St. Patrick Catholic Church

06/21/2026

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Sunday, June 21, 2026

My dear Brothers and Sisters, in 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as he began his inaugural address uttered these immortal words, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” These words lifted the hopes of a nation caught in the grips of the deepest economic depression it had ever experienced. Soon after, programs aimed at relief, recovery, and reform were put into action and began to have their desired effects. In our own times, people who work in organizational change management have observed that fear, along with cynicism and judgment, is one of the greatest obstacles to creating new structures and relationships. Jesus knew this 2,000 years ago. Indeed, one of His most oft-repeated instructions in the gospels is “do not be afraid.” The Lord repeats this several times in today’s Gospel. Jesus has just commissioned the Twelve to proclaim the good news, heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons. He sends them forth with nothing but their faith and trust in God, relying on the support of others, but they are not to fear opposition or hostility, just preach the Gospel. This is why Christ reminds them of their supreme value in the eyes of God, as a reason not to be afraid. Even in the face of mortal peril, they are not to fear! God has a place for them (and us) beyond bodily existence. Jesus tells us today to acknowledge our fears in following Him, thus knowing our obstacles to proclaiming the Gospel with our lives, and, with God’s help, we can overcome our fears by placing our full attention on the One who cares for us and empowers us. In this way there comes a freedom beyond fear. Be not afraid!

Reflection by: Fr. Alberto Bueno, T.O.R.

06/14/2026

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday, June 14, 2026

My sisters and brothers in Christ. May the peace of the Lord Jesus be with you. I am sure all of you would agree with the saying—"TIME FLIES.” Here we are in the middle of June and before you know it, the summer will be over, and school will be starting again. In the midst of these “moving months” we can pause and reflect on various spiritual events that have occurred since the conclusion of our Easter Season with the beautiful feast of Pentecost. We celebrated two great mysteries of our faith—The feast of the Holy Trinity and the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi).

This past Friday the 12th, we celebrated the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The heart represents love, tenderness, and compassion. What a beautiful title for Jesus who is full of love and tenderness. Jesus is full of compassion and forgiveness as He continues to be at our side in good times and in difficult times— “Come to me when you are weak and burdened and I will give you rest.” Out of His abundant love for us, we have been reconciled in Christ who, like a good shepherd seeks out those who have strayed or who are lost.

On Saturday the 13th, we celebrated the feast of The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let us pray to our Blessed Mother, Our Lady Queen of Peace. There is always so much peace, healing and reconciliation needed in our world and community.

Reflection by: Fr. Salvator M. Stefula, T.O.R.

06/13/2026

06/07/2026

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ ~ Sunday, June 7, 2026

Blessings on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, popularly known as Corpus Christi! We give thanks for the great gift of the Eucharist, which feeds and sustains us throughout our lives. As Saint Paul writes in today’s second reading, “The cup of blessing that we bless is… a participation in the blood of Christ (and) the bread that we break is… a participation in the body of Christ” (1 Cor 10:16-17). He also reminds us that just as “the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body” in Christ. In the hymn Lauda Sion, Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us: “Here beneath these signs are hidden priceless things to sense forbidden; signs, not things are all we see: Blood is poured and Flesh is broken, yet in either wondrous token Christ entire we know to be….” As we receive, in Communion, the whole Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, we are reminded of this truth that while our relationship with Christ is personal, it cannot be individualistic. We do not gather for Eucharist as individuals; we gather for Eucharist as a community of believers. Therefore, the fruit of the Eucharist can never be isolation for in the Eucharist we become a community of connectedness and solidarity. In all our uniqueness and all our differences that exist, there is mutuality in our sharing of the Eucharist. We are one body in Christ. If there is one thing that Pope Leo XIV underlines in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, it is that beyond our unity in Christ as Catholics, signified by the Eucharist, we are, by nature, one with all other human persons, every man, woman, and child, as children of God, made in God’s image and likeness. On this great and solemn feast, we remember this essential unity in all our complex and rich diversity.

Reflection by: Fr. Alberto Bueno, T.O.R.

