• Friday Mornings after the 7:30am Mass:
  February 8th through March 14th
  
  
• Wednesdays at 1:00pm with St Patrick's School:
  February 13th through March 12th

Mondays, February 25th, March 3rd and March 10th:    7:00pm-8:00pm
10 minute reflection with Fr. Pete followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The opportunity for Confession will be available as well.

Wednesday, March 12th at    7:00pm
St. Paul the Apostle
Woodlawn Avenue

News and Views from St. Patrick’s Catholic Church
By Your Pastor, Fr. Pete Jankowski

On February 2, 2008, St. Patrick's Church hosted its twelfth annual Shamrock Gala, held this year at the Patrick Haley Mansion. This is our second major fundraiser of the year on behalf of our 120 year old Catholic School. In 1997, Fr. Lennon designed this fundraiser to help defray the over $110,000 in fundraising that the Joliet Diocese mandates our school to make in order for our Catholic School to maintain itself. Over 250 supporters of our church and school attended this event, which raised over $15,000 towards this important cause.

At this event, St. Patrick's Church honored Fr. Vytas Memenas for his fifty years of service to the Joliet Community. Serving St. Patrick's from 1978-1990, Fr. Vytas' persevered in maintaining the school in much worse financial situation than today, a perseverance that allowed our school to remain open some twenty years later. As we listened to Fr. Vytas tell the story (and with such a commanding presence, how could anyone not?), our Catholic School was on the verge of closure in the late 1970s, due to a significant debt owed to the diocese and lagging enrollment. Through his leadership, Fr. Vytas built the school back to a state of credibility and beyond. Fr. Vytas not only helped the financial situation of our parish, but made sure the spiritual and educational development of the kids under his care would serve those kids well in future endeavors.

Many of these same individuals came to our Gala on Saturday evening to give thanks for this example. Many of these same individuals send their children to the very same school. As our predecessors and pastors have done in the past, so we are called to do in the present for the sake of this institution. I wish to thank all of you who helped make this event a success and pray that we all continue to do what we can so that the future of our school may thrive.

I humbly thank Alicia Tocwish, Mary Workman, Joyce Schroeder, Mary Jane Papesh, Nickoline Dehm-Dolph for their tireless volunteer work on behalf of this important cause. I also wish to thank all those who made some type of contribution to this event. Please know all of you are in our prayers.

God Bless.

Fr. Pete

Gloria Dei Vivens Homo (The Glory of God is Living in Man)
- St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Subjects to be covered: "Who is God, who am I?", "How to Pray", "Humility", "Healing of memories", "Healing of addictions", "Vitues of Faith , Hope & Love", "Self Deliverance", "Why be a Catholic", and much more. If interested, please forward your mail to Joe Bannon in a marked envelope in the collection basket or email the Rectory at stpatrectory0710@sbcglobal.net.

Eucharistic Adoration is a time of silent prayer and the offering of your daily trials and physical pains for the good of those most in need of God's love; a time of re-creation and a newness of life.

Come join us on Monday evenings in Church for this intimate encounter with Jesus Christ, present in the Eucharist and a communal praying of the Rosary.

Each week, St. Patrick's Vocation Cross travels from home to home throughout the parish as we pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. This week,

will care for the cross. If you would like to participate, please contact the office (815) 727-4746.

During the Jubilee Year, our Holy Father called us to conversion, reconciliation, and solidarity. To continue to live that call, we might take the spiritual and corporal works of mercy as a penitential model. These fourteen practices demand great sacrifice and generosity; they also draw us more deeply into conformity with the Lord. Focusing on one of these works each week may be a practical way of integrating them into our personal, family, and parish lives.

Penitential practices express in visible signs and deeds the interior conversion of heart. Because we are called by Jesus to give our whole selves to the Father, conversion means a radical reorientation of our whole lives toward God's kingdom. We turn away from evil, resolve not to sin, and trust in God's amazing grace. There will be sadness for past wrongs but deep joy in the working of grace.

In the end, our life in Christ is about loving God with our whole heart, mind, and soul, and about sharing God's love with others. Penitential practices are essential if we are to turn away from sin, believe in the Gospel, and share God's love with one another.

1. Everyone 14 years of age or over is bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent.
   
   
2. Everyone 18 years of age and under 59 years of age is bound to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
   
   
3. On these two days of fast and abstinence, only one full meatless meal is allowed. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken according to each one's needs, but together they should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted on these two days, but liquids, including milk and fruit juices are allowed. When health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige.
   
