, wine cookies, Italian wedding cookies, ribbons, creme puffs,
  roettes, pizzelles, biscotti, canolis, ricotta cookies, fruit cookies, Italian brownies, anginetti or lemon drop
  cookies, cross cookies: represent the cookies and pastries of Sicily