Twelve Apostles Catholic Church

06/24/2026

What should Catholic living look like?Conversion allows us to live as authentic Christians and enables us to show others the “art of living.” It means that we question the way we currently live, allow God to show us the truth, and change the direction of our lives. We begin to see the world through the eyes of God. We no longer justify ourselves by doing what everyone else does. We live by a higher standard in which we rely on God’s friendship, forgiveness and love.
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Conversion compels us to proclaim the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is simply the truth that God exists as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe that God takes an active role in our world and in our lives. But in order to help others know God, we must help them learn to pray. We must encourage them to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to them in silence. We must invite them to experience the presence of God in the Mass, in the words of Scripture, and in the movement of everyday life. It is in experiencing God that people begin to see that God exists.
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Meanwhile, only in Christ do we comprehend the fullness of God. Jesus Christ was more than just a human being. He was God incarnate, and he offered himself as the path that leads to union with God and a path that gives meaning to our suffering. It is a path that gives purpose to our lives. Jesus also gave us the sacraments, which fill us with the graces we need to continue on our journey. Our goal is to bring Jesus Christ into every aspect of our lives.
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Our ultimate goal is eternal life with God. We all will be judged on how we lived our lives on this earth. All the injustices of this world will be wiped away, and God will make everything right. We will be reunited with God and with all of our loved ones. It is a message of hope that eases our pain and calms our fears. It is a message that people today need to hear.

06/24/2026

June 24th marks four years since Roe v Wade was overturned by the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization case. Missouri has seen setbacks,but also has new hope in the new Amendment 3 vote for 2026. To learn more about this Amendment and its importance, please visit https://www.lifeandjusticekcsj.org/amendment3.

06/23/2026

Join us this evening as we celebrate the nativity of St. John the Baptist with a cookout, yard games, and bonfire. We invite everyone from both parishes to join us at Twelve Apostles on Tuesday, June 23rd following the 6pm Mass.
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Food and drinks will be provided. Please bring lawn chairs and games to share! We hope to see you there!

06/23/2026

Who is God the Father?God gradually prepared humans for the revelation of “who he is.” This began at the dawn of history but became more focused with the call of Abram — whom God gives the new name “Abraham” — in the Old Testament. At this time, God entered human history in a definitive way and revealed his nature, unknowable by reason alone.
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God’s love is so strong that he desired to share it by creating. Human love, at the heart of creation, is based in God — we were created in the image and likeness of God — so that the Father’s eternal love continues to express itself in the love that he shares with us and that we share with him and one another.
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While believing in God as creator, the Israelites also professed their faith in God as “Father” in that he created the heavens and earth. Most especially, though, they believed in his fatherhood because of the covenant he made with the Jewish nation. For the Israelites, the name “Father” indicates that God, the creator of all that exists, is a loving Father — a God of mercy and forgiveness.
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For Israel, God is a mystery — a transcendent being far beyond what humans can imagine. God revealed this on Mount Sinai when Moses asked God his name. God replied, “YHWH (I AM WHO AM).” It reflects God who is infinitely above us, yet a hidden God who is close to us.
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Jesus taught us much about the Father. From Jesus, we come to recognize that our loving, generous and merciful God is first “Father” because he is eternally Father in relation to his only Son, who is eternally Son only in relation to his Father.

06/22/2026

📣🚨I am pleased to announce tickets for the Mass of Beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, as well as events taking place before and after the historic celebration, will be available on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 10 am CDT at celebratesheen.com.

The Mass of Beatification is on September 24, 2026, at 2 pm at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri, marking a historic moment for the Catholic Church in the United States and throughout the world. The Dome will open early that day for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Adoration, and a pre-Beatification program with Catholic speakers and musicians.

In addition to the Beatification Mass itself, pilgrims will have the opportunity to participate in a rich series of prayerful, educational, and celebratory events from September 15–26, 2026. These include Masses of Thanksgiving, visits to Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s tomb, and the inaugural Sheen Awards Gala, all in Peoria, Illinois. Together, these events form the official Sheen Pilgrimage. I encourage you to make a pilgrimage to both Peoria and St. Louis to fully experience this historic and grace-filled moment in the life of the Church.

Due to the historic significance of the event and anticipated attendance from across the country and around the world, advance ticket registration will be required for the Mass of Beatification and select events.

Additional information regarding schedules, hotel accommodations, livestream opportunities, pilgrim resources, and frequently asked questions will also be available at celebratesheen.com.