   
4. To disregard completely the law of fast and ab- stinence is seriously sinful.
   
   
5. Lent is the principal season of penance in the Christian year. All of the faithful are strongly urged to develop and follow a program of vol- untary self-denial (in addition to following the Lenten regulations), serious prayer, and a per- formance of works of charity and mercy.

Anyone who makes the Lenten journey is called to be more alert to the attacks on human life and dignity around them. During this Lenten journey, St. Patrick Parish will sponsor a Baby Bottle Collection to benefit Birthright of Joliet and Living Alternatives (the Pregnancy Resource Center of Joliet). The Baby Bottles will be distributed February 10th, the first Sunday of Lent. You will be asked to return them March 2nd, the fourth Sunday of Lent. A firm rejection of the "pro choice" and "right to die" positions is integral to repentance. Lent is the perfect time to lead our parishioners to a deeper affirmation of life, both natural and eternal, in the celebration of the Paschal Mystery!

To date, we have collected over $14,881 for our 2nd Annual Alumni Appeal. Last year, we collected over $25,000 for this event. Please be as generous as you can in helping us meet our goal this year of $25,000.

St. Patrick's Missionary Society (also known as St. Patrick Father) was formally established on March 17, 1932. The Society was founded by Irish diocesan priests who initially had gone to work on a temporary basis in Nigeria, West Africa, but who later wished to dedicate their lives fully to the missions. Later as the new missionary society grew, more work was undertaken, not only in Nigeria, but also in Kenya (1951), Brazil (1962), Malawi (1970), Grenada (1970), Zambia (1973), Sudan (1983), Zimbabwe (1989), Cameroon (1989), and Homelands of South Africa (1989).

In the United States the Society has three houses: Cliffside Park, NJ, Chicago, IL and Saratoga, CA. Their Chicago Il address is: 1347 W. Granville Avenue, Chicago 60660. There are now 342 priests in the Society and after a drop in vocations in recent years, there are more than 70 preparing for the priesthood in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Brazil.

Most of the people among whom we work are extremely poor and we have no means of training our seminarians and supporting our priests in their work other than the donations we receive. The second collection next weekend (February 1617) will be for the St. Patrick Fathers.

2007 Tax Statements may be obtained by contacting the Rectory. Due to the increased amount of paper required to print statements this year because of a mandatory change by the IRS, we are asking those parishioners who desire a tax statement to call the Rectory at 815-727-4746 ext 55. Or by email at stpatrectory0710@sbcglobal.net. Please plan to leave your name, address and telephone number. Your tax statement will then be available for pick up in the parish office or mailed upon request. Thank you!

Are you looking to get your Ministry schedule for your family via email? Contact us at stpatrectory0710@sbcglobal.net. Ministry schedules are also available online at stpatsjoliet.com.

Sharing One Faith: Catholic Home Missions in America

Dear Friends in Christ,

This Sunday, people of our diocese are invited to contribute to the Catholic Home Missions Appeal.

Since 1998, this national collection has been a powerful and successful expression of stewardship and our Catholic communion. For 10 years now, Catholics from more prosperous parishes across America have given generously to offer desperately needed help to the Mission Church here at home. I am grateful that the Diocese of Joliet has always been especially generous to this collection. As a former Bishop of a Home Missions Diocese and as former Chair of the Bishops' Committee on the Home Missions, I can assure you that the funds are greatly needed and prudently spent.

This Appeal offers Catholics a wonderful opportunity to help fellow Catholics practice their faith in such rugged mission areas as Alaska, Appalachia, the Deep South, the Rocky Mountain States, the dusty Southwest, Puerto Rico, and island dioceses in the Pacific and Caribbean.

The Catholic Home Missions Appeal is a practical way for Catholics to support the Mission Church here at home. Over 95 cents of every dollar donated to the Appeal goes directly to the missions.

Thank you for your parish's life of stewardship and faith!
Sincerely in Christ,

Most Reverend J. Peter Sartain
Bishop of Joliet

The collection for the Home Missions Appeal is the Weekend of February 9-10, 2008.

One of my goals as Vocation Director of the Diocese of Joliet is to have a vocation committee in every parish. The purpose of a parish vocation committee is to promote a culture of vocations within the parish. If you would like to help with the mission of vocation promotion within your parish, please contact your pastor. The Diocese of Joliet provides a training manual and annual training workshops for those interested. It is not a huge time commitment, but it is an important ministry.