06/03/2026

Join us as well Pray the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus June 3rd - 11th. Following along with each day by visiting our Parish Website www.StPatrickTampa.org

Prayer for today ~ June 3rd

Lord, I come to Your tender Heart today,
to You who have words that set my heart ablaze,
to You who pour out compassion on the little ones and the poor,
on those who suffer, and on all human miseries.
I desire to know You more, to contemplate You in the Gospel,
to be with You and learn from You
and from the charity with which You allowed Yourself
to be touched by all forms of poverty.
You showed us the Father’s love by loving us without measure
with Your divine and human Heart.
Grant all Your children the grace of encountering You.
Change, shape, and transform our plans,
so that we seek only You in every circumstance:
in prayer, in work, in encounters, and in our daily routine.
From this encounter, send us out on mission,
a mission of compassion for the world
in which You are the source from which all consolation flows.
Amen.

05/31/2026

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity ~ Sunday, May 31, 2026

My sisters and brothers in Christ. May the peace of the Lord Jesus be with you and your family. Last week we celebrated the feast of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church and the conclusion of the Easter Season. Today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Trinity and the following week we will celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). These are beautiful feasts that remind us of what we do and who we receive.

Today’s feast of the Holy Trinity is a constant reminder of our belief in the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Sign of the Cross is a continual reminder of this mystery. We make the sign of the cross when we begin our prayers, we bless ourselves when we enter the church with the Holy Water that reminds us of our Baptism, the Mass concludes with the sign of the cross.

Our basic belief in the Trinity comes out of our attempt to know who Jesus is and to know about the special relationship Jesus has with the Father and with the Spirit who was sent from the Father and the Son. Our knowledge of Jesus comes from the teaching of the apostles, the gospels and the letters of St Paul. The fundamental elements of our belief in the Trinity come from these sources. It is interesting to note that the word TRINITY referring to God did not come about until the year 200 AD. It took about 125 years for this doctrine to be formulated in the Nicene Creed which was drawn up at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD.

Reflection by: Fr. Salvator M. Stefula, T.O.R.

05/25/2026

On this Memorial Day, we pray for all the men and women who have lost their lives in heroic sacrifice. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. Let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

05/24/2026

Pentecost Sunday ~ Sunday, May 24, 2026

My dear Sisters and Brothers, Happy feast of Pentecost! The great scholar of the early church Eusebius of Caesarea called Pentecost the “omnium festivitatum maximum”, that is, “the greatest of feasts”. In more recent times, Pope Saint Paul VI called it “the source of all other feasts.” Why this emphasis? When we celebrate someone’s birthday, we don’t just celebrate the day they were born so many years ago; we celebrate the life they have lived, the person they are to us now. Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Church. This is not simply a day we remember something that happened in Jerusalem many centuries ago. In that moment of wind and fire, the Church was born and sent into the world; it has carried on and carried out its mission, with many ups and downs, right up to our own day, and, therefore, today we celebrate all of that. In the outpouring of the Holy Spirit all believers are called and sent, just like the apostles and the other members of the early Church, to be the presence of the kingdom of God in the midst of the world. Each of us has been given various gifts by the Spirit, for some purpose in the common purpose of the Church, that is, to be God’s kingdom community as salt and light for the world. Whatever gifts and talents have been given to each of us, they are meant to be used as building blocks of this new creation in Christ. On this Pentecost day we celebrate who we have been, who we are now, and commit ourselves to become a fuller presence of the People of God, the Church. That is our challenge and our call. May the Spirit of God inspire and guide you to be a living sign of Christ in the world.

Reflection by: Fr. Alberto Bueno, T.O.R.

05/17/2026

Ascension of the Lord ~ Sunday, May 17, 2026

The celebration of our Easter Season is coming to an end. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension forty days after the resurrection of Christ. Next week we will celebrate the feast of Pentecost fifty days after Jesus resurrection.

As we celebrate this feast of the Ascension, we can call to mind the words of Jesus to his disciples when He reminded them that one day he would be returning to the Father. Jesus ascended to eternal glory at the right hand of the Father leaving his apostles behind staring into the clouds. Jesus was not going to abandon the disciples but promised that he would send them the Holy Spirit and he promised them: “I will be with you always.”

Fr Joe Robinson said that the Ascension shows us the full glory of the resurrection, sharing in God’s glory eternally, a preview of God’s plan for all the rest of us who have followed Christ faithfully. The Ascension tells us that Christ is still with us and he invites us to go forward and make disciples of others by our faithfully living out the Gospel.

The Ascension marks the end of Christ’s mission on earth and celebrates his glorious return to the Father in heaven. The Ascension assures us that there is a purpose to life and that our journey, even if difficult, will take us back to the Father.

Reflection by: Fr. Salvator M. Stefula, T.O.R.