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

First of a Three-Part Series

The story is told of an Atheist who was standing on the edge of a cliff one day admiring the scenery. Suddenly, without warning, the ground beneath his feet broke away and he began to fall. In desperation he grabbed a small branch and tried to hold on with all of his might as he hung over the edge. The rocky ground was hundreds of feet below his dangling legs.

Now this man did not believe in God... but at times like this it never hurts to try. So the man cried out, "Oh God, if there be a God, save me?"

As the story goes, the man heard a loud voice from heaven. The voice said, "There is a God and I am He. Simply let go of the branch and put all your faith and trust in me and I will take you safely to the top."

The man paused for a second, looked intently at the ground far below and then back to the heavens when he yelled, "Is there anyone else up there I can talk to?"

Whether it be an atheist or a person full of God's grace, one of the most difficult tasks that our Lord places upon us is the one where we are called to make "this leap of faith." When we are challenged to allow our minds to travel beyond reason, to allow our souls to guide us not because we can reason our way to God but because our souls are drawn to a presence that words or thoughts we cannot describe, it is then we have taken that most important step towards our relationship with the divine. We see this leap of faith expressed in the marriage vows that a man and woman make to each other, or a priest or religious who professes their vows and promises made for the sake of their bride, the church. Once we are able "to let go and let God," it is then that we truly understand the theological virtues of hope and love that are ever-present in our lives but are often invisible to those who lack this gift of faith.

May God Bless All of You.

Fr. Pete

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

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

Everyone needs to be fed by spiritual experiences. Every Monday at 7pm until 8pm we experience the presence of Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration and the Rosary. Come and join us in church for one hour. All are welcome - Come and be fed! Come and experience the Eucharist every First Friday beginning after morning Mass and ending with Benediction for the Repose of the Blessed Sacrament at 5pm. It would be very fitting to have at least three persons committed to Eucharistic Adoration for each hour from 9am to 5pm on each First Friday. There will be a sheet in the vestibule of the Church for you to sign your name and the time you prefer. Please consider this hour with our Lord a privilege!

Annual Appeal - Diocese of Joliet This is a reminder to send your Annual Appeal coupon with payment to the Diocesan Annual Appeal Office by the 15th of each month. We meet out parish goal only when pledges have been fulfilled. Thank you.

As of June 24th, we have $178,249 in pledges from 154 families, which is 47% of our goal.

Catholic Charities Daybreak Shelter is the largest non-profit homeless shelter in Will County Illinois. At this time they have 56 people living at the shelter. This number includes Men, Women and Children. They are in need of personal care items such as: Deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream and razors, soap and shower gel. A collection bin is available in the Church by the Food Pantry Bin. Thank you St. Pat's!

In keeping with our Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue and participation in political life is a moral obligation.

On the weekends of June 29 and September 7, there will an opportunity to register to vote. (Please plan two bring to forms of identification) The Sundays have been designated as National Voter Registration Sundays. Churches of every faith tradition are urged to give their congregations this opportunity to vote by having voter registration forms available at Church. To further help in the voting process, please see the insert in today's bulletin.

Bishop J. Peter Sartain kicks off the 2008 Theology-on-Tap Season in the Diocese of Joliet for college students and young adults in their 20s and 30s. This event will be held at the St. Charles Borromeo Diocesan Pastoral Center, on Rt. 53 at Airport Road, Romeoville. A social will follow this event. This event begins three weeks of Theology-on-Tap sessions, some of which are near you. For the list of speakers, locations, and topics, go online to the Diocesan Theology-on-Tap website, located at www.dioceseofjoliet.org/yam/.

The Young at Heart Club of St. Patrick's is planning a trip to the Performing Arts Theatre in Munster, Indiana to see the musical "Phantom." The date is July 30th. The cost for bus, lunch and play is $60 payable by July 3rd. For reservations, please call Joyce Hutten at 815-744-1188.

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

We, as stewards of what the Lord has blessed us with, are tasked as His people to take care of those gifts. Although it may seem a little less than heavenly, I'm sure everyone has at one time or another thought to themselves "Is it hot today!" or "It's freezing out there!" And to make us more comfortable, God gave us ways to moderate our climates, at least indoors, to make our lives a bit easier.

