St Alphonsus Parish and School - Greendale

06/01/2026

Devotion of the Week:

Prayer Before Meals

Anyone who has ever dined in a Catholic home has probably heard the prayer before meals that begins with the famous words: “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts.” These words in particular are first found in the Galesian Sacramentary, a book of Christian liturgy that dates to the seventh or eighth century, but the practice of praying before meals is Biblical, harkening back to the Jewish ritual washing of hands before eating. In the Gospels, Jesus is shown praying before the Last Supper and other meals, setting an example followed by Paul in Acts 27:35.

In his 2015 encyclical Laudato SI’, Pope Francis urged the faithful “to return to this beautiful and meaningful custom.”

“That moment of blessing,” he wrote, “reminds us of our dependence on God for life; it strengthens our feeling of gratitude for the gifts of creation…(and) reaffirms our solidarity with those in greatest need.”

05/27/2026

St. Alphonsus will be hosting our next Adoration Night two weeks from today on June 10th. We will have a reading, a witness talk, optional Confession and Eucharistic Adoration with Praise and Worship Music. We hope you will be able to join us for this blessed devotion and to spend time with the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. A light reception will follow.

05/25/2026

From Fr. Kevin and the staff of St. Alphonsus Parish and School we hope you have a blessed Memorial Day.

05/25/2026

Devotion of the Week:

Prayer After Meals

Just as praying before a meal, praying after a meal is meant to inspire in Christians an attitude of thanksgiving and an acknowledgment of our dependence on God.

Though it is a less common practice in the modern world, early Church fathers like Tertullian and St. Jerome extolled the importance of praying after a meal, and the Christian poet Prudentius composed hymns for before and after meals (“ante cibum” and “post cibum”).

There are no “official” prayers for after a meal, but the most common one said by Catholics is this: “We give thee thanks, almighty God, for all your benefits, who lives and reigns forever and ever. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace.” It is a benediction which recalls our perpetual fellowship with the entire Body of Christ, including those who have passed from this life.

05/21/2026

Our second graders are Super Scientists! Here, they combine science and math with an experiment to learn about surface tension! Using a pipette and water, students squeezed droplets of water one at a time into different coins to see which held the greatest number of drops before spilling over.

05/19/2026

Last week was the annual Middle School Egg Drop with our friends at the Greendale Fire Department! Students had to create containers that would allow a raw egg to be dropped from the fire truck at varying heights without breaking. They followed specific rules, like no foam or bubble wrap, to create their containers. Congrats to our 5 winners, Ellie, Nico, June, Caleb, and Henry! And thanks to our friends at Greendale FD for helping us with this event every year! We love hanging out with you!

05/18/2026

Join us in congratulating St. Alphonsus School alum William Peelen on being named Marquette University High School valedictorian! We are so proud of you, Will! Click the article to read all of his amazing accomplishments.

Marquette University High School recognizes seniors William Peelen ’26, Arjun Patel ’26 and Ethan-Jeffrey Lomo-Tettey ’26 for outstanding academic, research and competition achievements, with Peelen named valedictorian of the Class of 2026. ​​​​​​​

05/18/2026

Our 4th graders had their annual trip to Madison last week--a St. Alphonsus School rite of passage! Students in 4th grade spend all year learning about Wisconsin History and then cap off the year with a trip to the State Capitol. This year they also visited the Wisconsin Historical Society where they had a hands on class about Wisconsin history!

05/18/2026

Our early childhood programs are growing and we are hiring! Have you ever wanted to work with us here at St. Alphonsus? Join our team! Visit our website or click the links below for more information!

School Website: https://school.st-alphonsus.org/team

3K Teacher: https://www.archmil.org/careers/3k-teacher-1-0-fte-2
3K Aide: https://www.archmil.org/careers/3k-teaching-assistant-1-0-fte