St. Joseph’s Altar at St. Gertrude’s

As the number of attacks on Catholic churches escalates worldwide and the recent attacks at St. Gertrude’s and her sister church St. Mary Star of the Sea, Gail Johnson, co-founder of CA$H DA$H ON THE ROCK, decided to not just have a private celebration of thanksgiving to St. Joseph but to initiate this ancient custom at her parish, St. Gertrude’s in Far Rockaway.

Last year, under the guidance of her Spiritual Director, Father David Bertolotti, the Parochial Vicar of the Parish of St. Mary Star of the Sea and St. Gertrude’s in Far Rockaway, Johnson promised St. Joseph an altar table in thanksgiving for receiving an apartment and last summer she moved into her apartment from TP Management, LLC.

St. Joseph’s Altar’s originated in Sicily in the Middle Ages. According to legend, there was a famine and the villagers prayed to St. Joseph, the foster father of the Infant Savior and asked for his divine intercession. Their prayers were answered, and fava beans grew in the dry, barren fields ending the famine. A special feast of thanksgiving was held in commemoration of the Saint. This celebration became tradition that is celebrated in many Parishes in the U.S.

A St. Joseph altar is an offering of love, labor and sacrifice in honor of the patron saint of the Universal Catholic Church.

St. Joseph’s Altar is an expression of gratitude for the simplest things in life, like the fava beans that grew in the dry, barren fields in Sicily in the Middle Ages.

“Once the promise is made to give a St. Joseph Altar, it is a sacred promise, it is to be continued for generations” Johnson said. “This will be my extraordinary gift to the parish of St. Mary Star of the Sea and St. Gertrude to witness in the years to come.”

An integral part of a St. Joseph’s altar is asking for alms. Several of the businesses on the peninsula supported the St. Joseph Altar: Sayra’s Wine Bar donated the wine; Elegante Restaurant & Pizzeria donated the penne Aglio e Olio dinner, Key Food on Rockaway Beach Boulevard, both Stop & Shop supermarkets in Arverne and Rockaway Park contributed to the St. Joseph Altar, as well as The Meat Market and the Sea Shell Fish Store in Howard Beach.