All are encouraged to attend in person if possible, or to join in prayer and participation virtually as the Church celebrates the Beatification of one of the greatest evangelizers of the modern era. 🙏

https://www.celebratesheen.com/

06/22/2026

Tickets for the beatification Mass of Fulton Sheen will be available beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 23.

Archbishop Sheen will be beatified on Sept. 24 at The Dome at America’s Center in Downtown St. Louis.

Tickets for the beatification Mass and other events will be available through the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation website at celebratesheen.com.

“We encourage you to register as early as possible. While we have worked diligently to accommodate the many pilgrims expected to travel from across the United States and around the world, demand is anticipated to be significant for several events,” Peoria Bishop Louis Tylka said in a June 21 letter.

In addition to the beatification Mass, the Diocese of Peoria is inviting pilgrims to participate in prayerful events in the surrounding days.

More information on tickets and event registration: https://www.stlouisreview.com/story/fulton-sheen-beatification-tickets-available/

Tickets will be available starting at 10 a.m. for Sept. 24 beatification Mass in St. Louis, other events

06/22/2026

The feast of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More kicks off Religious Freedom Week.
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St. John Fisher was a university proctor and bishop (and very briefly cardinal) during the reigns of King Henry VII and his son, King Henry VIII, who he is said to have tutored. St. John actively preached against Lutheranism and against the king’s attempt to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. After King Henry VIII secretly went through a form of marriage with Anne Boleyn, Fisher was arrested. Like St. Thomas More, St. John used a clause in the oath of succession to stay quiet regarding the king’s attempt to be considered the head of the Church of England, but was betrayed by Richard Rich, who managed to get St. John to acknowledge his denial of the king’s headship of the Church.
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St. John was sentenced to death and was due to be hanged, drawn, and quartered, but the king realized he couldn’t be allowed to live past the feast of his name patron, St. John the Baptist on June 24th. Instead, he was beheaded on June 22nd…but this still allowed parallels to be drawn to St. John the Baptist’s own beheading.
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We look to St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More for defense of religious liberty and against unjust governance and heresy.

06/22/2026

The four elements of evangelization
Who needs evangelization? In a word, everybody. Children need to be evangelized in order to grow in faith and understanding. Inactive Catholics, who no longer attend Mass regularly, need to be evangelized so that they can return to a life of active faith. Alienated Catholics who have left the Church need to be evangelized so they know how much we miss them and want them to return. People who have no faith need to be evangelized so they can be welcomed into a new life with Christ and the Church.
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Most of all, we need to be evangelized ourselves in order to strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ and the Church.
There are four essential elements in the process of evangelization.
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1. Listening. The most sacred thing a person can share is his or her own story. When we listen, we enter into a person’s heart, mind, and soul. We see their search for meaning. We catch a glimpse of their struggle or their pain.
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2. Sharing our faith. We can share what our faith means to us in words by telling others how the Holy Spirit has worked in our lives. We can also share our faith through actions that demonstrate the ways in which we try to live authentically the gospel message.
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3. Extending an invitation. It might be an invitation to come to Mass or to some Catholic devotion, to talk with a priest or spiritual advisor, to read a book or pamphlet, to listen to a lecture, to assist in some ministry, to pray together, or to attend a parish social event.
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4. Praying. Pope St. John Paul II tells us, “There must be unceasing prayer to nourish the desire to carry Christ to all men and women.”
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While all of these elements are essential, the important thing to remember is that there is no step-by-step recipe for evangelization. The Holy Spirit will use your natural gifts and talents for the work of evangelization if you are open and willing. Before long, you’ll begin to see that you’ve developed your own style of evangelization!

06/22/2026

Subject of the book "The Shepherd Who Didn't Run: Fr. Stanley Rother, Martyr from Oklahoma" by Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda, Blessed Stanley Rother is now the focus of a new feature-length documentary coming to theaters in the U.S. this Summer. Narrated by acclaimed actor Martin Sheen, "American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story" reveals the witness of the first American-born priest recognized as a martyr by the Catholic Church, whose courage, sacrificial love, and unwavering faith continue to inspire people around the world. Born on a farm in Oklahoma, Bl. Stanley Rother eventually left to serve the Indigenous Tz'utujil people of San Atitlan, Guatemala during their time of civil unrest.
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🎥 Learn more about his story and the film at www.fathomentertainment.com/releases/american-martyr-the-stanley-rother-story/

06/21/2026

Happy Father's Day to the men of Twelve Apostles! And especially to our spiritual father, Fr. Joseph Totton. We appreciate you!