Everyone is aware nowadays of the incredibly high costs of energy and that the church has to pay those high costs to make everyone comfortable during our liturgies. If you had a visitor to your home in the heat of the summer or the dead of winter and that visitor left your doors open to the outside weather, you would be upset that they had little regard for you or your energy costs. If you see a door that is left open at the church, please close it. There are signs on the doors asking you to keep the doors closed whenever possible. Please help all of us by being a good energy steward!
-Jim Richards

After the members of The Men's Club discussed the events for the 4th of July Mass with their spouses, wonderful and beautiful they all are, they took under consideration their wives suggestions to keep this celebration simple. The Honorable Fr. Peter Jankowski will celebrate Mass at 9am and then the Men's Club will offer coffee and doughnuts after the liturgy. Please bring any names of past or current military personnel that we may add it to our ever growing Honor Roll.

We are in need of cantors and musicians for our liturgies at St Patrick's. With summer vacations in full swing, some of our cantors & musicians have had to do sometimes 2 or 3 masses on a weekend to fill the need for the leading of song for our liturgies. We will train you and give you all the materials you would need and make sure you're very comfortable with what you're doing before you "go solo."

If the Lord has graced you with either of these talents and you would like to share those gifts with all of us, please call Jim Richards at 815-744-7660 and he will help you on your way to singing the Lord's praises in a very special way!! THANKS!

Communion pictures and discs are in the school office and may be picked up during office hours of 9:00am to 12:00pm.

It's been a long process, but the new portrait directories are here! Directories are available to those who purchased or had a portrait taken last fall for this directory. To ensure that everyone receives the copy reserved for them, the directories will be in the parish office during the week. Please stop by Monday through Friday 8:30am-4:00pm. If you are unavailable during the week, please contact the rectory at 815-727-4746 to make other arrangements for picking up your directory.

Raffle tickets for the 2008-2009 school year are now available. Pick yours up in the school office from 9:00am to 1:00pm Monday through Friday. Tickets are due to the Rectory by Monday, September 8th and the drawing for the grand prize as well as the two highest sellers will be announced on Saturday, September 13th at 8:00pm at the Parish Fest at St. Joe's Park.

• July 12th: St. Patrick's Catholic Church is offering the Protecting God's Children workshop at 9:00am in the Rectory. Contact the Rectory or sign up online through the Joliet Diocesan website at www.dioceseofjoliet.org and select "Protecting Children" and then "VIRTUS classes."
  
  
• July 13th: The Slovenian Catholic League Picnic will be at St. Joseph's Park 1:00pm-9:00pm. Food specialties will include Goulash with polenta, smokies, pepper steaks, krofi and apple strudel.
  
  
• Beginning Friday, July 18th: St. Anne's Church in Crest Hill will celebrate its annual Novena in Honor of St. Anne for nine consecutive days concluding with the Feast Day on Saturday, July 26th. All are welcome! Services will be each day of the novena at 7:00pm and will include novena prayers, homily, benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and veneration of the relic of St. Anne.
  
  
• August 1st through August 4th: Join the Daughters of St. Paul in a Discernment Weekend of prayer, presentations, silence and sharing. Women 18-30 discerning a religious vocation are in- vited to attend. Contact Sr. Helena Raphael, FSP at 617-850-5584, [email protected] or Sr. Margaret Michael, FSP at 617-435-1879, [email protected].
  
  
• Heading out of town this summer? Locate a Catholic Church and their Mass times by going to www.masstimes.org or by calling 305-598-7490.

Some of the St. Patrick's School personnel will offer tutoring at school this summer. Financial arrangements and times will be determined between you and the tutor. So far the following will tutor: Mrs. Plunkett, Mrs. Delach, Mrs. McGarry, Miss Dillenburg & Mrs. Boley. Call the office or contact these persons directly.

Remember: 5% discount off of your tuition if it is paid in full by June 30, 2008.
New This Year: 10% tuition discount if you bring a new family to our school. This discount is given when both families stay until the end of the school year 2008-2009.

Preschool - Children must be of age by Sept. 1 Preschool Times:

• 3 Year Olds Tues. & Thurs. Mornings 8:15 - 11:00
  
• 4 Year Olds Mon. & Wed. & Friday or
  Every morning M - F : 8:15 - 11:00

All Day Kindergarten
Grades one through eight

To Register: Call our office any time @ 815-726-2924. Stop in our Lobby to see the Information Station. For Additional Information : Check our web site: www.stpatsjoliet.com

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.