St. Patrick K-8 Faith Formation

05/27/2026

When you hear "St. Augustine," you probably think of the 5th-century bishop from North Africa. And for good reason: St. Augustine of Hippo is one of the most important saints in history, a profound theologian whose writings continue to shape the Church today (just ask Pope Leo XIV, a member of the religious order inspired by him).
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But that St. Augustine isn't the only one. There's also St. Augustine of Canterbury, today's saint, who is worth celebrating in his own right. In 597 AD, he reintroduced Christianity to England after the fall of the Roman Empire. St. Augustine evangelized the Anglo-Saxons, purifying their practices and rituals when possible rather than abolishing them. Through his missionary work, England became a center of medieval Christianity.
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Come celebrate the "other" St. Augustine today at daily Mass at 8 am.

05/22/2026

St. Rita of Cascia had a pretty tough life: Her husband was abusive. When he was murdered, she was left a widow. Her two sons soon died of illness. And she was rejected by a convent before finally being accepted.
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But amidst all of her suffering, St. Rita didn't become coldhearted. Instead, she turned to Jesus. So much so, that he bestowed on her a participation in his own passion: the stigmata, a visible wound from his crucifixion. St. Rita's forehead bore a wound from Christ's crown of thorns. It never healed--instead, she endured the pain from it for the rest of her life.
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Through her suffering, St. Rita became extremely close to Jesus Christ. And now, she is known as an incredible intercessor; one who is especially powerful in the case of "impossible causes."
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St. Rita has an important lesson for us, St. Patrick family: with Jesus, no suffering is wasted. With St. Rita of Cascia's intercession, let's use our difficulties as occasions to draw close to Jesus.

05/17/2026

Reminder that we have our final Sunday session of the year today after the 10:30 am mass at the church!

05/14/2026

The Ascension is not an ending—it’s a sending.
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Christ entrusts His disciples with a mission to all nations, with the promise to remain always.
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That mission continues today—and we are part of it.
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05/13/2026

Reminder that our Wednesday session of Family Formation meets tonight!

05/09/2026

Today is Red Cross Day. While the international aid agency may be officially secular, it owes its namesake symbol to a 16th-century Catholic priest: St. Camillus de Lellis.
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After time as a wayward soldier, the young Italian adult began working at a hospital, where the patients' suffering moved him. Soon after, he met St. Phillip Neri, who urged him to start a group dedicated to serving hospitalized people: the Ministers of the Infirm. The group not only provided medical care to the sick but also addressed their spiritual needs, ensuring that those near death received pastoral care.
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The order received official papal backing in 1586, and its members were permitted by Pope Sixtus V to wear a red cross sewn onto their black habit. Ever since, the red cross has been synonymous with those devoted to assisting the sick and suffering.
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St. Camillus, patron of all hospitals, doctors, nurses, and the sick, pray for us all at St. Patrick Parish.

05/01/2026

Please pray for all of the students receiving their First Holy Communion at St. Patrick's this weekend!

04/29/2026

So often, the heroic virtue of the saints doesn't make a lot of sense to us. Why did they devote themselves to such disciplined lives of prayer and fasting? Or give up all material wealth and social standing for the sake of the poor or the needy? Or even offer their bodies up to torment, torture, and death as martyrs?
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It might seem like the saints are a different species. But St. Catherine of Siena gives us a simpler, and therefore more challenging, answer: they did all this for love. The love of God had so captivated their hearts that nothing else would do, and they gladly spent their whole life pursuing him and sharing his love with others. That's what St. Catherine did. And as her example shows, it's what each of us is called to do: fall in love with God, and be transformed.
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St. Catherine of Siena, pray for all of us at St. Patrick!

04/28/2026

Reminder that we have our last Family Social this Saturday at 10am at Riverfront Park!

RSVP for our Picnic in the Park on May 2! Link to RSVP is in this week's newsletter.

04/24/2026

RSVP for our Picnic in the Park on May 2! Link to RSVP is in this week's newsletter.