We have about 37 parishes (out of 121) in our Diocese that have active PVC's. They are doing wonderful ministry and I think we are seeing the fruit of their labor by an increase in the number of seminarians and an increase in vocation awareness.

Some interesting ideas that some of our PVC's have implemented include:

1. Distributing pictures and biographies of our current seminari ans that allow parishioners to become pen pals with a semi narian.
2. A prayer for vocations included in every Mass.
3. A traveling vocation cross distributed at Mass for a different family each week. This also has been done in parish schools and religious education programs.
4. Showing the powerful video "Fishers of Men" at all of the weekend Masses.

Please prayerfully consider taking part in this important ministry of promoting vocations at the parish level. This is not the job of one person. We as a Church, with the help of God's grace, can do wonderful things if we join together in this mission. You know the young people in your parish that may be called to a religious vocation and you may be the voice of God for that young person.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at 815-834-4004 or frburke23@aol.com

In Christ,
Fr. Burke Masters

An outreach of love is finding its way thousands of miles south to the orphaned and abandoned children of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos. On April 19th, our parish will host a Fiesta to benefit this worthwhile organization. Twenty talented children from the NPH home in Nicaragua will be visiting with us and will perform Ballet Folkloric dances from various regions of Nicaragua. Fr. Ron Hicks, an archdiocesan priest who is the Regional Director of NPH - Central America, will accompany the children.

The evening will begin with the celebration of Mass at 4:30pm. Father Ron Hicks, will be the celebrant and the estudiantina (musicians) will perform the music. The Fiesta will start immediately after Mass in the school gym and will include dinner and the Ballet Folkloric performance by the children from Nicaragua.

Thank you to all of the parishioners who have volunteered their help for the visit. We still need volunteers to help in the following areas of Sponsorship, beverages and dining room. If you are interested in helping with this event, please contact General Chair Jane Richards at 815-744-7660.

Over the 2007-2008 year, parishioners from St. Patrick's Catholic Church are invited to audit our RCIA Sessions in learning the basics of the Catholic Faith. Sessions generally run on Wednesdays from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. in the Faculty Lounge of the School. As an effort to promote Adult Education in the parish, all members of our community over the age of 14 are welcome to join us for any or all of the sessions listed each week. For more information, please contact the parish office at (815) 7274746.

Miss Julie Dillenburg will talk about the importance of the Lenten preparations for Easter, which includes fast and abstinence obligations as well as the devotions that accompany the season.

Evenings of Reflection February 25th, March 3rd and March 10th at 7:00pm in Church. Join us for a 10 minute reflection with Fr. Pete and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. An opportunity for the Sacrament of Confession will also be available.

Natural Family Planning Classes are available throughout the year at St. Patrick's. Please contact John and Barbara Halbur at 815-727-3018.

Women's League Luncheon: On Thursday, February 14th, 2008, the Catholic Woman's League will meet at Al's Steakhouse for its Art Department luncheon and book review. 11:30am Gathering; 12:00noon Luncheon; 1:00pm Program: Book review by Peggy Fay. Your check for $12 (made to the CWL) is your reservation. Please send it before February 3rd to Mrs. Edie D'Atri, 1500 Woodbridge Road, 2E, Joliet, IL 6436.

Four Consecutive Wednesdays beginning February 13th: St. Thomas More Lecture Series will be hosted by St. Joseph Church in Joliet. Join us from 7pm to 8pm, February 13, 20, 27 & March 5th.

February 23rd: Men of Christ Conference at the Wisconsin Expo Center at State Fair Park See Menof Christ.net for information.

The holidays are over so are you ready to spend some time with old friends and make some new ones? Our first meeting for the New Year will be February 28th at 1:00pm in the school gym. Kathy Wilhelmi will revisit future plans for our club. Dues still only $5. All Seniors 55+ welcome!!

St. Patrick School Mission Statement

St. Patrick School embraces a mission to provide the finest academic environment for all of our children. We emphasize achievable goals and high moral ethical standards. We instill in our students a lifelong commitment to excellence and dedication to their Catholic Christian faith. Saint Patrick School is marked by a spirit of hospitality, a parent-school and parish partnership with a nurturing atmosphere in which our children develop in mind, body and spirit.