St Joseph Catholic Church

I got married here when Father Don Fischer was the priest and since then, mass just doesn’t feel the same. Other priests have come and gone and I just got back into attending Sunday mass more frequently. I have 3 younger children and they do not attend the Sunday classes because I use to send my, now 19 year old when she was younger and it does cost to attend. It’s a little too much to be paying for 2 children to attend so they attend mass with us. We go in the very back room, that way if we have any issues, it’s more of a convenience with taking them out so it’s not so disruptive as being in the main sanctuary. The only thing I do not like is that they close the doors so we can’t really hear the priest. There is a speaker in the room but it’s not always on and this can be frustrating since the parishioners in that room would like to hear what is going on too. Not to mention, we need to know when to stand, sit and kneel, so it just seems like a room that gets over looked. I know the ushers are aware people are in there because they come pass around the baskets for tithing when the time comes. This past Sunday I was appalled at mass! They were doing construction, so mass was in the gym. We intentionally sat at the very end with our family of 6 (3 really young kids, including my almost 1 year old) and for some reason our row seemed like the only row this usher kept coming too. I didn’t understand why she kept coming in our row to sit others down if two rows ahead of ours had several empty seats at the end. She literally sat a couple in the middle of our row to the left of my oldest daughter and it was a major distraction and so complicated for that couple to go sit down during mass. Well, its church, so why is this lady in front of me literally doing a intense turn around stare when she hears my son talking? He’s 4, it’s not like I’m allowing him to act up or talk on purpose and on top of the stare, mass was barely 10 minutes underway. I think it’s very rude when people do this acting as if parents don’t want to listen to mass too and it feels as if they don’t want to relate to how difficult it can be handling children. The usher lady also mentioned to me when I was standing with my 11 month old that I needed to understand when the aisle filled with people, I couldn’t be standing there. Again, this was not even 10 minutes into the mass and I was thinking to myself, «ok, doesn’t she mean when we go take the communion, I can’t be there?» Why would it be a problem right now when we haven’t even come to that point? Tell me right before, if I’m still standing there and I’m blocking anyone. I know how church goes and I know when communion comes so I wouldn’t have been standing with my son when that time came, which is at the last 15 minutes remaining in the mass. These experiences really take out the love of attending mass and the purpose. It’s such a shame that I couldn’t feel the peace and love from others and a huge disappointment when I hold this church very sacred, mainly for getting married here, but also because it’s Gods home and it’s a place to receive him whole heartedly. I absolutely love the ambiance and just the way I feel when I go to pray or have gone to confession. I use to meditate a lot outside when my daughter would be at church class during the week. I also love the outside labyrinth that you can walk for a prayer journey or just special intentions. Over all, I drive over 30 minutes just to attend this church. It means that much to me that my family and I attend regularly and the Christmas mass is just so beautiful. I love how the choir changes up who sings. They will have all adults, then teenagers and even grade school singing on different occasions and mass times. It’s wonderful seeing how everything comes together!

Nice church in the Richardson area. Everyone seems friendly there even though I haven’t quite gotten involved with anything there yet. The priests give good sermons and it isn’t too hard to find a place to sit if you get there at least 5 minutes early. The church is also very modern looking with a lot of natural light while still maintaining the traditional elements. Definitely a place worth checking out.

I recently attending a beautiful wedding at this venue. The church is quite wonderful and the clergyman presiding over the ceremony was a hoot. He was able to bring traditional scriptures and add in a fun young twist to match the couple. He made the ceremony go by quickly and enjoyable. The church is very well kept and the seats were comfortable. Also, lots of parking in the back.

I’ve been to St. Joe’s on a couple of occasions. A wedding (more details below), a funeral, and for regular masses.
The church is really quite beautiful. I’m not sure how old the church actually is, but it looks new. There is plenty of seating — both traditional seating in front of the altar in addition to lots of side seating. The baptismal fountain is at the very back and quite interesting. Oh and most importantly, the women’s room is to your left and the men’s room is to your right as you walk into the front lobby. :)
They also have a columbarium (kind of like a mausoleum for cremated ashes) and a meditation labyrinth. They also have quite a few ministries, from ethnic groups to prayer groups to community service groups. For more information, see their website, it’s pretty comprehensive.
The priests that I’ve seen have given pretty excellent homilies. The priest that did the homily for my cousin’s wedding actually did the homily for a family member’s funeral. He did a great job using both Scripture readings and anecdotes without overstepping or being too silly.
The music is okay. I’m used to a full band in Boston, so here just a cantor and a piano can seem kind of bland. Don’t get me wrong, the pianist and cantor I’ve heard are okay just not the full burst of energy that I like to have at mass that a band (and a drum kit) can provide.
For those planning a wedding, the woman that helps is really on the ball. She knew where everyone had to go during rehearsals and she was just on it. A bit curt, but definitely on it. They are very mass focused, so if you have videographers and photographers, they’re only allowed to go only so close to the altar. This parish is pretty serious about this. During the wedding mass if the videographers/​photographers go past where they’re supposed to be, one of the church workers will tell them to back off. Seems kind of strange, but I get it. When people are pledging forever and ever to each other in the presence of God and their families, you don’t really want to see people walking around in the background distracting the congregation.
They have a side room, right near the women’s bathroom (sweet), where the bridal party got changed. In this «suite», there’s a bathroom, a small main room, then a room off to the side that has a ledge, chairs, and a long mirror. Us bridesmaids got ready in there and ate in there, just so there wouldn’t be any accidents with the wedding gown in the main room.